The Club Cubano Interamericano was founded in 1945 in the Bronx. Many of its members had migrated from Tampa and others were black Puerto Ricans. The communities had many things in common, such as language, their status as immigrants and as minorities in both their place of origin and their place of immigration. These close links resulted in the election of a Puerto Rican, Juan Casellas, as president of the Marti-Maceo society in Ybor City. Club Cubano sponsored lectures, dances, concerts, and youth-oriented activities.