The First Playboy…El Primer Tiguere
By Dennis R. Ovalle

The man. The myth. The life of Porfirio Rubirosa. Considered by some a petty crook, a scoundrel, and a flamboyant gigolo, others viewed him as a man of suave intrigue, an irresistible playboy—el primer tiguere. Porfirio Rubirosa lived a life of fast cars, and even faster women. Caviar, champagne, posh nightclubs—a world of adventures. He spent his days playing sports, driving cars, and rubbing elbows with diplomats, mobsters, celebrities, and the-all-around rich. At night, he crusaded through clubs and fancy parties for good times and beautiful women (the richer, the more beautiful). Always impeccably dressed and mannered, Rubirosa was a man’s man, but first and always—a lady’s man. He once told Sammy Davis Jr., “Your profession is being an entertainer. Mine is being a playboy.”

Porfirio was born in 1909 in Cibao’s San Francisco de Macoris, Dominican Republic. His father, Don Pedro Rubirosa, was a General for the Dominican Army. In 1915 Porfirio moved to Paris when his father was named Dominican Ambassador to France. He spent much of his adolescence there, until 1928, when he returned to the Dominican Republic. Despite his formal education and European influences, “Rubi,” as he came to be known, spent a lot of time lounging around shirtless in the barrios of San Lazaro, Cuidad Nueva, and San Carlos. He organized boxing matches, chased after local girls, drank until drunk, and hit up countless brothels.
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