HAVANA -- Arnold couldn't make it. Demi wasn't there. But who needs them when Fidel's at center stage?
On a night more studded with diamonds than stars, Cuba's president watched his signature on boxes of cigars draw hundreds of thousands of dollars at an auction to benefit Cuban health care.
Then he took the stage of the Tropicana -- usually known for its nearly naked show girls -- and won roars of approval from a well-heeled audience with joking references to President Clinton's sex life.
``Clinton likes cigars,'' Fidel Castro said, but quickly noted: ``Hillary has forbidden it.''
The $500-a-plate dinner Friday night at the open-air nightclub drew worldwide attention because of rumors that Hollywood stars who had appeared on the cover of Cigar Aficionado magazine might defy the U.S. trade embargo to attend.
Americans face penalties as high as $250,000 or 10 years in prison for making unauthorized trips to Cuba.
A dense pack of reporters and television cameras scanned the arrivals, making the event seem like Oscar night in the tropics, but there was no sign of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Demi Moore, Matt Dillon or Jack Nicholson.
The event, sponsored by Cuba's state tobacco company, was to honor the 30th anniversary of the elite Cohiba brand cigar created for Castro in 1966.
The 700 people at the gala appeared to be mostly businessmen, many in the global cigar trade. Scattered among them were a few Americans.
Castro praised Americans in the crowd for coming despite warnings by the U.S. State Department.
He said the auction, together with others in London and Paris, had raised $1 million for Cuban health services, which have suffered from the country's economic crisis.
Copyright © 1997 The Miami Herald