 Immigrants from Spain (including some by way of Cuba) to the bustling factory town of Ybor City in 1891 established El Centro Español as the first of several ethnic social club and mutual aid society organizations.El Centro Español served as the organizational model for its later counterparts such as El Centro Asturiano, El Circulo Cubano, L'Unione Italiana, and others.These clubs grew to play vital roles in Ybor City's development and were of particular importance in welcoming and orienting new arrivals to the immigrant community.