{"id":1833,"date":"2018-08-31T12:52:49","date_gmt":"2018-08-31T11:52:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/?p=1833"},"modified":"2018-08-31T12:53:05","modified_gmt":"2018-08-31T11:53:05","slug":"cafe-de-chinitas-flamenco-in-its-essence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/2018\/08\/31\/cafe-de-chinitas-flamenco-in-its-essence\/","title":{"rendered":"Caf\u00e9 de Chinitas: flamenco in its essence"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1835\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/042.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"623\" height=\"356\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/042.jpg 623w, https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/042-300x171.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 623px) 100vw, 623px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>In the Caf\u00e9 de Chinitas \/ said Paquiro to his brother: \/ \u2018I am braver than you \/ a better bullfighter and a better gypsy\u2019<\/em>. These are verses that<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Federico Garc\u00eda Lorca<\/strong>\u00a0wrote as a tribute to the\u00a0<strong>oldest Caf\u00e9 Chantant in Spain<\/strong>\u00a0and direct ancestor of today\u2019s flamenco venues known in Spain as tablaos: Caf\u00e9 de Chinitas in M\u00e1laga, which, from 1857 to 1937, opened its doors to the general public and indeed to ruffians, offering them the purest and most genuine flamenco anywhere to be found.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1836\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/98.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"623\" height=\"356\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/98.jpg 623w, https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/98-300x171.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 623px) 100vw, 623px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Moving quickly ahead to 1969, members of the\u00a0<strong>Verdasco and Heras families<\/strong>, the owners of the traditional restaurant\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.esmadrid.com\/en\/restaurants\/la-bola\"  target=\"_blank\">La Bola,<\/a> decided to open a new business that would pay homage to the legendary caf\u00e9 that inspired Federico\u2019s verses. The premises they chose could not have been more appropriate:\u00a0<strong>a venerable and indeed stately 18th century mansion<\/strong>\u00a0on Calle Torija No. 7, just behind the Senate and very close to where Plaza de la \u00d3pera, Plaza de Oriente and Plaza de Espa\u00f1a intersect.<\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/an5J6LQptp8?rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"623\" height=\"356\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In the 1970s, flamenco\u00a0<strong>tablaos<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>were all the rage in Madrid and they attracted emerging figures from all corners of Spain, all driven by a desire to triumph in the capital, while those stars who were already firmly established in the flamenco firmament filled the <strong>wee small hours<\/strong>\u00a0with their\u00a0<strong>art<\/strong>\u00a0under the watchful gaze of a distinguished public and foreigners of renown. Mara Verdasco, the family member who founded and continues to run Caf\u00e9 de Chinitas today, recalls how \u201cthe late 60s and early 70s were the golden age of the tablaos. In those days they were five-star restaurants where everyone was dressed up to the nines and dinner would cost you 2,500 pesetas, a lot of money back then. Those\u00a0<strong>nights that have gone down in history <\/strong>started at ten or half past ten and the regulars would be there until four or five in the morning. We\u2019d close the doors and they\u2019d stay on with the artists and they\u2019d have a real<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>flamenco bender<\/strong>!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1839\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/95-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"623\" height=\"356\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/95-2.jpg 623w, https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/95-2-300x171.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 623px) 100vw, 623px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>When the 80s came along,\u00a0<em>Madrid\u2019s<\/em><em> Movida <\/em><em>movement<\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em>put paid to this trend and although they didn\u2019t fall into decline, the essence of the tablaos did become more streamlined &#8211; without abandoning their role as a showcase of the best flamenco and their connection with a foreign audience that visited Spain to<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>enjoy genuine flamenco at its best<\/strong>. Mara can recite from memory the list of artists who have trodden the boards at Caf\u00e9 de Chinitas: \u201cAs far as dancers are concerned, Tom\u00e1s de Madrid,\u00a0<em>La Chunga,<\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em>the legendary Rosario, Mar\u00eda Albaic\u00edn, the great dancer and winner of the National Dance Award, Carmen Mora, Pastora Imperio\u2026\u201d. The list of\u00a0<strong>singers<\/strong>\u00a0is equally impressive: \u201cMar\u00eda Vargas, Gabriel Moreno,<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>the legendary Enrique Morente<\/strong>,\u00a0<em>El Lebrijano<\/em>, Jos\u00e9 Merc\u00e9, who began his career here. And of all the guitarists, the one who stands out the most with all his magic was V\u00edctor Monje\u00a0<em>Serranito<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1840\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/beckham.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"623\" height=\"356\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/beckham.jpg 623w, https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/beckham-300x171.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 623px) 100vw, 623px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The doors of the Caf\u00e9 have been graced by bullfighters, footballers and all manner of athletes, intellectuals, members of the royalty and nobility and politicians of all hues; both Spanish and from overseas as is attested by the\u00a0<strong>photographs<\/strong>\u00a0that cover the walls of this venue that was designed by the great painter Manuel Mampaso, well-known decorator Pinto Coelho and architect Luis Caruncho. Its interior contains\u00a0<strong>bronze and marble sculptures <\/strong>by Sanguino &#8211; who also sculpted the doors of the La Almudena Cathedral &#8211; not to mention an enormous selection of works by the painter Vicente Viudes. The result, as Mara explains, \u201chighlights the eternal relationship between flamenco and bullfighting. Even now many \u201ctonadilleras\u201d (flamenco singers) still marry bullfighters.\u201d 50 tables bedeck the Caf\u00e9\u2019s 250 metres, each one covered by a beautiful\u00a0<strong>Manila shawl<\/strong>\u00a0and providing a perfect view of the stage which is located at the back of the room. There are two amazing 90-minute flamenco shows each evening, both featuring a male dancer, five female dancers, three guitarists and three singers. \u201cA genuine flamenco ensemble which leaves anyone witnessing the show feeling special, bewitched by the\u00a0<strong>spell<\/strong>\u00a0and the emotion of flamenco in all its intensity\u201d. While they watch the show, the public<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>enjoys exquisite dishes<\/strong>\u00a0offering the best Mediterranean cuisine and featuring rice, ham, cheese\u2026Once a year, the venue puts on a theatrical production of its own creation\u00a0<strong><em>Remembering Lorca<\/em><\/strong>, which recounts aspects of the poet&#8217;s life and his poems.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1841\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/24.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"623\" height=\"356\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/24.jpg 623w, https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/24-300x171.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 623px) 100vw, 623px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Although the tablaos began to enjoy a major tourist boom toward the end of the 80s, attracting tourists<em>\u00a0<\/em><em>from all walks of life<\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em>and of every nationality, this same boom put Spaniards off the tablaos. Mara explains that: \u201cWe have lost an entire generation of Spaniards who have never been to a tablao. Nowadays, the local audience is returning, but it\u2019s no easy job reaching them. They tend to come with visiting foreigners who just happen to be in town. But\u00a0<strong>once they do come, they\u2019re hooked<\/strong>, because flamenco is very much a part of who we are&#8221;. Mara believes these \u00a0<strong>cultural spaces<\/strong>\u00a0 that are so much part and parcel of Spain, ought to receive more support and attention: \u201cThey are becoming important again, but not as much as they ought to be. We still think that flamenco, our art and the work we do is more appreciated overseas than locally. That\u2019s why we call for the support of the institutions so that flamenco can once again occupy the place it deserves in the cultural life of the city\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the Caf\u00e9 de Chinitas \/ said Paquiro to his brother: \/ \u2018I am braver than you \/ a better bullfighter and a better gypsy\u2019. These are verses that\u00a0Federico Garc\u00eda Lorca\u00a0wrote as a tribute to the\u00a0oldest Caf\u00e9 Chantant in Spain\u00a0and direct ancestor of today\u2019s flamenco venues known in Spain as tablaos: Caf\u00e9 de Chinitas in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":1842,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[137,36,13],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1833"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1833"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1833\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1845,"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1833\/revisions\/1845"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}