Cuba. La Bodeguita Del Medio 2

La Bodeguita del Medio is a typical restaurant-bar of Havana (Cuba). It is a famous tourist destination because of the personalities which have... more

by Viktor Birkus

Title

Cuba. La Bodeguita Del Medio 2

Artist

Viktor Birkus

Medium

Photograph - Photo

Description

La Bodeguita del Medio is a typical restaurant-bar of Havana (Cuba). It is a famous tourist destination because of the personalities which have patronized it: Salvador Allende, the poet Pablo Neruda, the artist Josignacio and many others. La Bodeguita lays claim to being the birthplace of the Mojito cocktail, prepared in the bar since its opening in 1942, although this is disputed. The rooms are full of curious objects, frames, photos, as well as the walls covered by signatures of famous or unknown customers, recounting the island’s past.
In 1942, Angel Martínez bought out the small Bodega La Complaciente in Empedrado Street, in the old Havana district. He renamed the place Casa Martínez.
On April 26, 1950, the name Bodeguita del Medio was officially adopted.
Among the first clients was Felito Ayon, a charismatic editor, who rubbed shoulders with the avant-garde of Havana, and put Casa Martínez on the map amongst his acquaintances. It is the way Felito Ayon used to indicate the location of the Bodeguita to his friends, that made popular the expression Bodeguita del Medio, that was to become its official name in 1950.
Inscription attributed to Ernest Hemingway
Numerous writers, artists and celebrities were regulars of the Bodeguita : the poet Pablo Neruda, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Gabriela Mistral, Agustín Lara, Nat King Cole, Nicolás Guillén, Julio Cortázar, Joan Manuel Serrat, Margaux Hemingway and Salvador Allende. Ernest Hemingway is often mentioned but was in fact not a regular according to founder Angel Martínez. The framed inscription that reads “My mojito in La Bodeguita, My daiquiri in El Floridita” is an unlikely autograph by Hemingway, according to biographer Philip Greene
In September 1997 a bomb went off in the Bodeguita as part of a bombing campaign against tourist spots that injured dozens and killed the Italian tourist Fabio di Celmo.
While no-one was killed in the Bodeguita, dozens were severely injured. Remarkably just moments before the explosion, the barman had agreed to have his picture taken with a tourist who later turned out to be Ernesto Cruz Leon, the Salvadorian mercenary arrested and convicted for planting the bomb.
Today, there are establishments of the restaurant in other places of the world such as Mexico, the United States, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Italy, Hungary, Macedonia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Germany, United Kingdom, Argentina, Australia, Lebanon, and China. In Spain, a company has opened four Bodeguitas del Medio, perfect replicas of the original Cuban restaurant. Today, tourists and locals continue to go to La Bodeguita del Medio to drink the authentic Cuban mojito.

Uploaded

August 24th, 2017