Bodeguita del medio
Encyclopedia
La Bodeguita del Medio is a typical restaurant-bar of Havana
(Cuba). It is very famous and touristy for the personalities that have patronized it: Salvador Allende
, the poet Pablo Neruda
, the writer Ernest Hemingway
, the artist Josignacio
and many others. La Bodeguita is also known as the birthplace of the Mojito cocktail, prepared in the bar since its opening in 1942.
The rooms full of curious objects, frames, photos, as well as the walls covered by signatures of famous or unknown customers, recount the island’s past. Along with the local food, cigars, music and mojitos, la Bodeguita del Medio offers a glimpse of Cuba’s typical atmosphere.
, made with rum, mint, sugar, lemon and club soda.
In 1949, the cook Silvia Torres aka “la china” prepared the food. Very quickly, the Casa Martinez became the centre of Havana’s cultural effervescence. Attracted by the bohemian charm of the place, writers, choreographers, musicians or journalists met there in a convivial ambiance. Encouraged by a the need for restaurants in the Old Havana at the end of the 50s, the place started to serve food to everyone.
On April 26, 1950, the name Bodeguita del Medio was officially adopted.
, Gabriela Mistral
, Agustín Lara
, Nat King Cole
, Marlene Dietrich
, Nicolás Guillén
and Ernest Hemingway
. “My mojito in La Bodeguita, My daiquiri in El Floridita” can still be read on the wall today, in Hemingway's handwriting.http://stockpress.de/2010/08/08/die-ewige-bodeguita/
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. http://www.freethefive.org/usTerrorism/USTerrOtherVoices92110.htm
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
(Cuba). It is very famous and touristy for the personalities that have patronized it: Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and politician who is generally considered the first democratically elected Marxist to become president of a country in Latin America....
, the poet Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He chose his pen name after Czech poet Jan Neruda....
, the writer Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
, the artist Josignacio
Josignacio
Jose Ignacio Sanchez Rius, known as Josignacio for artistic name, was born in Havana, Cuba on October 24, 1963. He is a contemporary Cuban Artist , neo-figurative, mostly abstract, who has resided in the USA since 1989 and he is notably known for the creation of the plastic paint medium in 1984...
and many others. La Bodeguita is also known as the birthplace of the Mojito cocktail, prepared in the bar since its opening in 1942.
The rooms full of curious objects, frames, photos, as well as the walls covered by signatures of famous or unknown customers, recount the island’s past. Along with the local food, cigars, music and mojitos, la Bodeguita del Medio offers a glimpse of Cuba’s typical atmosphere.
History
In 1942, Angel Martinez bought out the small Bodega La Complaciente in Empedrado Street, in the old Havana district. He renamed the place Casa Martinez. Angel Martinez sold typical Cuban products and, from time to time, served dinner to the regulars. But mainly, the people who were found at the Casa Martinez, were there to have a drink with their friends, and savor a brand new cocktail called MojitoMojito
Mojito is a traditional Cuban highball.Traditionally, a Mojito is not very strong and made of five ingredients: white rum, sugar , lime juice, sparkling water and mint. The original Cuban recipe uses spearmint or yerba buena, a mint variety very popular on the island...
, made with rum, mint, sugar, lemon and club soda.
In 1949, the cook Silvia Torres aka “la china” prepared the food. Very quickly, the Casa Martinez became the centre of Havana’s cultural effervescence. Attracted by the bohemian charm of the place, writers, choreographers, musicians or journalists met there in a convivial ambiance. Encouraged by a the need for restaurants in the Old Havana at the end of the 50s, the place started to serve food to everyone.
On April 26, 1950, the name Bodeguita del Medio was officially adopted.
Name’s origin
Among the first clients was Felito Ayon, a charismatic editor, who rubbed shoulders with the avant-garde of Havana, and put Casa Martinez 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.Menu
The menu is typically Cuban: boiled rice, black beans, pork shank, manioc, pig shank roasted in its juice, pork rinds and toasted fried plantains.Regulars
Numerous artists and celebrities were regulars of the Bodeguita : the poet Pablo Neruda, Gabriel Garcia MarquezGabriel García Márquez
Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez is a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo throughout Latin America. He is considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in...
, Gabriela Mistral
Gabriela Mistral
Gabriela Mistral was the pseudonym of Lucila de María del Perpetuo Socorro Godoy Alcayaga, a Chilean poet, educator, diplomat, and feminist who was the first Latin American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1945...
, Agustín Lara
Agustín Lara
Agustín Lara was a Mexican singer and songwriter.-Biography:Lara was born in Tlacotalpan, Veracruz. Later, the Lara family had to move again to Mexico City, establishing their house in the borough of Coyoacán. After Lara's mother died, Agustín and his siblings lived in a hospice run by their...
, Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
, Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
, Nicolás Guillén
Nicolás Guillén
Nicolás Cristóbal Guillén Batista was a Cuban poet, journalist, political activist, and writer. He is best remembered as the national poet of Cuba.Guillén was born in Camagüey, Cuba...
and Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
. “My mojito in La Bodeguita, My daiquiri in El Floridita” can still be read on the wall today, in Hemingway's handwriting.http://stockpress.de/2010/08/08/die-ewige-bodeguita/
1997 bomb
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 de 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. http://www.freethefive.org/usTerrorism/USTerrOtherVoices92110.htm
La Bodeguita worldwide
Today, there are establishments of the restaurant in other places of the world such as Mexico, United-States, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Macedonia, Slovakia, Colombia, Venezuela, Germany, England, Argentina and Lebanon. 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 mojitoExternal links
- labodeguitadelmedio.com.mx, Site of La Bodeguita del Medio Mexican restaurants chain
- tripadvisor.com, La Bodeguita del Medio
- bodeguita.com.ua, La Bodeguita del Medio in Kyiv, Ukraine
- http://www.labodeguita.com, La Bodeguita del Medio in Palo Alto, CA
- havana-guide.com
- youtube.com, Hasta siempre Commandante performed in Bodeguita del Medio
- fotopedia.com, Selected photos of Bodeguita del medio