Café Novelty
40°57′55.23″N 5°39′49.09″W / 40.9653417°N 5.6636361°W
The Café Novelty (Coffeehouse Novelty) is the oldest café in the city of Salamanca (Spain), which was founded in 1905 and is situated in the main square of the city, Plaza Mayor de Salamanca.[1] Its first owners were the García brothers.[2] From the beginning of the Spanish Civil War to 1964 it was named Café Nacional. It was 4 times bigger than it is nowadays and it very soon became a favorite meeting place for writers, artists and politicians, due to its privileged position in the city.[3]
The most outstanding patrons of the Café Novelty are
From 1999, with the help of the members of the cultural society of Salamanca, a magazine of the café, "Los papeles del Novelty", has been published.
History of Café
Its first owners were Vicente and Federico García Martín.[2] The interior of the Café occupied a space 4 times bigger than it has today. It had billiard tables, a restaurant, and a dance pavilion with colored atrium.[5] One enters the salons of the Café through a revolving brass door that exemplifies the chic detail of the interior. To the right of the entrance usually united merchants, stock-breeders, manufacturers and rightists participate in the daily tertulia, and to the left, liberals, medics, lawyers and professors of the university etc. take seat. In the round salon with glass colored ceiling once played an orchestra and there were organized many luxurious weddings, and visitors liked to dance there. At the table of Café Novelty, in 1923, was signed the resolution of foundation of Football Club of Salamanca.[4]
Up until the Spanish Civil War Café Novelty had a luxury, splendid life and proof of the special role of the Café at that time was an incognito dinner organized for the Spanish king, Alfonso XIII.[5] During the Spanish Civil war the clientele of Café were divided, as was the country. Some people such as
From 1950s till 1970s
During some years in the 1950s–1960s, the owner of the café was D. Aureliano, an elegant merchant that had suspicious business in
In the beginning of the 1970s it was repaired again and decorated with corner sofas. The café turned into a centre of political secrecy, often opposed to the ideology of Franco, and in its remote salons were held reunions to write manifestos and to hide duplicating machines. In 1978 the city hall of Salamanca, which was the owner of the real estate, proposed the necessity of confiscation of certain premises, and after the trial on 1 April, the café was closed. But after difficult negotiations and the gift of a one-third part of the building to the city hall (which was used for its offices) the café was once again opened in 1979 and redecorated by Salvador Yáñez.
From the 1980s
From the 1980s until now it recovered its bygone splendor as has the
Well-known visitors
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Estatua_Gonzalo_Torrente_Ballester_Cafe_Novelty_Salamanca.jpg/250px-Estatua_Gonzalo_Torrente_Ballester_Cafe_Novelty_Salamanca.jpg)
Writers
- Unamunoto create a political party.
- Carmen Martín Gaite – author and habitual visitor.
- Poets Angel Gonzalez, Claudio Rodríguez, and Antonio Colinas.
- Gonzalo Torrente Ballester, Vargas Llosa, Francisco Umbral, and Juan Benet.
Artists
- sculptor Fernando Mayoral.
- José Ignacio Bermúdez Vázquez – graphic designer.
Politics
- In the 50s a banquet was held in honour of Francisco Franco when the University of Salamanca awarded him an honorary degree.
- The President of the United States of America – Jimmy Carter.
- The President of France – François Mitterrand.
- The President of the European Commission – Jacques Delors.
- Spanish politics: During the Spanish transition to democracy Santiago Carrillo organized political meetings in the city. The Prime Minister of Spain – José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. Mariano Rajoy and Rodrigo Rato.
Gallery
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Fernando Mayoral with his sculpture in honor of Gonzalo Torrente Ballester.
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The party of centenary of Café Novelty.
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Víctor García de la Concha in one presentation in Café Novelty of Salamanca, in 1995, with authors Manuel Fernández Álvarez and Paco Novelty.
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The city hall of Salamanca near to the terrace of café.
References
- ^ a b "Café Novelty". iwannagothere.com. Archived from the original on 6 March 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
- ^ a b "Novelty, centenario" (in Spanish). elpais.com. 6 June 2005. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
- ^ "Salamanca useful information". infoidiomas.com. Archived from the original on 15 January 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
- ^ a b "Nuevas equipaciones 09-10" (in Spanish). udsalamanca.net. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
- ^ a b c d "El Café y su historia" (in Spanish). cafenovelty.com. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
- ^ "El pesimismo de la inteligencia" (in Spanish). Ricardo García Cárcel. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
- ^ "Salamanca rinde homenaje a Torrente Ballester, 'el señor de las palabras'" (in Spanish). EFE. 13 June 2010. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
- ^ "El presidente de la Real Academia define a Torrente Ballester como "el señor de las palabras"" (in Spanish). AGENCI EFE. 13 June 2010. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
Publications
- Grande del Brío, Ramón (), Un día en el Café Novelty , Librería Cervantes (Salamanca).
- Jesús Formigo, Pedro Ladoire, Paco Novelty y Francisco Castaño. (1999), "Café Novelty", Ediciones Café Novelty.
External links
- Café Novelty Official website.