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El Gato Tuerto – 54 years old and still packing it for ‘filin’
Tickets had been sold out early that week, but I never suspected that such a small place could pack so many people, who effectively bumped into one another. Sitting at the tables, people chatted, laughed or shared intimate moments. I chose to sit at the bar and ordered a mojito. Settled there, with cocktail in hand, I felt like I too was part of the history of this place.
Before 1959, El Gato Tuerto was one of the two bars in Havana that opened 24/7. The owner would sometimes delight guests with trumpet solos, and in time, the club began to attract popular musicians as well as artists of all kinds. But it was the charismatic editor and cultural promoter Felito Ayón (who rubbed shoulders with the avant-garde of Havana) who put El Gato Tuerto on the map turning it into an intimate, glamorous and select place, chosen by Havana intellectuals for their nocturnal meetings. The house was refurbished and when it reopened on August 31, 1960 it had already become famous for being the place to enjoy the best “filin.”
Throughout the years, the club’s walls have been graced with paintings by renowned Cuban artists, like Acosta León, Mariano Rodríguez, Luís Mariano Pedro, Alberto Falcón, Tomás Marai and Raúl Tapia. And the restaurant’s first dinner service was designed by Amelia Peláez (author of the spectacular mural on the façade of the Habana Libre Hotel).
But August 31 was special. Musicians and singers filled the stairs are tuning up their instruments and their voices. The show was presented by the popular Cuban TV host Julio Acanda, who is also the artistic director of El Gato Tuerto. He has managed to bring El Gato back into the spotlight with a new generation of musicians who, although continuing to perform songs from the filin repertoire, have also incorporated other rhythms, aesthetics, lyrics and thoughts that are making El Gato a place of renewal that takes pride in good Cuban music.
The restaurant on the second floor, which faces the sea, had been decorated with works by painters Fabelo, Mendive, Lara and Maikel Herrera, as part of an exhibition on occasion of the anniversary. Passersby around the Malecón, O Street or the Nacional Hotel could easily make out a projection on the tall building next to the club that said “I love El Gato Tuerto” amidst colors and lights, the work of the Cuban video mapping group *.IMG.
The party ended with cheers and a toast to the club’s long life, which was honored by the countless musicians who performed that evening at El Gato Tuerto and the enthusiastic crowd who were lucky enough to take part in the celebration.
El Gato Tuerto
Calle O e/ 17 y 19, Vedado
(+53) 7-833-2224Cover CUC 3
Open 12m-4am
Performances from 10pm
Note 1: filin, a renovating movement in Cuban song that evolved from bolero and trova, and was influenced by jazz.
September 2014 This article formed part of the September 2014 issue of What’s On Havana The definitive monthly travel & culture guide to Havana Download our current issue of What’s On Havana, your definitive travel, culture and entertainment guide for all things happening in Havana, Cuba’s bustling and enigmatic capital city. We include features from around Cuba written by the best international travel writers covering Cuba. Our monthly online digital magazine is also available in Spanish and French.
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