Villa-Rosa, Madrid

Villa-Rosa is a historic establishment in Madrid, originally a colmado (grocery) and later a tablao flamenco (flamenco venue) and restaurant. It is located in the Barrio de las Letras of the Centro district, at the corner of Callejón de Álvarez Gato and Calle Núñez de Arce, with its main entrance at number 17. The ground-floor façade is decorated with colorful ceramic panels by Alfonso Romero Mesa, based on sketches by Juan Ruiz de Luna, depicting postcards of major Spanish cities. The venue had its golden age in the first third of the 20th century, especially in the 1920s. It has closed and reopened several times; in 1996, after a restoration, it was recovered as a tablao flamenco and restaurant. Founded in 1911 as a fried-fish shop and tavern by three bullfighting assistants—the banderillero "Alvaradito" and the picadores Farfán and Céntimo—it occupied the site of an old chocolate mill. In 1918, Rafael Marcos Colombí turned it into a dining house, and a year later, Antonio Torres and Tomás Pajares, waiters from the neighboring Bar Viña P, transformed the premises in the "Arab-Andalusian style" with a coffered ceiling supported by columns and pointed lobed arches, and an imposing wooden counter. Its life as a tablao began in 1921, when Pajares took over the business and persuaded the singer Antonio Chacón to leave the tablao Los Gabrieles and settle at Villa Rosa. Chacón led Villa-Rosa until his death in 1929, but the tablao remained active for more than thirty years, until 1963, when it closed for a time. It reopened in 1964 until the 1970s, having lost its former splendor. Closed again, in the 1980s it was converted into a nightclub, during which Pedro Almodóvar used it as a setting for Tacones lejanos (High Heels). It reopened as a tablao—while still operating as a nightclub—in the first decade of the 2000s (October 2002 to May 2009). In 2011, the businessman Jesús Rodríguez Cerezal rented the premises and restored its tablao-restaurant activity. A controversy arose when Rodríguez Cerezal registered the name "Villa Rosa" for himself without informing the owners; after he left due to the 2020 pandemic, he sued subsequent tenants for using the name without authorization. As a result, the owners reluctantly changed the name of the venue after 111 years of history. Legal proceedings between the new tenants and the former tenant, as well as the owners' lawsuit accusing him of bad-faith registration, remain active. The venue has hosted numerous famous flamenco artists, including singers like Antonio Chacón, Fosforito el Viejo, and La Niña de los Peines; guitarists like Ramón Montoya; and dancers like Estampío. Its audience has included notable figures such as Ernest Hemingway, Ava Gardner, and Luis Miguel Dominguín. Villa-Rosa also appears in literature, such as Arturo Barea's La ruta and Max Aub's La calle de Valverde.

Villa-Rosa was founded in 1911 as a fried-fish shop and tavern by three bullfighting assistants: the banderillero "Alvaradito" and the picadores Farfán and Céntimo. It occupied the premises of an old chocolate mill. In 1918, Rafael Marcos Colombí converted it into a dining house, and a year later, Antonio Torres and Tomás Pajares, waiters from the neighboring Bar Viña P, transformed the locale following the tastes of the time, i.e., in "Arab-Andalusian style," with a coffered ceiling supported by columns on which pointed lobed arches ride, and an imposing wooden counter. The interiors, attributed to the workshop of Ruiz de Luna and Julián Santacruz, and the eight landscape panels decorating the entire exterior façade, painted by Alfonso Romero in 1927, are of special value in the context of the history of urban tilework in Madrid. Its life as a tablao began in 1921, when Pajares took over the business and managed to get the singer Antonio Chacón to leave the tablao Los Gabrieles, the dean of flamenco in Madrid, to settle at Villa Rosa. According to the venue's own sources, "the new stage began with a party organized by the Count of the Andes, a good aficionado, in honor of Chacón. He was accompanied by the great guitarist Ramón Montoya and the singer Manolo Pavón." Chacón remained at the head of Villa-Rosa until his death in 1929, but the tablao continued active for more than thirty years, until 1963, when it closed for a season. It reopened in 1964 until the 1970s, having lost its "former splendor." Closed again, in the 1980s it was converted into a nightclub, a period in which Pedro Almodóvar used it as a setting for Tacones lejanos (the scene starred Miguel Bosé and actresses Victoria Abril and Marisa Paredes). It reopened as a tablao—but without ceasing to operate as a nightclub—in the first decade of the 2000s (October 2002 to May 2009). In 2011, the businessman Jesús Rodríguez Cerezal rented the premises and restored its tablao-restaurant activity. A controversy arose when, after renouncing the lease contract, the owners discovered that Jesús Rodríguez Cerezal, shortly after renting the premises, had realized that no one had registered its name, and had decided to register it for himself without informing them. They became aware of this when, after leaving the premises due to the 2020 pandemic, he decided to sue the subsequent tenants for using the name Villa Rosa without his authorization. As a result, they reluctantly decided to change the name of the venue after 111 years of history. The legal proceedings between the new tenants and the former tenant, in which he claims large sums of money, remain active, as does the lawsuit that the owners filed against the former tenant, accusing him of bad-faith registration. The venue has hosted numerous famous flamenco artists, including singers Fosforito el Viejo, Escacena, Rafael Pareja, Pepe de la Matrona, Fernando el Herrero, Teresita Mazantini, El Macareno, Diego Antúnez, Juanito Mojama, Pepa Oro, Diana, el Niño de las Marianas, Bernardo el de los Lobitos, el Niño de Cabra, la Niña de los Peines, Manuel Torre, Jacinto Almadén, and Antonio Valdepeñas; guitarists Ramón Montoya, Miguel Borrull, Juan Gandulla "Habichuela," the brothers Luís and Antonio Molina, Ángel Baeza, Mariscal, Ángel Zurita, Javier Molina, Manolo de Huelva, and Pepe de Badajoz; and dancers Estampío, Faico, and Toni "El Pelao." To this long list must be added the major names of Fernanda de Utrera, Lola Flores, Imperio Argentina, Juanito Valderrama, Juan Varea, Miguel de Molina, Antonio Mairena, Antonio Arenas, José Antonio Díaz Fernández "Chaquetón," and Pepe Marchena. In addition to the general flamenco-loving public, the nighttime presence at its premises of the dictator and flamenco and theater aficionado Miguel Primo de Rivera has been well documented; an evaluation, perhaps legendary, notes 21 noble titles and a "subterranean masked visitor," King Alfonso XIII. More certain are the writer Ernest Hemingway, the actress Ava Gardner, and the bullfighter Luis Miguel Dominguín. In La ruta (1943), the second part of the autobiographical trilogy La forja de un rebelde, the writer Arturo Barea narrates that he frequented Villa Rosa in 1924 and also mentions how he met Don Miguelito, the then dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera, there. Barea described the venue thus: "Villa Rosa had a patio with a glass roof, imitating an Andalusian patio, full of flower pots, walls covered with tiles and imitation Moorish windows decorated with plaster." La calle de Valverde (1961), by Max Aub, mentions the venue: "I spend many nights at Villa Rosa listening to singers, so I regularly do not attend any of the first classes. I begin to diquelar between tarantas and malagueñas. Let one thing go for the other. But there is more—letting pedantry not be of this Madrid world. At Villa Rosa I met that journalist of old stock, Santibáñez del Río, who does not believe in great c..."

• 2020

  Pandemic closure; name controversy and legal disputes ensued.

• 2011

  Rented by Jesús Rodríguez Cerezal, who restored tablao-restaurant activity.

• 2009

  Closed again (May 2009).

• 2002

  Reopened as a tablao (October 2002).

• 1996

  Recovered as a tablao flamenco and restaurant after restoration.

• 1980

  Converted into a nightclub; used by Pedro Almodóvar for Tacones lejanos.

• 1964

  Reopened until the 1970s.

• 1963

  Closed for a season.

• 1929

  Antonio Chacón died; tablao continued for over thirty years.

• 1927

  Eight landscape panels painted by Alfonso Romero for the exterior façade.

• 1921

  Became a tablao flamenco when Tomás Pajares took over and Antonio Chacón joined.

• 1919

  Transformed in Arab-Andalusian style by Antonio Torres and Tomás Pajares.

• 1918

  Converted into a dining house by Rafael Marcos Colombí.

• 1911

  Founded as a fried-fish shop and tavern by Alvaradito, Farfán, and Céntimo.

Historic and authentic flamenco tablao and restaurant in the heart of Madrid, known for its cultural heritage and traditional Spanish atmosphere.

Product categories. Flamenco performances · Spanish cuisine · Nightclub events

• Trademark dispute over the name 'Villa Rosa'

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1. 1Villa-Rosa, Madrid - Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Villa Rosa (Madrid) - Wikipedia (Spanish)es.wikipedia.org