Federico García Lorca returns to prop up bar at legendary Malaga café

Tourists walk along the street without stopping. Some of them using the GPS on their mobile phones that takes them to the door. Still with the devices in their hand they focus on the plaque that Malaga city hall installed a few years ago on the façade of the building and which reminds us that 'here was the Café Cantante de Chinitas"', the mythical flamenco temple immortalised by the poet Federico García Lorca in his own handwriting.

Still with their mobile phone in hand, they translate the text into their own language and then peer through the glass panes of the door of the still-closed premises. But the activity inside is incessant; workers are finalising the details of what will be the resurrection of this emblematic café, which is set to reopen in the spirit of a modern bar. Those peering through the door will see a white sheet covering what looks like a person already propping up the bar of the soon-to-reopen El Café de Chinitas.

"We have tried to bring back the spirit of that café and for this corner to be what it was a century ago", explains interior designer Eduardo Criado, who takes a step forward and ceremoniously removes the white sheet that reveals a life-size statue of Federico García Lorca. The poet is propping up the large circular bar, which has been designed to resemble a bullring and pen and notebook in hand, he could even be writing the poem he wrote about the iconic place: "In el Café de Chinitas / Paquiro said to his brother: / "I am braver than you, / more bullfighter and more gypsy".

"Next to Federico and on the bar, there will be a reproduction of the complete poem so that everyone who comes to the bar can read it", Criado points out about the statue which was made by the Moreno Brothers who are also from Granada. The decorator leaves the sheet to one side and throws his arm over the poet, as thousands of tourists do every day with the statue of Picasso in the Plaza de la Merced. A gesture that suggests the photo Marilú Báez captures with her camera for this report will be the first of many.

El Café de Chinitas is expected to open its doors at the end of September. An update of the legendary tablao that also aims to make its denomination of origin clear. "We have registered the name, so we are the only ones who can use it", points out Karim Allan Bandack, who along with businesswoman Alicia Lapaz has revived this Malaga icon.

The other key to the new bar is the bullfighting atmosphere, which also responds to Lorca's literary origins. "The bar is not only one of the largest in Malaga, but its circular shape is reminiscent of a bullring, crowned by what looks like a Cordoban hat", explains Eduardo Criado, of Studio 1969, who directed the refurbishment carried out by Innovadecor Constructores.

Photos of Ordóñez or Hemingway, snapshots of Lola Flores and posters of La Malagueta cover the walls of this spacious premises, which has also made the 'botijo' a decorative hallmark. "Like the barrels of the Pimpi, they will also be signed by celebrities who come to visit El Café de Chinitas", says the man in charge of recovering the flavour of the old tablao converted into a bar with a modern touch in its style and menu.

There will be no shortage of music at the new venue, which has already ordered a piano and a guitar. "Anyone who wants to will be able to play. And if you stay all night, you are guaranteed free food and drink", says Karim Allan Bandack, who also emphasises gastronomy, which will be the responsibility of one of the students of La Cónsula, Sandra Pérez.

"It will be a commitment to Malaga and traditional cuisine and to tapas, whether at the bar or at the table, but with a modern and fusion touch", explains the manager of El Café de Chinitas, Manolo Medina, who adds that there will be a nod to Lorca with a dish inspired by Granada. And on the drinks menu, the infallible beer, as well as a commitment to Casa de Guardia and Málaga Virgen wines. "We have reached an agreement to bottle our own 18º wine, which we will age here", he adds.

Workers and technicians are putting the finishing touches to the bar and they are joined by the architect Rafael Salas, responsible for the renovation work on a historic building that has taken four years to complete since 2020, as it started in the middle of the pandemic. "The recovery of this old café is the soul of the building", he says, as he rests a hand on one of the marble columns that remain from the original construction.

Past and present coexist not only in the walls, but also in the menu and the spirit of the establishment that aims to revive Malaga's literary and bar heritage. "The new Café de Chinitas will occupy the space left by the closure of Café Central", says Eduardo Criado to Federico García Lorca who keeps an eye on him.