Clubbing

So here’s hoping Carlitos Group – owners of a slew of locations including Zac Club, Broadbar (now Suite) and Café Royale – can make this sumptuous venue work. It would seem to be the right moment for cabaret, with burlesque rising up out of the murky depths of the city’s S&M scene last year and pushed onto the indie stage by Apolo’s Taboo, and with El Molino’s spectacular reopening after a 13-year, €15 million renovation—a capstone to the resurgence of Av. Paral.lel’s theater culture. After a hundred odd years, cabaret is back.

To this americano, the opening last month was slightly surreal, as I didn’t share the crowd’s enthusiasm for Spanish celebrity journalist’s Karmele Marchante’s Eurovisión-esque performance (complete with muscle men dancers) nor do I understand Spain’s fascination with its most famous transvestite, Carmen de Mairena, who seemed a bit grumpy onstage. These are, I suppose, the cultural pitfalls of being a guiri in a strange land.

It is inspiring, however, to see something new in Barcelona’s nightlife, and that raises the bar on entertainment beyond “DJ with visuals.” In December, Cabaret Berlin hosts Mama Cómprame un Pony (Mom Buy Me a Pony) – we’ll refrain from speculating on the meaning of the title – created and led by drag queen Gina Burdel, and which will see de Mairena once again in the spotlight. The 90-minute performance, spiced with black humor, mixes dance, performance and cabaret. We’ll welcome anything but another tragedy.