Floridita
23°08′14″N82°21′26″W/ 23.137317°N 82.357324°W
El Floridita | |
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Former names | La Piña de Plata |
General information | |
Type | Commercial |
Architectural style | Neo classical |
Location | Obispo and Monserrate streets |
Address | 557 Obispo |
Town or city | ![]() |
Country | ![]() |
Inaugurated | 1817 |
Owner | Constantino Ribalaigua Vert |
Height | |
Architectural | 6m |
Tip | 9m |
Antenna spire | 10m |
Roof | 8m |
Technical details | |
Structural system | Wood |
Material | Masonry |
Floor count | Two |
Known for | daiquiri |
Floridita(Spanish pronunciation:[floɾiˈðita]) orEl Floriditais a historic fish restaurant and cocktail bar in the older part ofHavana(La Habana Vieja),Cuba.It lies at the end ofCalle Obispo(Bishop Street), across Monserrate Street from the National Museum of Fine Arts of Havana (Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana). The establishment is famous for itsdaiquirisand for having been one of the favourite hangouts ofErnest Hemingwayin Havana. The bar now boasts a life size bronze statue of Ernest Hemingway positioned in his favourite spot at the end of the bar. On a small plaque hanging in El Floridita, hangs Hemingway's signed quote: "My mojito in the Bodeguita del Medio and my daiquiri in the Floridita".[1]
History
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/94/Floridita_bar%2C_Havana%2C_Cuba_1.jpg/220px-Floridita_bar%2C_Havana%2C_Cuba_1.jpg)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/57/Daiquiri%2C_Floridita_bar%2C_Havana%2C_Cuba.jpg/150px-Daiquiri%2C_Floridita_bar%2C_Havana%2C_Cuba.jpg)
The bar opened in 1817 with the name "La Piña de Plata" (English:The Silver Pineapple) in the place it still occupies, on the corner of Obispo and Monserrate streets. Almost 100 years later, the large number of North American tourists persuaded the owner to change the name to "El Florida".[2][3]
In 1914, theCatalanimmigrant Constantino Ribalaigua Vert started working in the bar ascantinero(bartender). Constantino, nicknamedConstante,became the owner in 1918. Constante is credited for inventing the frozendaiquiriin the early 1930s, a drink that became linked to the fame of the place, whose motto is now "la cuna del daiquiri" (the cradle of the daiquiri). The bar became a school of highly skilledcantineros(bartenders) specialised in cocktails prepared with fresh fruit juices andrum,whose traditions are still preserved by the disciples of Constante.[3]
The writerErnest Hemingwayfrequented the bar, which is at the end ofCalle Obispo,a short walk from theHotel Ambos Mundoswhere he maintained a room from 1932–1939. Hemingway's children also noted that in the early 1940s Hemingway and his wife "Mary" (Martha Gellhorn) continued to drive from their house outside Havana (Finca Vigía) to the Floridita for drinks.[4]The establishment today contains many noticeablememorabiliaof the author, with photographs, a bust, and more recently (2003), a life-size bronze statue at the end of the bar near the wall, sculpted by theCubanartistJosé Villa Soberón.
Hemingway wasn't the only famous customer of the bar.[5]The establishment was frequented by many generations ofCubanand foreign intellectuals and artists.Ezra Pound,John Dos Passos,andGraham Greene,the British novelist who wroteOur Man in Havana,were also frequent customers.
The place still preserves much of the atmosphere of the 1940s and 1950s, with the red coats of the bartenders matching the Regency style decoration that dates from the 1950s, although now most of its customers are occasional tourists. Besides thecocktails,the place is well known[6]for its expensive seafood.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"Havana Hemingway".
- ^"Floridita's story".floridita-cuba(in Spanish). Bar – Restaurante Floridita. Archived fromthe originalon 9 February 2010.Retrieved12 December2009.
- ^ab"Floridita's story".elfloridita.net. Archived fromthe originalon 19 August 2009.Retrieved12 December2009.
- ^Forward to The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway: The Finca Vigía Edition, Ernest Hemingway, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1987,ISBN0-684-84332-3.See alsoThe Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway.
- ^Stock, Wolfgang (19 February 2011)."Hemingway and friends drink their Daiquiri in El Floridita".StockPress.de(in German).
- ^"FLORIDITA, Havana - Obispo 557 Esquina a Monserrate - Menu, Prices & Restaurant Reviews".
External links
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- "El Floridita".World's Best Bars.Retrieved16 May2016.
- El Floridita Website
- Hemingway in El Floridita
- Hernández, Reina (10 April 2007)."The Most Famous Patron of the Most Famous Bar in Havana".CubaNow.net.Retrieved12 December2009.[dead link]