The godfather of such a phenomenon, a certain Perico Chicote, was perhaps the best ambassador of that lysergic and rogue Madrid that suddenly attracted all the VIPs of the moment, both national and foreign. From Ava Gardner to Sophia Loren, from Hemingway to Lola Flores.
Everyone ended up entangled until the early hours within the four walls of Bar Chicote, opened in 1931 as a vanguard of the modernity that was brewing in the great capitals of the world. Perhaps this quote from playwright Miguel Mihura encapsulates, like a good broth, all the essences of this universal cocktail bar: "I was born in Madrid because it was the closest to Chicote." Amen.
"Perico Chicote started in a very humble way, working as a gofer here and there, from the Hotel Ritz to Bar Cock, on the parallel street of Calle de la Reina, until he decided to open his own business," explains Raúl Gómez Carmona, one of the partners and the public face of this temple of Madrid and beyond (now renamed as Museo Chicote, but with the essences of its almost 100 years of existence). "Suddenly, celebrities from all over the world, from Rita Hayworth to Frank Sinatra, made a stop in the capital of Spain just to go to Chicote. And Perico achieved that, he had an incredible public relations power."
With a degree in Business Administration and Psychology - "it seems they have nothing to do with each other, but it is essential to know the client and know how to listen" - Gómez Carmona joined the hospitality group Mercado de la Reina (owner of Museo Chicote) to advise them on corporate communication. But the good rapport led him to get involved in the shareholding. And today, from his partner's desk, he is also responsible for keeping the Chicote Brand alive in the 21st century. To preserve the original spirit, he has delved into the anecdotes of the venue, which are countless.
Like when the most beautiful woman in the world, then Sinatra's girlfriend, met Luis Miguel Dominguín and they got involved in a scandal that made headlines around the world. "He was bullfighting the next day, and Chicote called him and said, 'Rita Hayworth and Ava Gardner are here, you'll see,'" recalls Gómez Carmona. "As he was staying at the Hotel de las Letras, the bullfighter took 10 minutes to arrive. And that's where his story began. Chicote asked him, 'You don't speak English and she doesn't speak Spanish. How do you understand each other?' 'With the language of love,' he replied. And when Frank Sinatra found out, he took a plane alone to see it with his own eyes. Upon arriving at Chicote and finding the situation, he slapped the actress and left on his plane back to New York."
And how has such mythology adapted to modern times? "Well, with great care. We can look the other way, but it's 2024 and we have to evolve," says this advocate of Perico's memory. "We preserve a museum with some of the 110,000 bottles that Chicote managed to accumulate in the basement," from the flask that Neil Armstrong took to the Moon to the liquors gifted by all the celebrities who dropped by. Something that, by the way, he did not do. It is famous the occasion when Sophia Loren asked him for a bottle and he refused. "The next day, all the press of the time came out with the joke that Perico had said 'no' to La Loren, implying something else," says Gómez Carmona.
"We also preserve the reserved booths [VIP seats] perfectly marked. Ava's, Lola Flores's, Dalí's... And we continue to pay tribute to them through the cocktail menu. From Ava's Martini to Sophia Loren's Negroni, Hemingway's Papa Doble, who had the habit of drinking standing up because, he said, he wouldn't get as drunk...".
Without losing all these elements, Museo Chicote rides through today's Madrid with live music on Thursdays, complemented with a steak menu, DJ sessions on Fridays and Saturdays, and Sunday brunch. And to stay on the wave of modernity, it has just participated in the seventh edition of Madrid Cocktail Week, a true bacchanal that has placed the capital at the epicenter of the bar world. Good times, then, for this city that a century ago was on everyone's lips thanks to don Perico. "There is not a day when the city is empty: hotels have an occupancy of over 90%, to go to a restaurant or a cocktail bar you have to reserve in advance... The atmosphere is impressive, incredible things are being done in hospitality, and when the one next door improves, that leads you to improve too. The quality is increasing. Everyone is talking about Madrid."