Taberna Flamenca Pepe Lopez and Los Cabales
Torremolinos is one of the oldest resorts on the Costa del Sol. In its heyday, back in the 1950s, some of the biggest stars of the day were visitors. Rita Hayworth, Ava Gardner, Marlon Brando, Orson Welles, Frank Sinatra, and Grace Kelly all came to Torremolinos. Torremolinos and Malaga provided locations for the shooting of the Brigitte Bardot film “Les bijoutiers du clair de lune.” The hotel, Pez Espada, where many of them stayed, is still operating and has a Frankie-themed bar. You can still sense Sinatra himself drinking right there at the bar!
Torremolinos boasts some of the finest beaches on the Costa del Sol, and there is a huge choice of restaurants, bars, and cafes. Torremolinos is renowned too for its colony of resident cats. On the day of our visit, the Where to See Flamenco (W2SF) team strolled along the Costa de la Carihuela promenade towards Playa Rincon de Sol and counted 30 cats in no time at all!
Torremolinos is still a fun party town and easily reachable on the Cercanias (suburban) railway or the M130 bus from the centre of Malaga. One fun eatery is right at the bottom of the steep steps leading down from the railway station and the famous Torre de Piementel to the sea. You can get a pizza there with chips as a topping: eating this novel pizza on the terrace at Restaurante Italiano Guadalupe, you will certainly attract the attention of passersby!
All of this was a lot of fun, but the W2SF team was also in Torremolinos to take in some flamenco. We had come to visit one of the most famous flamenco venues in Andalucia: Taberna Flamenca Pepe Lopez, located right in the town centre, a short walk from the train station.
This tablao is steeped in flamenco tradition. It opened in 1965, at a time when Torremolinos had already made its mark as an acclaimed international resort. The taberna was originally called “El Jaleo”, and some of the biggest names in flamenco played here: Camarón de la Isla, Paco de Lucía, Chiquito de la Calzada, Mariquilla, and Antonio Canales.
The venue seats 250, and it has an authentic vintage tablao feel, very much in keeping with the town of Torremolinos. Its atmosphere still reverberates with the sound of all those big names who played, sang, and danced on its stage down the decades.
The performers enthralling us with their dance skills were called Los Cabales. The first half of the show was a choreographed dance routine by a troupe consisting of two men and three women. They danced to pre-recorded music and this was a fantastic show by itself. One of our team members loves flamenco guitar and was feeling a tad disappointed when the interval arrived, despite the quality of the show. There was no need to worry: he would soon get his flamenco guitar fix.
A guitarist, singer, percussionist, and another dancer, who appeared to be in charge of the entire show, joined the other dancers after the interval. This part of the show was even more spectacular. With up to nine performers on the stage at any one time, we saw and heard a spellbinding performance of popular flamenco rhythms. It is rare indeed to see so many performers on a tablao stage.
The show lasted a total of 90 minutes, with a drink included in the price. One rather quirky detail was that guests could not order wine by the glass, but only by the bottle, shared between two people. This meant that if one half of a couple preferred a glass of wine while the other preferred a sangria, they were out of luck. We helped the waiter explain this to a bemused English couple who spoke very little Spanish! And it left us speculating why this rather curious rule existed: we are still none the wiser!
At 30€ for adults and 15€ for children, the show is excellent value. Check it out at Plaza de la Gamba Alegre, 29620 Torremolinos, Málaga.
Links:
Taberna Flamenca Pepe Lopez: https://tabernaflamencapepelopez.es/
Los Cabales: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1743997215745549