Latest news from Bocaccio. January 2020 (IV)

Oriol Regàs inaugurated the Bocaccio boîte on February 13, 1967 and since then we have not stopped talking about the Gauche Divine, in fortunate denomination of Joan de Sagarra. In “The Divine Years” (Destination), Regàs remembered that the first song that sounded was “Good vibrations” by the Beach Boys, followed by “Monday, Monday” by The Mamas & The Papas. «He drank without a brake, since the bar was free, but nobody exceeded. The usual drinks of the moment were the gin-tonic -someone renamed the writers of the school of Barcelona as the gin-tonic generation- and whiskey ».

The first night of Bocacció concluded with the music of “Mourir à Madrid”, a documentary by Frèderic Rossif about the Civil War. In addition to Oriol and his brother Xavier, Antonio de Senillosa, Carlos Durán, Jaime Camino, Pere Portabella, Amparo Soler Leal, Joan Manuel Serrat, Pertegaz, Paco Godia, Serena Vergano, Antonio Gades, Jaime Gil de Biedma, Terenci Moix, Elena Klein , Alberto Puig Palau -the Uncle Alberto of the song-, Teresa Gimpera, Armand Carabén, Xavier Miserachs …

Most are no longer among us. Nor Oriol Maspons, Ana María Moix, Eugenio Trías, Jacinto Esteva, Xavier Corberó, Tato Escayola, Jaume Perich, Carlos Barral, Josep Maria Castellet … His only mention illustrates the cultural octane of Barcelona that lit up the Latin American boom. That garnet velvet landscape with modernist furniture still has voices that transit it with memory. Toni Vall congregates them in «Bocaccio. Where it all happened »(Destination).

Vall, who never stepped on Bocaccio, – that night of 67 was five and a half years old – has turned his collector’s passion into objects that allow recreating the Gauche Divine temple: «Matches, coasters, decorative objects, design, clothes, bibelots , gifts, trousseau, magazines, press cards, invitations, drinks, advertising material, postcards… The certainty of being in front of something very relevant, a pioneer in merchandising and the creation of an unmistakable brand, ”he explains.

The photographer Colita corroborates it: «They invented a marketing worth studying… And the music? What music! They went to London for records. What was playing in Bocaccio could not be heard on the radio, it was important to Xavier Miserachs ».

Success

In 1975 musical sessions are organized: Genesis, Lou Reed, Traffic, Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Gerry Mulligan, Crosby Stills and Nash, Emerson Lake and Palmer and Rolling Stones. «There came a time when the Bocaccio brand was so popular that many companies were approaching. To speak of success in Barcelona was to speak of Bocaccio, ”said Elisenda Nadal and Jesús Ulled.

Before inventing «Interviú» and other dozens of magazines, José Ilario invented «Barabbas», «Please» and «Bocaccio» with a luxury «staff»: Juan Marsé, Xavier Miserachs, Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, Ana Maria Moix, Josep Maria Carandell, Enrique Vila-Matas, José Luis Guarner, Domènec Font, Chumy Chumez, Ivà, Tom, Romeu, Perich, Colita …

Bocaccio, clarifies Teresa Gimpera, was not just a place of “beautiful people” that did not hit: “I spent my life rolling. I worked like a donkey and I have never stopped working ». «All of the Gauche Divine, those of us who went to Bocaccio, worked. And women too, which makes it even more unique, ”adds Rosa Regàs. The cultural bridge with the capital of Spain was consolidated with the Madrid Bocaccio frequented by Monica Randall: “It was very important during the Transition,” says the actress.

The editor Jorge Herralde presented in Bocaccio «Philosophy and Carnival», by Eugenio Trías, and «The Exquisite Left», by Tom Wolfe. Another Herralde, Gonzalo, remembers that his laconism deserved Ana Maria Moix to call him Gintonic: “The only word he uttered.” The most common word on the boîte was “freedom,” says Oscar Tusquets. The “divine” of that “gauche” bothered the communists: “They were like priests, they led a restrained, moderate, castrated life,” notes Beatriz de Moura. The PSUC and the nationalists agreed to identify Bocaccio with hell, Salvador Clotas concludes.

Culture and pleasure Roman Gubern regrets having been “little flirt.” And when he asked a girl to go to bed with him… “She said yes, but that another friend was coming with us, much less graceful than her. I didn’t think it was a good idea. Enrique Vila-Matas tells Vall the first conversation in Bocaccio with Marsé: «You, kid, do you want to make films, right? And you also want to write true? ”Asked the author of“ If they tell you that I fell ”.

In Bocaccio the minimum consumption cost 125 pesetas. Serrat retains the velvety stool that Regàs gave him and that he uses in his recitals. In case the flies, he commissioned two replicas. Guillermina Motta owns another stool and evokes his insistence on meeting Vargas Llosa: “And when will you introduce me to Mario?” He said to García Márquez. Bocaccio deserves the adjective “mythical,” says Joan de Sagarra. “If Bocaccio’s years were suppressed from my life, it would not be as I am,” says Serena Vergano