Company

In 1943, El Café de Chinitas premiered at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, a production presented in the style of a flamenco ensemble and featuring a selection of traditional songs collected and harmonised by Federico García Lorca, performed by Encarnación López, La Argentinita. Salvador Dalí painted the backdrops that formed part of the set design for the occasion.

This new staging seeks to bring audiences closer to the most turbulent period in the relationship between the Catalan artist from Empordà and Federico García Lorca, which Dalí attempted to redeem through the set design he created for El Café de Chinitas. Reconstructions, adaptations and Dalí-inspired elements unfold in an endless succession of forms, with no apparent logic. The traditional music harmonised by Lorca becomes a mould into which Dalí fits his own distinctive and passionate way of understanding the Surrealist adventure: an adventure driven by the dreams of the unconscious.

A love story. Lorca is passion, freedom and social commitment. Lorca becomes the mirror in which Dalí sees himself reflected. Dalí is doubt. Dalí is fear of the feminine. Dalí closes his eyes to this mirage that threatens his own sexuality. Dalí breaks the mirror.

Lluís Danés [Programme for the BNE premiere]

"There are many different reasons why this production immediately seduced me, particularly, getting to know the fascinating and endless creative world of Dali’s symbols. In this choreography the motivation is even greater. Who could say no to Lorca and Dalí brought together under Flamenco Art? With all my respect for the version premiered by Encarnación López, "La Argentinita", whose exquisite performing style made her a flamenco leading figure, the creators of this new version have tried to shape characters to guide us through the story with their experiences and memories.  

This world of symbols, along with the depth and simplicity of Lorca’s Canciones Populares, is an ideal vehicle to create a show that becomes an invocation to Art, Beauty and Pain in order to unite us with Salvador and Federico beyond time."

José Antonio

Los cuatro muleros (El Café de Chinitas, Teatro de la Zarzuela, Madrid, 2006)