Places That No Longer Exist / Cabaret La Fuente: show, dinner, and elegance
They say that only elegantly dressed guests attended this cabaret, and that its shows were of the highest quality.
By Alejandro Pohlenz
It wasn’t very common to find cabarets located in Colonia del Valle. During the heyday of Mexico City’s nightclubs, most of them were in the Historic Center of what was then called the Distrito Federal.
Unfortunately, I’ve found very few references to Cabaret La Fuente. What I can say for certain is that it flourished around 1950. It was described as “elegant” and featured (I quote verbatim) “an erotic and comic show for the wealthy.” Guests attended the cabaret “elegantly dressed” and could enjoy the show while having a highball and an exquisite dinner. Big names in show business performed on La Fuente’s stage: La Sonora Santanera, Olga Guillot, Celia Cruz, and Elsa Aguirre.
Mujeres Engañadas
I’d like to take the opportunity to share some gossip about Elsa Aguirre. The great actress participated in a telenovela I wrote titled “Mujeres Engañadas” (1999–2000). Basically, it was the drama of four couples who, in one way or another, were connected to the theme of infidelity. For example, Andrés García (RIP) had a mistress (he cheated on Laura León); Sabine Moussier cheated on Peniche; and Erick del Castillo, married to Elsa Aguirre (in the story), slept with his secretary (Susana González). In the plot, Elsa’s character asks her husband for a divorce (she catches him in the act), and the idea was for her to fall in love with the lawyer handling the separation: veteran actor Carlos Bracho. Elsa refused. She said Carlos was too old! (Elsa was over 70 at the time and wanted a younger lover).
In that same telenovela, Andrés García told me he knew a lot about the cinema of “Hickock” (sic). (He probably meant Alfred Hitchcock, not the belt brand.) He also told me something fascinating: that I was a good writer, but the problem was that I didn’t know how to write for him.
Well, after this detour, I should mention that in a 2002 article from La Jornada, it was announced that “the La Fuente Nightclub will reopen its doors (…) featuring 14 models who are just starting out in show business.” I don’t know what actually happened or whether it referred to a theatrical show that was planned.
Uruchurtu Strikes Again
As I’ve mentioned lately in our chats about extinct cabarets, La Fuente met the same fate as the others: it was run over by a steamroller named Uruchurtu. He ordered all nightclubs, cabarets, discos, etc., to close at 1 a.m. Cabaret La Fuente couldn’t survive and shut down in 1965. The building was demolished in 1976.
Insurgentes Sur 890, diagonal to San Antonio, Colonia del Valle, Distrito Federal.
Permanently closed.
