Bygone places / Cabaret Los Globos, yet another victim of Uruchurtu’s puritanism, the “Iron Regent.”
Who would have imagined that a kindergarten could turn into a cabaret that, for 30 years, showcased the brightest stars?
By Alejandro Pohlenz
I had no idea (not that it’s surprising) that the actor Sergio Corona, who at 97 is still active on television, was a dancer! His headquarters: Cabaret Los Globos, a huge and glamorous two-story venue that emerged in the mid-1940s. (Here’s a photo of Mr. Sergio, wearing out the soles of his shoes).
According to the newspaper El Universal in 1953, an astonishing 3,500 cabarets were operating in Mexico City (meaning you could visit a different cabaret every day for 10 years without repeating). It’s truly a staggering number. Surely that’s why Carlos Monsiváis referred to the period between 1930 and 1960 as “the golden age of nightlife in Mexico City.” Cabaret Los Globos was a star of this unparalleled golden era.
The Cast of Los Globos
The list of stars who graced Los Globos’ stages is impressive. We begin with Mexico’s Diva: Silvia Pinal (we even have a picture of her).
But imagine this: Gina Romand, none other than María Félix, Pepe Jara, Marco Antonio Muñiz, Tony Bennett, and León Escobar. What a wonder it must have been to be there! And, as that presenter would say, “there’s more.” Los Globos also hosted Los Polivoces and the vedette Virma González. With such a lineup, I can’t understand why a journalist of the time described Los Globos as “a second-rate cabaret with first-class prices.”
The Regent’s Puritanism
In our notes on the now-extinct cabarets of the city, we’ve mentioned the “puritan wave” imposed by Regent Ernesto Uruchurtu, who took office in 1952 and decided to close cabarets en masse. Even so, despite being accused of selling adulterated alcohol, Cabaret Los Globos paid the fine and reinvented itself. It’s no surprise to say that many cabarets stayed alive thanks to their monetary “contributions” to officials of the Federal District government.
Los Globos, they say, gradually declined until it died in the early 1970s. It disappeared after reaching 30 years of life.
Address: Insurgentes Sur 810, Colonia del Valle, Mexico City.
Permanently Closed.
