Cafe Mambo, one of Ibiza’s most iconic music venues, first opened its doors in 1994 thanks to the unswerving dream of Navarro Basque businessman Javier Anadon. The site, on San Antonio’s ‘Sunset Strip’, had previously given over to four small derelict houses neighbouring a larger property home to several local beatnik artists prominent during the Sixties and Seventies. Anadon was well familiar with the area’s cultural, bohemian past. He first arrived on the White Isle with his Scottish girlfriend (now wife) in 1976 to look for employment. Before long he was working at West End joint Nitos, and in love with the local vibe. “It was unbelievable and everybody came to experience it” he recalled in a 2013 interview. “A beautiful area of vibrant bars and music full of Spanish, British, Dutch and a lot of Swedish people; a great mix with artistic and bohemian quarters.”
Anadon, armed with a marketing degree and partner firmly by his side, set about taking things further. The pair opened the famous Bucaneros bar in San Antonio Bay, which would subsequently trigger a chain of popular Ibicencan bars and restaurants. Today, Mambo sits proudly as Anadon’s flagship brand. So what was the specific moment that sparked it into life?
Ibiza’s club revolution of the late Eighties had ushered in a thrilling new wave of creativity and free spirit, in line with the island’s earliest musical roots. However, the club scene was growing quickly and European holiday operators were taking note. Almost overnight Ibiza’s tourist industry exploded. The industry’s inevitable focus on profit started to change the Ibicencan way of life. “The power of the package tourist model changed things” Anadon confirmed, “and when Pepe Rosello left Play [one of San Antonio’s most popular bars] to build Space in 88, San Antonio lost somebody important. I love San Antonio very much, it has been special to me and my family. I want to bring back the good days when the town was full of artists and culture; times that people do not talk about now. For me Ibiza is always Bohemian, always hippy and charming. I have been very lucky here and Ibiza is my home.”
1994 was to prove a pivotal year. Anadon wanted to expand by opening a new bar that would be known internationally as much for its music as its food and atmosphere. It was at this time that trance anthem ‘Energy 52’ by Cafe Del Mar was busting dance charts and floors all over Europe. The accompanying promo video beguiled audiences with its depiction of a DJ questing through a pure Ibiza landscape of ancient fincas and windmills, stunning coastline and, of course, Cafe Del Mar itself. The venue, close to Mambo’s site, had opened 14 years prior and with Jose Padilla as pioneering DJ lead established itself as the Mecca of Balearic Beat – that arrestingly languid splice of soulful post-disco electronica beguiling music lovers all across the island, and globe. ‘Energy 52’, therefore, offered a vivid reminder of Ibiza’s Bohemian charms and would help catapult Mambo into its own sunset spotlight.
Anadon’s venue needed a name though. It was local character Stuart ‘Scooby’ Cochran who casually suggested Mambo and, in turn, formally signified the bar’s place in Ibiza history. “I knew straight away that was it, as it reflected the ‘Mambo style’ of music” Anadon later reflected. “I love Cuba and the name just sounded right, so Cafe Mambo was born.”
Mambo’s arrival was immaculately timed. The popularity of ‘Energy 52’ (part of the wider Balearic dance boom) drove reams of international broadcast media and party-seeking holidaymakers to the Sunset Strip to witness its epic nightfalls – all to the blissful soundtrack of Del Mar and now Mambo too. “I was very lucky to capture that moment with some great people,” Anadon stated, “many from Britain who became our good friends returning year after year.”
Early resident Jason Bye (still a resident today) helped the venue hit critical mass during its first 18 months. Within a year, Kiss FM had hosted Mambo’s first live radio broadcast. Mambo had also attracted major guest DJs including Graeme Park. It was a quick progression to Mambo’s first BBC Radio 1 Weekender in 1995 (the first of many), featuring superstar spinners Pete Tong and Roger Sanchez. In the same year, the similarly influential likes of Jeremy Healy, Brandon Block and Sasha were also starting to play regularly. Mambo was becoming hallowed Balearic ground.
In 1997 the venue heralded its first compilation album, which offered a sublime overview of its evolving musical credentials – classic electronic contemplations from William Orbit and Orbital leading into swinging house fun via Ultra Nate (remixed by speed garage merchants RIP), The Heartists and Bobby D’Ambrosio. Compilation albums would become an annual, feverishly anticipated occurrence, just as they were for Cafe Del Mar.
However Mambo’s sound was generally more uptempo than Del Mar’s, and with a slightly stronger connection to the clubs now dominating the island. The healthy competition between Del Mar and Mambo (not to mention Savannah, opened by the Mambo empire in 1997) would play an integral part in the development of Ibiza’s prominent ‘pre-party’ scene. “Pre-parties began because we invited DJs and promoters from all over the world to come to do parties...to compete with Cafe Del Mar” Anadon once commented. “That’s how it all started.”
Mambo, today, operates a variety of top drawer pre-parties for some of Ibiza’s biggest club brands and events. It’s the culmination of (and expansion from) long-running relationships with dance titans including Pacha and Defected. Anadon, in his early 60s, continues to push on with plans but has his grown-up sons Christian and Alan – the so-called Mambo Brothers – on hand to drive the day-to-day (and night-to-night) agenda. And a fine job they are doing. Both were born and raised on the island, and thereby understand its unique history and charm. Learning, too, from their father, the pair has taken Mambo’s reins fully understanding the important of protecting the venue’s original mission statement – to deliver world class, cutting edge music in a superior wining, dining and sun-setting environment.
Mambo has enjoyed countless highlights during its lifetime. DJ sets by Frankie Knuckles, Paul Oakenfold, Groove Armada and Faithless spring to mind, so too those by Laurent Garnier (his set in 2008 a particular favourite of Anadon Senior) and a number of acts for Mambo’s 20th anniversary celebrations last year. Beyond that, there have been captivating performances from jazz-tinged live acts like Brand New Heavies, Jocelyn Brown and Jamie Cullum, Unsurprisingly, Mambo’s inspired mix of events and sounds has earned it a series of industry accolades; not least, on multiple occasions, the DJ Award for Best Bar In Ibiza.
Then venue’s residents are also crucial. Bye continues to play; as does the revered Pete Gooding, Mambo’s longest-serving ‘in house’ DJ with over 2000 sunsets tucked lovingly under his belt. Both, alongside Andy Baxter (other DJ credits including Pacha and We Love....), Danny O (a producer/engineer with his own label, Proof), Dee Montero and Javi Barreda provide the broadest and most essential of soundtracks for any visitor to Ibiza - everything from house and techno to jazz, soul and reggae, all with lashings of feeling and atmosphere.
This year’s Mambo line-up is another stonker. The relationship with Pacha remains important, six of Mambo’s weekly pre-parties aligned to corresponding Pacha nights Aoki’s Playhouse (Monday), Martin Solveig My House (Wednesday), David Guetta’s F*** Me I’m Famous (Thursday), Insane (Friday), Pure Pacha – Paris By Night (Saturday) and Solomun +1 (Sunday). The remaining (Tuesday) slot is the domain of the Together and Defected In The House parties – a welcome extension of Mambo’s partnership with Defected promising further thrilling exploration of the soulful house and tech space in all its forms. The detail of line-ups is expected to emerge in the coming days.
Longer-term, the Anadon family is considering the right opportunities to expand their brand internationally. The suitors are there...have been for some time now. Anadon Senior has spoken before about his desire to open a Cafe Mambo in London before the end of 2016, as well as admitting to considering plans for a couple of Mambo hotels in Ibiza – one in San Antonio, one (boutique) in the red earth countryside. Then there’s Mambo’s own distinctive brand of hierbas (a digestif and local delicacy) which many people, according to Anadon, want to sell on Mambo’s behalf. The future for the Cafe is as bright as the iconic sunsets that it faces every dusk.
“For me the essence of Cafe Mambo is Ibicenco hospitality,” Anadon Senior explains, “and looking after every single person.” Its success, too, lies in its seamless blend of heritage and progression. A look inside the world famous bar reveals traditional mosaic and marble juxtaposed with state-of-the-art HD sound and video systems, in-house TV broadcasts (boasting a worldwide audience of one million viewers) and a live streaming radio station.
As it and the wider island advances, Anadon is keen to ensure cohesion and sensitivity in every sense: “It’s very important for the future direction of Ibiza that the island works together 100%. Ibiza is about the music, the beaches and the nice hotels – to care now is important. Ibiza is one of the top places in the world and with so much money on the island, now is the time to plan its future. It must come from a sense of Ibiza, the people of the island must drive it.”
Just as Anadon and sons are - the Mambo legend kicks ‘n’ flicks on....
Words: Ben Lovett
Defected In The House hosts pre-parties at Cafe Mambo throughout the season. Follow Defected Records on Twitter for the latest updates.
For more on Cafe Mambo visit www.cafemamboibiza.com. For full Defected In The House and Together listings at Amnesia, head to http://defected.com/events/
