The Los Angeles Room, a shelter for Cantinflas and Trostky, reopens after a pandemic

Neon lights lit up again and the floor was filled with dancers showing their best steps to the mambo rhythm in the hall. Angels, employment Mexico CityWhen resuming activities after a long break pandemic.

Veterans Pachoco and Rombra, in their eerie baggy bodysuits and sequined dresses, returned Friday night to this iconic space in the central Guerrero neighborhood after nearly two years of shutdown due to… COVID-19.

In this room, with 84 years of history, the actor danced Mario Moreno “Canteenflas” and the painter Diego Rivera, toast Leon Trotsky and great writers, while Zapatista fighters set up the Talking Table for Disarmament here in 1997.

“The confinement we faced in this epidemic was very difficult because we had to be isolated from everyone,” he told AFP. Miguel Angel Cisneros, 77, dance instructor.

The veteran dancer says that during confinement he listened to music and danced alone, recalling the choreographies he had performed for years, dressed in pachoco style in this space of proportions.

Represents the Mexican Pachuco who lived in southern United State In the 1930s, they dressed extravagantly in search of social recognition.

Facing imminent bankruptcy due to the shutdown, its owner launched a campaign to attract donations which he promised to compensate with certificates, tickets and a commemorative plaque.

“We live on loans, with the small reserves we had (…) and with some friends who were very kind to lend us at low rates,” he says. Miguel Nietowhose grandfather founded the hall.

The future is still complicated because a large portion of his clients are elderly people like Cisneros – highly vulnerable to coronavirus – who usually go for mambo, danzón and cha-cha dancing.

“The LA room is a species of dinosaur that is on the verge of extinction, but it is refusing to become extinct,” Nieto says.

With red and fuchsia walls, this bohemian corner retains a piece of the country’s history, so much so that its motto reads, “Whoever doesn’t know the LA Room, doesn’t know Mexico.”

Neto also mentions that in 1998 Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes celebrated the 40th anniversary of his novel “The Most Transparent Area” in the living room, along with Nobel Prize winners. Gabriel Gracia Marquez And Jose Saramago.

Various forums in Mexico City have resumed their activities since last October due to the sharp drop in infections, according to the authorities.

Mexico, with a population of 126 million, has recorded 3.8 million infections and 293,614 deaths, according to official figures.