The mythical Tito's nightclub in Palma moves to Magaluf
The announcement a few days ago of the closure of Tito's nightclub It caught many of us Majorcans with a certain sadness and nostalgia. The sale of the property of this emblematic nightclub, and subsequent nightclub to the Camper group (the footwear brand, also Majorcan), left us without one of the most notorious nights on the island. It was on, and packed, pretty much year-round.
As the publicity for the building's sale described, Tito's was “the most famous night club in the Mediterranean” in its time and “the number one nightclub” in the island's capital. It stood out especially for its spectacular views of the bay, especially from its characteristic glass elevator.
After lowering the blind, where would the residents, travelers and hard-core partiers go now? Who would be the new king of the night?
In the 60s and 70s, the best-known people of the moment paraded through Tito's
A few days after the sale of the building became official, we were relieved to learn that the disco will not disappear but will change its location, to which we have been accustomed for almost a hundred years, in Palma, on the other, in Magaluf.
Until now, Tito's was located on the front line of the Paseo Marítimo, in a very lively area of bars, and had another entrance that led to Plaza Gomila, which in the past was the main one. The new room will be located on the ground floor of the also popular BCM, a nightclub owned by the same owner, the Cursach Group.
As the director of Tito's, Jaime Lladó, explained to Condé Nast Traveler Spain, a month before the arrival of the coronavirus, the group carried out a very large remodeling in BCM and the space to which Tito's is going to move became free.
BCM has two rooms. One located at the top, with a capacity for 2,800 people, and another below, for 1,200, previously known as Millenium. The idea was to reform the one above and then we would see how the rest would evolve.
Unfortunately, a month before the official opening party after BCM's makeover, the coronavirus arrived and since then, the room is closed, and without having seen the light, with the furniture covered with plastic so that it does not age over time.
The room hosted performances by Eva Fitzgerald, Dusty Springfield, Lola Flores, Los Brincos and Camilo Sesto
In addition, the months of the pandemic have been especially hard for Tito's, which has not reopened since March last year and which was put up for sale in the fall for an initial price of 16.5 million euros, although the final amount of the transaction has not transpired. The Cursach Group needed liquidity to survive the crisis and made the decision to sell part of its assets.
He called it account that when Tito's was put up for sale, they knew that a deal could be closed at any time and, if this happened, they were aware that they had a large room on the Paseo Marítimo and that it would be difficult to move it to another place due to its idiosyncrasies.
On the other hand, they had an empty room in BCM that they didn't know what they would do with tomorrow. When Tito's was sold, "we decided to keep its historic name and move it", he says.
In the new space the group intends to replicate all the essence of the previous Tito's del Paseo Marítimo, decorating the room appropriately and giving it the character it had: beautiful people, commercial music, animation, shows, congress groups or dinner shows.
The two rooms of BCM will have two different commercial managements, but with the same point in common: great artists, parties and shows, according to Lladó.
Some nights there will be two separate parties in each room. Other days they will open only one, or both, communicated between them. “This gives us a lot of drive and potential. It will be difficult to compete with something like this." in the opinion of the director of the nightclub.
In 1985 Tito's reopened as a nightclub and aimed its offer at a younger audience.
The new Tito's will have a greater capacity than the previous room which, with a capacity of 800 people, made it necessary to reject some group activities due to space problems.
Tito's was one of the most popular nightclubs on the island, through which the youngest, their parents, grandparents and travelers of all nationalities have passed.
The room was created in 1923 and had remained until now in the same place, and with the same name, changing hands and managers.
In the 60s and 70s, the best-known people of the moment paraded through Tito's, both from other European countries and from the island's jet set. When the hall had its entrance in Plaza Gomila, neighbors and onlookers would sit on the terraces of the bars to watch the familiar faces parade, waiting to enter. There was a time when access to Tito's required a suit and tie.
In his time, famous characters such as Grace Kelly, George Sanders, Charles Chaplin and Aristotle Onassis. The hall hosted performances by Ella Fitzgerald, Dusty Springfield and, a few years later, by Spanish artists, such as Lola Flores, Los Brincos and Camilo Sesto. In 1985 Tito's reopened as a nightclub and aimed its offer at a younger audience.
The space that Tito's occupied will now become thirty luxury apartments. It will be part of one of doakid promotions, the promoter owned by Camper, which promotes some other projects in Plaza Gomila, in front of the emergency exit of the nightclub.
It is difficult to predict when the new Tito's will open, because the times will be marked by the restrictions dictated by the Balearic government to deal with the coronavirus. In Lladó's opinion, it could be from July 15, but not before.