Pomades, table football, and smoke: the legend of Ca n'Àngel, the bar that Palma will never forget.

PalmIt was 1964 when Àngel Casellas's father (also Àngel) opened a bar that would become one of the most authentic and legendary in the center of Palma. The establishment became an institution, serving coffee, pomades, and beer for no less than 56 years. Casellas Sr. opened it with two other cousins, but soon after, he took over the business. The boom, which began in 1973, would last for more than two decades. The 1980s were the business's heyday.

One of the keys to the success of this charismatic bar was the ability to attract customers to Ca n'Àngel for a snack, a midday menu, or drinks in the afternoon until well into the early hours. Entering Ca n'Àngel was like entering a kind of refuge, a hideaway you had to descend almost two meters from the street. It was cozy thanks to the wood-paneled walls, the frames of photographs and paintings, and the Casellas' skill in treating their clientele, part of whom was family.

"The name comes from my grandfather, Àngel Casellas, an engineer from Manresa who set up a textile factory in Mallorca," explains Àngel, the soul of the bar, which he has run with his brother Toni since 2009. The success of the bottles of ointment was his father's idea. "There were a lot of people who came to have a pre-dinner drink before going to the club, and they could drink four or five per person. For years, it was the bar's most popular game," he notes, referring to customers who also spent the afternoon playing table football, pool, or cards.

"What I liked most about Ca n'Àngel was that it almost felt like home. If you were a regular, you knew the clientele and knew who you'd find. You could go alone and have a chat with someone or have a game of table football and a drink," recalls one of the customers of a bar where they also chatted about music. "When smoking was allowed inside, such a cloud of smoke would accumulate that when you entered, you had to be careful not to fall down the steps or crash into the olive tree, because you could barely see," he notes. "Although I usually went in the afternoon, during the time I had a job in Palma, I often went for lunch. The menu they served, in terms of quality and price, was unrivaled in the area," he says.

"Before working at the bar, I worked as a salesman, but on weekends I went because it was packed to the rafters. There were four of us behind the bar and we couldn't reach. To work there you had to be one. Super Saiyan. Back then, you could smoke, and my brother and I had to go outside every now and then to get some air because, even though we were smokers, we were suffocating," he continues.

"They could have fined us for overcrowding every week," Àngel recalls. We were traveling, with more than 100 people inside Ca n'Àngel, and everyone was served. Their enthusiasm and energy remained in the place. It was like a sanctuary where people of all kinds and all styles passed by, and there were never any fights: punks, heavy metal fans, young people, older people, even rich people looking for a space where no one would bother them. Everyone respected each other," he emphasizes. Hundreds of people, groups of young and not-so-young people, couples, and customers just spent hours playing, talking, and sharing a space that became unique for a few years in the center of Ciudad. slave. I remember working 19 and a half hours one day. "Besides, not everyone who goes cat is friendly," he adds. He also points to the number of current regulations as an added challenge. "If you want to offer prices that aren't exorbitant, you have to have a large customer base, and capacity regulations don't allow that," he says. "You get to meet and talk to people who had very interesting stories, and that's fulfilling. We are what we've experienced," he says.

But nothing lasts forever, and Ca n'Àngel also had to lower the barrier. "We knew we had a contract end date, but we thought it could be extended and that there wouldn't be any problem. Then we decided to save up, in case we had to change locations," she recalls.

The COVID health crisis precipitated the closure of the iconic establishment. "Not having a terrace doomed us. And despite having savings, we couldn't survive so many months closed," she laments. "For those who truly valued us, the closure was like heartbreak," she says. "For others, as always, everyone yearns for someone who's no longer with us," she says with resignation.

"I don't know what business will replace the bar, but I know the owner has signed the sale of the entire building to a large company," he confesses. Still, nothing is stopping the Casellas brothers: today, Ángel is an electrician and Toni is a cook. "I like it because I'm back working with my hands, and being an electrician gives me the fulfillment I need. There's a softer side and a harder side," he concludes.

The bar responds:

What music used to play?

— Rock 60,70 and 80. Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Guns and Roses. Some Country, Jazz and Soul.

What drink was most requested by customers?

— Ointment and beer, but there were years when it was mostly the ointment.

What would you say was the brand of the bar?

— The essence and character of my father, which marked the idiosyncrasy of Ca n'Àngel.

Any anecdote that makes you laugh when you remember it?

— All the people I was able to learn from during those years. It's the people and experiences we acquire along the way that make us who we are.