The bottles of rum and tequila rest on the large white tail of the piano that entertains the clients with a complex of singers. In front of the imposing instrument, a man tries to sing the lyrics of Lady Madrid, by Pereza: a song that has animated dozens of karaokes in Spain for decades. However, tonight many of the attendees take advantage of the moment to go for another drink at the bar. “What is the name of this song?” a man can be heard asking who takes out his cell phone so that Shazam can give him the answer. The person in charge of the venue's entertainment, seeing that his audience does not react to the great Spanish classics, decides to change gears. The next song is one of the great hits of Mexican singer Luis Miguel. People go crazy. Customers take out their cell phones, start recording and sing in chorus: “When the sun gets hot here on the beach.” The piano bar is located in the Castellana 8 bar. The place opened its doors just a few months ago and has become in the trendy place in the heart of Paseo de la Castellana. “We have realized that our audience has changed a lot and that now a large part of our clients are Latinos. Here the ones who have reserved all the tables during the summer with bottles have been the Mexicans,” says one of the site's partners, Nacho Horcajada. The businessman is convinced that the Hispanic upper bourgeoisie is transforming the hospitality industry in Madrid. “We have to adapt to this new audience to continue growing. We have talked about it lately with people in the sector,” he says. In the case of Castellana 8, this has meant putting oysters on the menu, the option to buy bottles and not just cocktails, and including more popular songs in Latin America in the piano bar's repertoire.The piano bar Castellana 8, in an image provided by the establishment. The reason for this evolution in the hospitality industry is due to the migration that has arrived in recent years and has settled in Madrid. At the beginning of 2022, those born in Spanish America were 58% of the immigrants in the Community of Madrid (816,000 inhabitants born in Spanish-speaking countries out of a total of 1.4 million), while in January 2015 they represented 49% , according to the latest data from the National Institute of Statistics. That Latin Americans migrate is not news. They always have. However, in recent years, the profile of those who decide to do so has changed. In many cases, it is no longer a migration out of necessity or survival, but rather people who, without living badly in their country of origin, seek an even higher quality of life. The director of the Center for Research and Studies on Armed Conflicts, Armed Violence and Development in Colombia, Jorge Restrepo, explains that today, above all, middle or upper class people migrate. Specifically, he comments, more and more men and women with higher education between the ages of 25 and 35 travel to do a master's degree abroad and stay working. “For many, Spain, and especially Madrid, has become the place chosen due to the support networks, the language and the ease of investing that the Community Government provides,” he says. An example of this is that the majority of foreign students at the Universidad del Instituto de Empresa, one of the most expensive in Spain, are Colombians. Many of these Hispanics have decided to start a business in Madrid, and this has changed the face of many of them. the downtown hospitality establishments. Last year alone, 440 establishments were opened in the region, including 272 restaurants, 113 bars and 55 cafes, according to data from the Hospitality Business Association. And although it is not possible to know how many of these are from Latin Americans, it is enough to sit at one of their tables to see how the gastronomic offer has changed. Paco Cruz, better known as TheFood Manager on social networks, is dedicated to making restaurants profitable. He has witnessed this transformation: “On a gastronomic level, I didn't give a penny for the Tequeños [palito de queso típico de la gastronomía venezolana]and now you see it everywhere. It has been a business colonization, and they have known how to position themselves very well. “It’s been amazing.” For Cruz, Venezuelan migration has meant a before and after in Madrid. “They have activated the business fabric in the city. They have come to make a living, like for example the owners of the Goiko hamburger chain, and they have rocked it. The number of entrepreneurs there are and how much they have fought to make a place for themselves is brutal,” he says. This, according to the expert, has caused stress in Madrid as a hospitality city. “Rental prices have skyrocketed, and many business owners have spent without thinking. This has generated a bubble.” The hospitality association explains that the Madrid hospitality industry is evolving, and there is a change in the type of business and in the profile of new entrepreneurs seeking innovation and sustainability. According to hoteliers, this has only just begun. “The fundamental thing is that our sector adapts, evolves, becomes professional and can face this important growth in order to satisfy the high expectations that we are generating in the tourism and gastronomic field,” the association emphasizes.
New openings of Latin stores conquer Madrid
Journalist Alba Lucía Reyes, 48, has been living in Spain for 23 years and decided last year, together with fellow communicator Alejandra Meléndez, to found her own communication agency called Doble A Comunicación. This is an agency specialized in Latin American businessmen who are coming to the capital. “We began to see how the hospitality sector was transforming and we saw the opportunity to help them disembark,” he says. In September alone there have been three large openings of Latin establishments that, he assures, will be a success. La social, a Colombian food establishment with music and entertainment; Juan Valdez, the most recognized Colombian coffee brand, has just opened its first store at street level on Paseo de la Castellana, and the hamburger brand Home Burger, which plans to conquer the heart of the Salamanca neighborhood. “Their priority is to bet first on the Latin public that knows them and thus make themselves known to the people of Madrid,” says Reyes, who is sure that it has been this type of entrepreneurs who have made it fashionable, going out to live experiences and try new things.
Images of the new Juan Valdez location, provided by the company.Juan ValdezJuan Valdez's coffee brand has been in Spain for 10 years. It could be found in small kiosks and in some shopping centers, however, it was not until this year that they opted for more aggressive growth in the capital. “We opened Juan Valdez on Paseo de la Castellana with a 130-square-meter street-level location,” the company says. This represents a great bet for the company, which seeks to bring Colombian coffee to all Madrid residents. “We chose Spain because it is the gateway to Europe, and we are aware of the Hispanic migration that the capital has,” says its spokesperson. For Reyes, the profile of the migrant has changed. “People now value quality of life more than the standard of living they can have in Colombia. “They come to set up businesses and create jobs.” This Hispanic population is being very well received by the Government, who is interested in them establishing their residence in the country and contributing to the economy. On the other hand, Lulo, an agency specialized in promoting value in Spain, has just landed in the capital. Latin American gastronomy. “I was traveling through Latin America for four years and many times the chefs there asked me to connect them with Spain. In the end, I discovered that the only way to do it was to bring them here. That's where the idea of creating the agency arose,” says its founder, Lucía Díaz. In the last weekend, Lulo has organized two events on Gran Vía with the best chefs from Colombia and Spain to show the transformation that gastronomy is experiencing in Madrid.