Sala Apolo celebrates its 75th anniversary

There is only one dancehall in Barcelona and throughout Spain that can celebrate 75 years of life, and that is Barcelona’s Sala Apolo, and 2018 is the year. The only venue to be created exclusively as a dancehall opened its doors in 1943, commissioned by José Vallés Rovira, a city entrepreneur who had bought the property eight years earlier, in 1935, on which he built the first indoor amusement park right alongside the ballroom, and which functioned with some refurbishing, right through until the late 80s. It was then that the venue began to programme the 1st live concerts with its very own Orquestra Apollo, slowly consolidating its reputation as Barcelona’s “cremar pista” (hottest spot in town ), a phrase that the current director Albert Guijarro, is using as the title for 75th anniversary hoping to link the different generations have enjoyed the venue.

Throughout 2018, the Apolo has designed a programme adapted to the identity of the city which has defined the venue throughout its history. A series of concerts is planned throughout the year to match the evolution of the musical styles that have marked the life of the famed venue itself, and in May, Comanegra will publish Apolpo’s biography written by historian and anthropologist Eva Espinet.