The Café was far enough away from what was then the center of Madrid that it was a quiet and secluded venue. Its daily clientele was made up mainly of locals from the neighborhood, such as lawyers coming in from the headquarters of the Court of Public Order, located at the Convent of the Salesas Reales, in addition to occasional witnesses or relatives of the accused, and journalists in search of news, especially of gruesome cases such as the crime of Fuencarral street (which took place in 1888).[a] Another one of the cafe's usual services was to provide the meals served to the detainees. It was also affected by the waiters' strike in Madrid in 1918.[b][1][3]
As a café de tertulia [es], one of the most popular tertulias held at the Café de las Salesas was that of "Los Salesianos", a meeting that usually took place between 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. and in which participants stuck to discussing politics. Despite this, they respected the motto "Discutir sí, pelear no"[c] (which in the years prior to the Civil War was "No atacar, pero sí defenderse"[d]), as well as the motto "Entre hombres de bien no puede haber engaños".[e] Participants in the tertulia included journalist Augusto Vivero Rodríguez, who acted as chairman, and attorney Eduardo Ortega y Gasset (older brother to the philosopher José), or those who endorsed opposing ideologies, such as the militant communist Marino García and diehard right-winger Francisco Olías. In order to be admitted to the tertulia, it was mandatory to use a specific brand of fountain pens.[f][1]
On 8 December 1933, communist journalist Rosario del Olmo [es] set up an appointment with poet Antonio Machado at the Café de las Salesas. The event, insignificant in and of itself, would be immortalized by photographer Alfonso Sánchez García [es] in an image that is considered one of the most representative photographs of Machado.[4] The photograph included a third figure in the scene, that of Braulio, the waiter, reflected in the large mirror alongside the page of a calendar marking the date.[5] The original photograph, which became famous from a cropped fragment, showed the journalist sitting beside the poet at a table in the café, under the waiter's reflection in a mirror. Both the photograph and the interview would not be published until 12 January 1934 by newspaper La Libertad, with the title Deberes del arte en el momento actual.[1][6]
^On 3 October of that same year, a note in the newspapers announced that the café's owner had agreed to the workers' claims and that service at the establishment would resume.
^The National Library of Spain keeps some documentary photographic archives with members of Los Salesianos gathered at the café's tertulia in the 1930s.
