By Juan Montoya
The party went on long into the night and into the morning hours Sat
urday as the 14th Street iconic bar El 1,2,3 reopened its doors after it was gutted by a fire last fall.
urday as the 14th Street iconic bar El 1,2,3 reopened its doors after it was gutted by a fire last fall.Owner Javier Ruiz welcomed the patrons to his newly-built hangout and after a plate of botana settled down to an night of dancing music with the entertainment provided by a local band.
It must be a barrio thing, but the place already has that jaded look that appeals to working-class patrons looking for a joint where no one looks at anyone very closely and people enjoy their cold beer in relative privacy.
The oil painting of the acrobatic nude still hangs over the bar. And framed photos of scantily-clad pinups grace the men's bathroom walls. You can tell they came from the old bar because they still bears signs of smoke and water.
Bikers, 14th Street babes, couples, and Ruiz family friends joined in to inaugurate the new bar. Polita and Chuy are still there providing the foundation of personal knowledge of most of the old-time customers. Even grand kids (now men) wandered in during the fete to down a cold one or to join in the dancing.
"It took a while to get going again because of the bad weather and other problems," said Javier with his son Johnny besides him. "But we finally got going."
El abogado Leopoldo De Leon held court before his minions and regaled them with tales of the days when he and Javier ruled over the waiters at the Resaca Club at Ft. Brown.
"Eramos unos tipasos," Polo repeated for the unpteenth time to whoever was within earshot. "I had this Italian suit that cost me hundreds of dollars. Javier used to manage the bar at night."
One of the problems had to do with the city ordinances requiring lan
dscaping. Not wanting to do away with prized parking spaces, the bar opted to place palms and shrubbery around the periphery instead. The old bar had an old tree growing up against the wall of the original bar breaking up the parking lot concrete and that had to be mitigated.
dscaping. Not wanting to do away with prized parking spaces, the bar opted to place palms and shrubbery around the periphery instead. The old bar had an old tree growing up against the wall of the original bar breaking up the parking lot concrete and that had to be mitigated.But after all that, the inauguration went off without hitch. Still in the works: Bringing back the painting Fred Bustinza donated to the bar and acquiring a large photo of Chelo Silva whose parents used to run a restaurant where the bar now stands.
"Fred and Chelo will be back," Javier promised.
2 comments:
Juan, those photos are priceless. Talk about a dispossessed peoples. LOL
Good article, my older brothers and sisters had some old 78 rpms records from Chelo Silva,,the city of brownsville ougth to take some interest, in such places and assist the current owners maintaining this place.
Thanks for your article.
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