You’d have to be older than I am to remember La Fiesta in downtown Juarez, and I’m pretty old.
La Fiesta used to be a big time nightclub, hosting acts like the Kingston Trio and Chubby Checker and a slew of other bands you’ve never heard of. When it opened in 1954, entrance was by invitation, and only available to the upper crust. The cover charge was $100 a person, and only couples were admitted.1 With inflation, $100 is worth nearly $1200 dollars today, or close to $2400 per couple. According to Haggerty.com, the price in 1954 for a new Volkswagen Beetle was $1395.
Here’s an article I wrote in 2017 about La Fiesta, with comments from people who went there.
La Fiesta was first scheduled to reopen on Mother’s Day, 2020 (Mother’s Day in Mexico is always May 10) but COVID intervened, as COVID was wont to do. But La Fiesta opened again about a month ago.
La Fiesta is probably the most impressive physical plant open to the general public in the Mexoplex, even edging out the opulent Dome Bar in the Paso del Norte Hotel in downtown El Paso.
Part of the reason that La Fiesta wasn’t razed, like many of its contemporary joints, may have been that it was on the edge of one of the seedier neighborhoods in downtown Juarez. La Fiesta is located on the corner of Mariscal and Segundo Ugarte. The Charmin and the Green Lantern and La Nueva Tivoli were all on Avenida Juarez, where proximity to the United States increased commercial real estate’s potential value. Tearing buildings down and erecting new ventures made economic sense.
La Fiesta is owned by Juarez restaurateur Francisco Yepo who owns the three La Nueva Centrals in Juarez, including the first location, on dieciceis, which opened in 1958. La Fiesta is currently operated by his sons and grandson.
Check it out.
The photographs in the attached article bring back such warm, fun memories of Ciudad Juarez–and Avenida Juarez. Thanks for posting, Rich!