THE ORIGINAL CHILL OUT BAR

     
        THE LEGEND THAT IS CAFE DEL MAR



Café del Mar" was born to put music to the sunset.

The concept, and this was much more than just a bar!, was the brainchild of Ramón Guiral, Carlos Andrea and José Les who arrived in Ibiza from Canarias in 1978 attracted by the nightlife of San Antonio, which in the 70's was very much the birthplace of island tourism.
They chose a location with the best sunset view on the island, overlooking the island of Conejera, added the perfect background music to fit the spectacle, then went completely overboard designing and decorating the location in outrageous baroque splendour. The emblematic architect they chose for
their vision was the internationally renowned Catalan Luis Güell. Much of his success stemmed from the design of the 'Café del Mar' with it's clouds, eroticism and sensuality that combine so
neatly with the sunset, the sea and the music.

Luis took barely a fortnight to come up with the inspirational design that still looks cool 25 years later.

"Living in the same building helped us, in seeing the future or our idea. We were so sure that everything would work out fine that we contacted Luis Güell and we developed a project created exclusively so as to put music to the sunset. Luis understood the idea immediately and in fifteen days surprised us with the plans
of the present premises. The idea captivated us totally from the beginning and we said yes with our eyes shut."
says Ramón Guiral.

Work began in January 1979 and after two years of intense and complicated work, due to the artistic and manual complexity of the labour;and the concerted opinions of friends and business professionals that the three partners were completely crazy,CDM opened its doors on 20th June 1980.


Cafe del Mar is situated on a unique spot of age-old rocks eroded by the waves and the winds of the western Mediterranean, barely 40 metres from the seaside. It,s covered, open-air terraces
occupy the front and most relaxing part, with a spectacular view of the sea and the island of  Conejera. The interior of the premises (100 square metres) absorbs the work designed by Luis
Guell, an emblematic architect who autodefines himself as a creator of spaces, inspired by the horizon, the sea and the colours that can be seen from this space flooded with Mediterranean architecture foreign to time and labels and marked by the baroque line of the creator.

From the outset they set in motion the fundamental idea of putting music to the sunset, accompanying new musical concepts such as "New Age", classical music and jazz fusion, adding with the passage of time new musical formulas with the seal created by "Cafe del Mar".

The people understood immediately the fascinating and unique spectacle of colour and striking luminousity of the island at the fall of the afternoon and with is was born a new meeting and
reference point for islanders, local residents and tourists.

 From day one the bar was a huge success attracting people from all over the island as the ultimate meeting place.

Sunsets play an important role in the privileged moments of the history of Café del Mar.


Music
The perfect sunset, accompanied by what proved to be the foundation stones of 'ambient' music - a fusion of classical music, blues and jazz - attracted world famous musicians intrigued by this totally different style of Ibiza sound.
Playing music at Café del Mar began to enjoy the privilege of an endless list of known national and foreign DJs. The singer Sandy Marton contributed to the legend including in his album

"People from Ibiza" the song by entitled "Café del Mar". CDM was turned into the centre of attention of musicians and a cultural meeting point for artists, celebrities, VIPs and residents.

The bar originally sold their own tapes of the music but a series of Café del Mar CDs have been sold. As of 2006, there are 13 volumes, numerous side compilations, plus 2 albums commemorating the 20th and 25th Anniversary.

A total of about 9 million albums have been sold worldwide.

The Cafe of the eighties.
With the passing of the golden decade for tourism, they began to write about "Cafe del Mar" in the national press(El Pais, Cambio 16) and the media began to take notice of a new way of
understanding leisure combining the privileged moment of having a drink or a coffee while enjoying the most famous sunset in Europe.
Playing music at Cafe del Mar began to enjoy the privilege of an endless list of known national and foreign DJs.The Cafe is also a pioneer in the transmission of live events from the edge of the
Mediterranean coast. The first programme from the prestigious British channel Radio One broadcast live from the island captured an audience of over 7,000,000 listeners, converting itself into a classic of Ibiza summers.

If you take the spell of the sunset and add tradition and history, you get a ritual. A visit to Cafe Del Mar has become a contemporary ritual of the new century. "Over the last 10 years the Cafe Del Mar seal of identity has grown at a geometric rate and since the 20th anniversary in 2000, so many new roads have opened up that we've come to realise that this is only the
beginning", according to Ramon Guiral, aware of the growing expectation and enthusiasm created by Cafe Del Mar.

If you've been there, you'll understand. You listen to the music on the Cafe Del Mar disc's and it evokes those brief moments of a pauses, orange sky in which you relax, let yourself go, feel
yourself calm and at piece. Music for dreaming, for floating, and getting lost in yourself. "The idea was ours, but we owe it to the people who've been here and publicize it by word of mouth,
naturally and enthusiastically." Ramon is right.
Just go there on a summer afternoon and ask the people ,listen to the music and the good vibes of the people". Cafe Del Mar is the tranquil, chilled  side of Ibiza. It is a period of time, a pause between the beach hours of the day and the discotheque hours of the evening.

Young people and the not-so-young come like pilgrims from all over the world and have their pictures taken next to the ceramic sign.
They pose and smile as if to say:

      "Now I can say it: I was there".