It’s hard to see the stately old art deco cinema now if you don’t know to look up. Although, with the quirky, tasteful flavor in the design of the café on the corner of Av. Juárez and Ocampo, it seems like just the kind of place where that little bit of history isn’t surprising, like a fish restaurant built in an old dock warehouse or a trendy apartment building in a hollowed out mill.
The Cine Variedades served the city of Guadalajara on this spot for 56 years – from its inauguration in 1940 to its disuse and closing in 1996. It was a landmark in its day, designed to seat over 3,000 moviegoers on three levels of its screening room. It even boasted an air-conditioning unit on opening day.
Since the dilapidated building was purchased by the government of Guadalajara in 2000, it has been reimagined and refitted, as a café, a library, an art gallery, and soon, a performance theater. It’s all part of the Laboratorio de Arte Variedades (LARVA) project under the supervision of Guadalajara City Hall’s Culture Department.
The mezzanine may seem a strange place to start, but here where cinema patrons once lined up at a soda fountain for their concessions, now lives a library. Part of the LARVA project opened in 2009, the Biblioteca LARVA houses around 4,500 books and 300 DVD movies and documentaries. Visitors may peruse the collection on site, and a free membership will allow books to be checked out for eight days. The collection focuses on literature and art, but has other sections, including children’s books.
The library encourages group and community programs, such as free one-hour reading sessions for children aged 5 to 10 at 10 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, or the movies and documentaries screened at 5 p.m. on Wednesdays for a mostly retired crowd. Anyone can start their own reading or film clubs free of charge. Right now the book collection is mostly in Spanish, but the library staff speaks English and are happy to accept book donations in any language.
“We are very open-minded, and we want the library to be always full,” says supervisor Gabriela Fitzgerald, “Come and visit us.”
The library has its own art gallery along the walls, featuring contemporary art by young artists from all over the world. The collection stays fresh, changing every month. December’s collection is comprised of sculptures and paintings from a group known as CAVI (Colectivo de Artistas Visuales Independientes), though other mediums may be showcased as well.
Downstairs, artists may rent out the Sala Juárez as a more controlled space to display their work. This room also changes exhibitions on a regular basis. The current one is called “Don y Látigo” after a translated quotation from Truman Capote, “When God hands you a gift, he also hands you a whip; and the whip is intended for self-flagellation solely.” The exhibition is described as a collection by 13 artists from the city, exploring choice in the act of creation and the relationship between artists and their work. It runs until December 17, when a new exhibit titled “Bazart” will go up.
Café Benito occupies the entrance of the building. Visitors are greeted here by wood and concrete, cavernous ceilings, and a prominent bar. Wooden tables and chairs populate the space around the bar, while the lounge area’s furniture of assorted fabrics and boots draw the eye. The café is separate from the LARVA project. It is owned and operated by the same team that takes care of popular restaurants I-Latina and Anita Li. The food is traditional café sandwiches, salads, and tapas with little Mexican twists, like the panela with cilantro pesto caprese. The café also serves breakfast.
The LARVA project next plans to reopen the old cinema theater as an upscale performance theater. Slated for a February opening, details about the show and the official name of the theater have not been announced, though the project has been referred to since its inception in 2000 as the Teatro de la Ciudad.
The Biblioteca LARVA operates from 9 a.m.–8 p.m. Monday to Friday and noon–5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. They can be reached at (33) 3613-2776 or on their Facebook page (search Biblioteca Larva).
Café Benito operates from 9:30 a.m.–11 p.m. from Monday to Wednesday and extends those hours to 1 a.m. from Thursday to Saturday. They open Sundays from 9:30 a.m.–6 p.m. They can be reached at (33) 3613-2846, or on their Facebook page (search Café Benito).