In a context where homosexuals were exposed in sensational print media, The nine represented an escape valve for the youth of the 70’s and 80’s, who suffered the repression of the student movement of 1968, the massacre of the “Corpus Christi Thursday” in 1971 and the ban on mass concerts.
One of the attendees at the events organized at the establishment was the former director of the Economic Culture Fund (FCE), Consuelo Sáizar Guerrerowho has said that the establishment opened life to freedom.
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In an interview for The Broken Chair the administrator of The nine, Henri Donnadieuexplained that when he opened the bar he never imagined the legend that would be built and expressed that, although the series I have to die every night It does not reflect the cultural life that was lived in the establishment, because it is a fiction aimed at a young audience. He liked the tribute they made to him in the last scene and the video that appears from the ninth anniversary, which was on January 23, 1986.
“No one put drugs inside The nine. If they used cocaine, they did it very discreetly in the bathroom, but the drug did not circulate in the bar,” said Henri Donnadieu.
When he was a child he was afraid to sleep because he thought he would never wake up, a phobia that he overcame over the years. In his time as a university student he used to miss master seminars because he visited places where Arab immigrants hooked up at night, in Paris.
Theatre of the ridiculous
During the 80’s the agendas of Henri Donnadieu They were filled with crosses because most of their friends died because of the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Among them was the makeup artist Jean Jacques, who upon finding out that he was carrying the virus fell into depression.
One day after the earthquake of September 19, 1985, Henri’s friend found out that he was HIV positive and to encourage him he created the Kitsch Company, an acting group that was influenced by the Ridiculous Theatrical Company from the New York director and actor Charles Ludlam.
For the plays that premiered every Wednesday, Jean Jacques and the hairdresser Christian Merclen They extravagantly characterized Jaime Vite, Miguel Angel de la Cueva, Tito Vasconcelos and Alejandra Bogue. The sets were in charge of Ramon Sanchez“Mongo”.
One of the most popular presentations was the interpretation of the painting Les Demoiselles d’Avignonof Pablo Picasso; In the performance, Miguel Ángel de la Cueva represents a long-suffering sex worker, Jaime Vite a self-sacrificing prostitute and Alejandra Bogue a woman without prejudices.
In the video that Luis Mercado recorded for the work, Alejandra Bogue explains that the work reflects the double standards and stigmas that exist in Mexican society regarding sex work.
When Henri Donnadieu was 14 years old he met Pablo Picasso because one of her neighbors, who had a communist publishing house, asked her to take care of the stand where they offered copies of the book “Toros y toreros” – which is about the painter’s life – in the Cannes Film Festival.
“I was lucky that Pablo Picasso came and congratulated me. I was very young and very bright and he was very old. Meeting Pablo Picasso at my age was the best thing that could happen to me in life. I always loved Pablo Picasso, I am a big fan of his work,” Henri Donnadieu recalled.
From Thursday to Sunday, in the company of two parakeets and a marijuana cigarette with opium gum, Henri Donnadieu locked himself in his house to write the script for the plays, which began to be rehearsed at noon on Monday. Because of this workload, he used to say: “I have to die every night and be reborn the next day.”
Andy Warhol in The Nine
Henri Donnadieu frequently traveled to NY to get cutting-edge music, songs that, after a year of being heard in the bar, were popular throughout Mexico. On one of those visits, the fashion designer, Victor Suarez, I present to you Andy Warhol.
The administrator of The nine He remembers that, although the artist was a serious person, they became friends because he liked everyone to realize that they could converse with him in French.
To decorate The metala nightclub that would be the largest in Latin America and that was only open for 4 days, he bought the paintings from the series from the plastic artist Dancing Shoes; In addition, he was considered to be the godfather of the establishment, but he died on February 22, 1987, before the construction of the building was completed.
Days after the death, the plastic artist and founder of the Peyote Collective and the Company, Adolfo Patinoparticipated in a tribute that El Nueve made to the memory of Andy Warhol, where Jaime Vite characterized himself as Marilyn Monroe and Angel of the Cave Liza Minnelli.
According to the chronicle of Guillermo Osorno, I have to die every nightthe tribute consisted of an altar of the dead with a photograph of Andy Warhol taken by Gerard Malanga, next to the image was the portrait that the artist made of Marilyn Monroe and a version of the Mona Lisa, the event was photographed Armando Cristeto Patiño.
“There is a video of that night. Carla Rippey appears placing flowers around the images that are mounted on the stage. Adolfo Patiño, dressed in a black shirt, throws flowers on the floor. This video has a professional edition and plays with cuts and repetitions to synchronize the image with the music of The Velvet Underground,” wrote Guillermo Osorno.
Champagne glasses and slam at El Nueve
The nine It is remembered as a place in favor of sexual diversity and for the hospitality of Henri Donnadieu. During the film club months, attendees were given a glass of champagne so they could enjoy the screening.
At those functions, films from John Watersthe documentary of Nestor Almendros and Orlando Jimenez Leal, Improper conduct, which shows the violation of human rights that homosexuals suffered in concentration camps. The story of the San Francisco activist and politician was also screened Harvey Milk.
However, it was closed because Henri Donnadieu presented the film I greet you, Mariaa work that was censored by the Mexican government and caused displeasure when a cable was published internationally reporting that the administrator of El Nueve was defeating the Catholic Church.
In the mid-80s Shanghai Casino It was the first group that performed at the bar, the band was made up of Ulalume Zavala, Charlie Robledo and Walter Schmidtwho through synthesizers created a sound that Guillermo Osorno called techno pop.
In Mexico, the bands that emerged during the Spanish movement were beginning to be popular and, upon noticing that young people did not have spaces to play, Henri Donnadieu, along with Mongo and the Cultural journalist Rogelio Villareal -who presented the magazines The Broken Rule and The modern Pus in El Nueve -, they organized live music events every Thursday, performances where slam was danced for the first time in the country.
They became famous on the bar stage The Damned Neighborhooda group that dedicated its first album to The nine, Tacvba Coffee, Dangerous Rhythm, The unusual images of Aurora, Saint Sabinaamong others, but it was also an open place for punk bands from the outskirts of Mexico City.
Fun and culture
Henri and Manolo Fernandez reopened The ninewhich opened on January 23, 1977. The two-room, 50-square-meter establishment was located at 156 Londres Street in the Juárez neighborhood. At the time, I thought that homophobia did not exist in Mexico City and I perceived the country’s capital as if it were Paris, London or Berlin.
To graduate with a degree in Political Science, Henri Donnadieu did a thesis related to cultural preservation and promotion in Grenoble, Francea project that was led by the writer André Malrauxin the conclusion of his research he proposed that people would achieve knowledge if they were entertained.
Some time later, when he was in charge of El Nueve, he thought that the fun would last if the attendees were offered culture and, although it was a place with a gay essence, under the slogan of respect an extraordinary mix was generated.
In 2000, Henri Donnadieu Return to Paris as a representative of a Franco-Mexican co-production, for the staging, he brought marimberos from Veracruz and Lila Downs, during that visit videos of the Kitsch Company that fascinated the attendees.
Giving a speech to present the recordings, which are now safeguarded in the film archive of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), expressed that, although he was born in France, he was Mexican because the country opened its arms to him and, when he said I’m sorry for you, people began to applaud him.
Currently, he conceives the Mexico City as a pioneer in legislation in favor of sexual diversity, but thinks that society continues to be sexist and religious, an aspect that is reflected in the people who have died of AIDS due to the rejection of his family and society.
To relive the nights that were lived in The ninehe Chopo University Museum It shows a series of photos, videos and invitations from bands that performed at the establishment. The exhibition will be on display until August 18, 2024.
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