Bagdad [Barcelona, Spain]

These babies are really knockouts!

Designed with the American sailor in mind, this ephemeral mid-century flyer makes no real effort to hide the intimate charms available at Barcelona’s Club Bagdad. “DO YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? LOW PRICES” could not make it any clearer that there was much more available than drinks and dancing, albeit at a cost in hard-earned pay and potential venereal diseases.

A simple map locates the popular nightclub off the Conde del Asalto, with a sign on the Ramblas to point the way. Several vignettes representing local points of interest are used to orient the reader, though the center of the image omitted in favor of an elegant singer (possibly a stylization of proprietor/star performer María Yañez, aka La Bella Dorita). Printed text on the verso alludes to further delights and the proven amiability to sailors – “The best place chosen by the U.S. Navy to meet in their parties.”

The history of Bagdad is an interesting one. It opened in 1949 or 1950 on the site of the former Hollywood Bar Dancing and was billed as the ‘Palacio Oriental’; a place to enjoy costumed performances and Spanish dancing with a luxurious interior and free luxury car service. It underwent at least one ‘rebranding’ during the 1950s and closed in 1959 to become Bella Dorita’s flamenco venue, Bodega del Toro. On the same site (albeit in a new building), a resurrected Club Bagdad opened in 1975 and still features the pornographic shows for which it earned its notoriety.

Sources: Barcelofilia; El Tran Via;