Cesar's Latin Palace had been a landmark in San Francisco for the past three decades. Orignally in North Beach, Cesar settled his Latin Palace in the heart of the Mission: Mission St. at Cesar Chaves Way. Along with his own All Star Band, running for poltical office and trying to survive in the music industry, Cesar had a way of always reemerging.
Listed are a some of the stories contributed by readers of salsasf.com. Everyone had different experiences and adventures. Many muscians and dancers had their start there. No matter what the hardships, Cesar's always bounced back. Now under new ownership and called Roccapulco's, the club has a new life and beginning. But the memories, the sounds and the history, remain.
Read a few memories...
Where do I begin. I started going to Cesar's (on Mission) when I was not even old enough to get in. It would be 4 more years before I could get in legally. The "cops" at the door just glared but would let me in. I would just hold my breath until I got passed the bar and then exhale.
Those were the days, I was finally old enough to go out, but I ended up going out with brothers and sisters. Couldn't quite let my salsa hair down. Even my dad would take me often but with him it was different. My dad loved to dance and love to watch me dance. He allowed me to dance with the "men" only as frustrated musician and dancer, I guess so he could live vicariously through me and keep his eye on me at the same time. Even so, I had a great time.
Although we were Mexican, we still enjoyed and felt part of the 70's & 80's Salsa movement. Cesar and his Latin All-Stars would be playing the latest salsa tunes, 'Pa Bravo Yo', the real salsa..a la Fania, Harlow, Lavoe, Miranda, Gran Combo, Cruz. Those were the days. The after parties, hanging around all my salsa friends, Carlos Godinez, Jorge Ellington from Esencia band..all meeting at Cesar's after other gigs.
I grew up at Cesar's. I went from a very naive adolescent in the height of the salsa scene to a young lady who suddenly stopped going to Cesar's once married. Cesar's is part of who I am. I was exposed to different groups, and singers...Ana Daisy..even Monchi! Cesar's Latin Palace was for many not only a place to enjoy music, meet new people, but to show-off your dance steps, a new out-fit. It was a gathering place for people doing the latest drugs or drinking until you dropped. It was a place to see and a place to be seen. The hey day of Cesar's Latin Palace. My hey day. I must say that I have to give some credit to Cesar's Latin Palace and that whole scene for engraving the salsa music in my heart. I wonder if I'd be singing in my own band if I'd never known about Cesar's..who's to say?
--Gloria Amaral
Dulce Mambo
I'm still a hot salsa dancer, but I can remember when I first started out at Cesar's in North Beach almost thirty years ago. There was a big contingency of soulful Nicaraguan salsa dancers and musicians at that time. Many young Bay Area talents began their grooming to the big time by jamming on Cesar's stage. You would all recognize their names, and there are many. The club also seemed to attract a variety of talented Bohemian types, many of them Latino, - not only musicians, but poets and revolutionaries as well. Cesar's favorite waitress in those days was an aging ballroom dancer with tall, teased blond hair. He was the first to have salsa dance competitions with prizes. When Cesar moved to the Mission District, me and my girlfriend would saunter down that long aisle of tables approaching the dance floor and Cesar would spot us immediately, and over the microphone would yell "las locas de Berkeley have arrived." We were the only non-Latinas in the palace for a while, and had the cream in the coffee for a couple of years. Then I remember Cesar's Club in the Mission went through a phase where he had several rude dog security guards posted all over the place, including the women's bathroom. We would hear of someone getting shot outside, inside, always fights. You knew never to wear a leather jacket because they always got ripped off. Then his liquor license got taken away, then the place burned to the ground, and he built it up again, with a comeback better than ever. Cesar ran for mayor, his face was larger than life on billboards. He integrated the community into his role as salsa impresario. Many social and cultural clubs met there, held fund raisers there. He got rid of unfair parking meter tickets in San Francisco. He was the only one bringing in the big, hot salsa bands from back east for years. He did this during a time in Bay Area history when salsa was not mainstream like now, before salsa dance classes were "invented." Though his personality seemed eccentric, sporadic, mysterious, and sometimes rude, I believe this man really loved San Francisco, his raza, and everyone else's raza too. A worthy tribute.
--The good 'ole days, as remembered by salsajaz
In 1979 or 80, I saw the Machito orquestra play at the Mission st club. We danced and grooved to the music all night long! However, since disco was so popular in those days, more people were dancing during the break, when they played disco records, then during Machito's set. When the band came out for the second set, Machito lambasted the crowd, saying "What kind of latinos are you, that you'd rather dance disco than salsa! I'm ashamed of you!" This really got the crowd going! During the second set nearly everyone was on their feet!
My sister Iris got her picture taken with Machito!
In 1980, I saw Tipica 73 there. I got to meet Alfredo de la Fe. When he later visited the Bay Area with the LP Jazz Ensemble (later the Tito Puente jazz ensemble), I also got to meet Jorge Dalto, Patato, and Mario Rivera, as well as the great T.P. himself.
Jorge Dalto was probably the finest gentleman of any of the musicians I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. He unfortunately died far too young in 1987. The music misses Joge, but the recordings he made during his all too brief life live on. Patato, Mario Rivera and T.P. are still going strong. Alfredo has been unable to return to the U.S for far too long. Amnesty for Alfredo.
I remember that the dance floor had bowling lane markers on it. I understand that this was because the building had previously been a bowling alley and they savenged the wood from the lanes to make the dance floor. Accordingly, my favorite nickname for Cesar's was "the latin bowling alley" This name was much less pejorative than the other nickmane I used to hear, "Sleazer's!"
--C. Martinez
AS A YOUNG SAILOR IN 1975, STATIONED ON THE U.S.S. ENTERPRISE (FRESH OUT OF THE BRONX) AND LOOKIN' FOR FEMALE COMPANIONSHIP,THERE WAS NO WHERE FOR US NEW YORKERS TO PARTY EXCEPT THE LOCAL DISCOS. SO WE FOUND OUT FROM THESE MEXICAN GUYS THAT THIS PLACE CESAR'S WAS THE SPOT TO DANCE WITH AND MEET LATINA LADIES.WE GOT LIBERTY ON FRIDAY AND HEADED STRAIGHT TO THE MISSION. FIRST THERE WAS DINNER AT THE NICARAGUA RESTAURANT, THEN IT WAS OVER TO A PLACE CALLED EL SENORAL. AFTER THAT WE HAEDED OVER TO CESAR'S AT 2PM AND FILLED UP ON NEAR BEER BEFORE HEADIN' BACK TO THE BOAT. LATER ON CESARS WAS THE ONLY PLACE FOR REAL DANCERS TO GO AND PRACTICE ALL SORTS OF DANCES. CESARS WAS A PLACE WHERE HE WOULD PLAY MAMBO, SALSA, CUMBIA, CHA,CHA, THEN BOLERO THEN START ALL OVER AGAIN. I MET MY FIRST CALIFORNIA GIRL AT CESAR'S. I WILL NEVER FORGET WHEN I WAS STARTING MY OWN PHOTO STUDIO, CESAR HIRED ME AND SUPPORTED ME WHEN I LOTS OF PEOPLE DID NOT LIKE HIM OR THE PLACE. THEY CALLED IT SLEAZERS BUT I ALWAYS LIKED TO END UP THERE AFTER 3P.M. YOU COULD ALWAYS SEE CELEBRITIES HANGIN OUT FROM MIKE DOUGLAS TO BILL GRAHAM AND ALWAYS THE BEST DANCERS .
--M. Guzman
I went to a dance at the Mission Street club, the music was cooking. While I was dancing with my husband, we noticed a hole in the floor. So I vowed not to get too close to the hole again. As the night went on, the music getting better and better, completely forgot about the hole. My stiletto heel got caught in the hole and my shoe went flying across the floor.
--JC
I was the conga player in Los Locos del Ritmo in 1959 (this was the first group that I know of in which Cesar Ascarrunz played piano). Los Locos started at Nod's in Berkeley, played around Berkeley, Oakland, and at the Happy Valley Inn in Lafayette, and then started playing at Pierre's at Broadway and Columbus in North Beach about 1961. Pierre's was the first non Latin club to have Latin music 6 nights a week. The music was so popular that the club was packed every night and within about 6 months to a year almost all the Broadway clubs began to feature Latin groups (this lasted until topless and the twist became popular and replaced Latin on Broadway). Cesar left the band in 1962? and started another group across the street (I can't remember the name of the club). Sometime after that he started his own club the El Patio with his brother Casto and a new group Cesar's Men. The club was the El Patio in San Jose. Some of us from the original Los Locos played with him at the El Patio. Sometime after that Cesar started another club on Green Street in the North Beach area. I lost touch with Cesar after the El Patio until years later when I caught up with him at Cesar's Palace in the Mission district.
My web site includes recordings of Cesar's Men made at the El Patio in 1964. Cesar currently lives in San Francisco, at least, he did when I spoke to him by phone several months ago.
--D.Reed
I want to say hi to those salseros, first of all. My name is Gessler, I am glad to be able to receive the opportunity to share my experience at Cesar's. This place, Cesar's was the place where I learned to dance, the music was fantastic because the Cesar's orquestra played some tunes that were really great to dance. An example of a few of the tunes that they played were, "Me voy pal' monte", "El Caballo Viejo", "Quimbara Quimbara" and many other that made the whole experience of going to Cesar's an unforgettable experience. I started to going to Cesar's in 1990 and went there until it closed its doors because it had been sold and was going to be remodeled. Cesar's club was my home because everyone that worked there was acquainted to me, some of the employees knew me by name and yet other just knew me because they would see me there on Friday and sometimes Saturday nights. Jonny and Panchito, the lead singers of the orquestra, sang some great songs for the crowed that no other orquestra would be compared to them. Of course, every band has it's uniqueness, and this orquestra definitely had that deep sparkle that made people dance. When I first went to Cesar's I didn't know diddle squat about formal salsa dancing. I learned there from the very beautiful muchachas that gave me a chance to get to know them and from there the ones that know me well showed me how to dance this great music that fills the heart with joy. I can also say that I saw some of the best muscians that sing and compose this great music of our. I had the opportunity to see in person Oscar D' Leon, Niche. I also got the opportunity to see and listen to El General who is a well known rappero, and Latin Reggae. It has been a pleasure sharing my story with all of you.
--Gessler
Aloha! My name is Rolando Sanchez and I am a Latin Musician. Originally from Nicaragua, I grew up in San Francisco and lived there since 1966. I started playing timbales and congas in SF. I played in many bands before I left: SOLAR, SUNSMOKE, MESSIAH, and the ROLANDO SANCHEZ BAND to name few. I also hung around with people like Chepito Areas, Sheila E., Pete & Coke Escovedo, Raul Rekow, and John Santos. My brother is Mario Sanchez who used to bartend and play congas with Cesar . The very first time I went To Cesar's on north beach was in the early seventies. Carmelo Garcia was playing Timbales with the band. Roger Glenn, Tom Harrold and many other guys from Azteca were on the Horns. I got called to sit in with the band and I was so nervous as I was just getting started professionally at the time. I had a great time and became real good friends with Cesar. I sat in regularly and then he moved to Mission St. That was great -- big place, lots of people -- all the top Latin Musicians all the time just playing and having a great time. I continued to sit in with the band: Panchito, Francisco Aguabella, Pablo Tellez. To this day I am very grateful for all the great times I had at Cesar's. I sure did learn a lot about my music. Now, here I am in Hawaii leading a 9-pc band called SALSA HAWAII and we just released two cd's: "10-YEARS OF SALSA" and "HAWAII LATINO". I want to say muchas gracias to Cesar and to all my musician friends in the bay area. I do have pictures and a bio.
--Rolando Sanchez
One of the most memorable evenings I remember was when myself and another couple found a little out of the way night club in the North Beach area by the name of Caesar's. It was a new years eve party and much to our surprise Joe Cuba, Willie Bobo, and Mongo Santa Maria were performing. Their was magic in the air as the latin sounds penetrated my soul and being. Is it possible to ever top that?
--J. Sanchez
*Note: We were not able to post all the entries we received. Thanks to all that contributed.
