Ibiza is not for Sale.

Jose Padilla@Cafe Del Mar.

The current distastefulness that we are witnessing between the Cafe Del Mar Ibiza brand and an opportunistic business consortium in Dubai, serves as a reminder to us all, what can happen when you sell your soul to the corporate world. Greedy, arrogant, and obnoxious people always seem to gravitate towards the lure of fake image and monetary gain. Its something that is built on moving foundations, without morals, ethics or integrity. While this type of “business” has become more prevalent in ibiza over the last number of years, it has thankfully not succeeded in buying the soul of the Island. Ibiza still remains real and there are enough people out there now to appreciate and understand what Real Ibiza is about, and it contains none of the aforementioned traits. In fact it is the polar opposite.

Cafe Del Mar, while blotting its copybook in this affair, by jumping into bed with the first financial suitor that came its way, still retains enough respect on the Island and beyond, for it to return to its glory days of the early nineties.  Those special evenings when Jose Padilla brought a stylish hippy hangout to another level, with his inspired selection of music, played to a backdrop of the classic Ibicenco sunset. As he set up his decks on the rocks, where thousands now stand, he was creating a fresh new sound, that went on to be called “Chillout”. The partaking in some of the finest Moroccan Marajuna ever rolled was a factor in making the experience, a more soulful and universal one. Padilla was the spark that brought Cafe Del Mar Ibiza, to a whole new generation in the same way that Alfredo influenced the British E generation at Amnesia. Both had their roots in non commercial soil, they were organic blossoms that were born of Ibiza. They contained something that was free of commercial profits, branding or contracts, they contained real genuine people, free in mind and thought, that wanted to enjoy life and its blessings.Real  Ibiza’s power and seduction lies in that spirit. It is those organic moments that Ibiza feeds so creatively. They say in Ibiza, that creativity in its purest form, is achieved through freedom of the mind from all external influences.

Cafe Del Mar Dubai, is the Dr Jekyll of Ibiza’s Mr Hyde. It demonstrates that in life,  good and bad co-exist with each other. It shows what can happen when the money men move in to trade a bodys true identity, as this seems to be what the stock brokers of today want to be associated with, all nicely packaged and endorsed by some anorexic celebrity diva or wanabee. Because the world has lost its real identity and places that still have it, like Ibiza, are in very short supply, so now it has become a commodity with a price tag. Ibiza is sending out a message loud and clear to everybody that’s listening that it is not, or ever will be for sale because, you cant take Ibiza and try an replicate it some where else. It would be like taking the Christmas Day experience with your family and selling it to some weirdo hiding behind a fabricated image in a chat room who likes the concept, but is incapable of connecting to it. Some things in life cannot be bought, no matter how much money you throw at it. Ibiza is one of them and I hope the money boys and girls realise this and piss off back to where they belong, defrauding vulnerable old people of their pension funds.

Cafe Del Mar needs to reinforce the message that it is putting out at the moment…..that it is in no way connected to the “whatever” it is, that has set up in Dubai purporting to be the real Cafe Del Mar. Can the people in Dubai not see the fundamental business mistake they are making? If they really understood what Ibiza is about, then they would know that what they are doing, is counter productive to what they want to achieve  They are only making things worse for themselves and the people that become associated to it, will be tainted and exposed for what they really are and not welcome in Ibiza again.