Dali Magazine Mall

10/04/2026

Dalí’s Cava

Salvador Dalí was known for many things—his art, his outrageous personality, his famous mustache, and his love of doing things a little differently. But did you know that there was also a cava (Spanish sparkling w**e) associated with Dalí?

The story begins with Miguel Mateu, the founder of the Castillo de Perelada w**ery. Mateu and Dalí were close friends, and Dalí frequently visited the castle that Mateu had purchased in 1923. The two shared a passion for art, and Mateu was himself a major collector.

When Dalí entertained guests at his home in Portlligat, he often served them a rosé cava from the Castillo de Perelada w**ery. There are even photographs of Dalí standing beside a bottle and glass of the rosé cava.

Years later, Perelada decided to honor their friendship by creating a special sparkling w**e called Cava Brut Rosado Torre Galatea. The name was taken from Torre Galatea, the building in Figueres that became Dalí’s final home and is now part of the Dalí Theatre-Museum.

And the bottle itself is very Dalí!

The label uses Dalí’s distinctive handwriting, taken from letters he wrote to Mateu that are preserved in the castle’s library. The label and bottle capsule are also decorated with two images that appeared repeatedly in Dalí’s work: eggs and ants.

The ants are particularly appropriate. Dalí used them in numerous paintings, including The Great Ma*******or and The Persistence of Memory, as well as in the famous surrealist film Un Chien Andalou, which he created with his friend Luis Buñuel.

The egg was another favorite Dalí symbol. Eggs appeared throughout his work and were also an important part of the decorations at both his Portlligat home and Torre Galatea.
The Torre Galatea cava was even served at the Dalí Theatre-Museum during special summer evening visits, when visitors could explore Dalí’s strange and wonderful world by moonlight.

There was also a Torre Galatea Reserva w**e produced as another tribute to the artist. A portion of the proceeds was donated to the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation.

Dalí lived in Torre Galatea from October 1984 until his death in 1989. The building had previously been known as Torre Gorgot, but Dalí renamed it Galatea in honor of his wife and muse, Gala. He transformed the building into something unmistakably Dalínian, painting it a brilliant reddish color and decorating it with bread-shaped ornaments and eggs.

So the next time you see a bottle of Spanish cava, remember that there is one with a very Dalínian history—complete with ants, eggs, Gala, friendship, art and, of course, a little bit of surrealism.

Source: 5barricas, “El cava de Dalí,” December 20, 2016. (5barricas)

10/03/2026

Here's another photo of Miss Europe 1973 during her visit to Dali at Port Lligat.

10/02/2026

09/30/2026

This is a 1939 photo by George Hoyningen-Huene of a 35 year old Salvador Dali.

09/29/2026

Philippe Halsman was widely recognized as one of the greatest photographers of all time—if not the greatest. He created some of the most memorable photographs of the 20th century, including his famous “Jump” series of the mid- and late 1950s.

During the 37 years that Halsman collaborated with Salvador Dalí, the two created numerous original and now-famous photographs, including Dalí Atomicus and Voluptas Mors.

One particularly fascinating technique they developed was what I call their “Now and Then” photographs.

The first photo here was created in 1941 and shows Dalí’s head resting on a desk. It was a remarkable photographic feat for its time. This was long before digital editing, all surreal effects were built physically in Halsman's studio using wires, strategic props, live action, and darkroom assembly. Two years later, they recreated a variation of the image—this time incorporating a photograph of the original image into the new photograph.

In a 1961 issue of Le Photographe magazine, they ran a 1954 photo Halsman had taken of Dalí holding a copy of the famous 1936 Time magazine cover of Dali taken by Man Ray. Halsman then recreated the same lighting technique Man Ray had used back then when photographing Dalí for the original Time cover.

In 1973, another photographer borrowed their “Now and Then” concept for a Mundo Hispanico magazine cover. It showed Dalí sitting in the magazine’s lobby alongside a photograph of his 1955 cover for the magazine.

What fascinates me most is how these ideas continue to evolve. Today, AI programs are becoming the tools of the next generation of Halsman-like innovators. Just imagine what photographers and artists will dream up with them.

I can’t wait to see what comes next!

09/25/2026

Dali with Miss Europe 1973 in Spanish and English.

09/24/2026

No AI, just a before it's time imaginative 1941 photo of Dali by Philippe Halsman.

09/23/2026

Wacky pays off

Some of the projects that Dali took on were destined to go nowhere. Either the idea itself was just too crazy or Dali’s ex*****on of it was just too wacky to be implemented.

Well this wacky idea is about Dali’s design for a nightclub in Acapulco, Mexico. It seems that successful restaurateur and hotelier Cesar Balsa (I wonder if any of his friends called him “Woody”) was looking to build a nightclub for his Presidente Hotel. He wanted something that would generate a lot of talk and draw people to the nightclub.

According to a 1958 newspaper story (photo) a model of the hotel in Mexico was brought to Dali in New York for him to see but since Dali was on his way to Spain it had to be shipped to him there. That should have been a warning sign of the chaos to follow.

After a period, Dali submitted sketches of his idea to Balsa for his “Dali Noche” nightclub. Shown here is the main drawing by Dali. He also had sketches of the bar, the bar stools and even fixtures in the ladies rest room. On the sketch shown here Dali wrote “If all is done as I say, we will attract people from all over the world. This will be the eighth wonder of the world”. According to the newspaper story, Dali also submitted his bill for $100,000. Dali could put a price on craziness.

Robert and Nicholas Descharnes on page 94 of their 2003 catalog “Dali, The Hard and the Soft” writes:

“ …..the cabaret would be a gigantic sea urchin with space for about 500 people. The seat cushions would breathe through a pneumatic system, representing the delicacy of delicacies for Dalí, the edible part of the sea urchin. The guests would arrive in its interior via an elevator incorporated into the 'digestive tube.' The urchin itself, supported by an ensemble of four gigantic fly legs, would be drawn towards the sea by 25 giraffes in rock, each one 15 meters high. These giraffes, each one alight, would illuminate the entire complex; the two first would be submerged for those guests who might wish to go swimming in the night."

Well when the National Hoteliers, S. A. Construction company saw the plans they said “No way Jose” and Dali’s plans were relegated to be framed and placed on a wall in Cesar Balsa’s office. After Cesar’s death in 2007 the sketch was sold at auction the following year. It was sold at auction again in 2011 at Christie’s. The pre-sale estimate was $120 - $180,000. The hammer price was $242,500. Apparently Christie’s could also put a price on craziness.

Even Sotheby’s got in on the act. In 2010 they auctioned off a sketch of one of the giraffes that Dali had drawn (photo). The sale estimate was 200-300,000 GBP. The hammer price was 229,250 GBP. Sotheby’s showed they could also put a price on wacky.

It just so happens that Cesar Balsa was Spanish by birth not Mexican. He also bought the St Regis Hotel in 1964 which at that time was slated to be torn down and replaced by an office building. Since the St Regis Hotel was the winter quarters for the Dali’s, don’t you think it is very likely that these two knew each other? Now don’t you suppose these two just cooked this up to get some publicity? Not so wacky now is it?

09/19/2026

Here is this weeks magazine in Spanish and English.

09/17/2026

The Case of the Kim Novak Lookalikes

Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 thriller “Vertigo” starring Kim Novak and James Stewart is now considered one the best films of all time by most movie critics. However, when the film was released, it only received a very tepid reception from the film-going public. When the movie was being released in Spain Paramount pictures decided to promote the film’s release by having a Kim Novak lookalike contest with our boy Dali as one of the judges.

On June 23, 1959, at the Real Club de Tenis in Barcelona, Dali along with seven other judges chose two winners in the contest. In my humble opinion politics were in play since one of the winners was from Barcelona and the other from Madrid, one did not even have blonde hair and neither one looked like Kim Novak to me.

Oh well, the contest did generate some publicity for the movie and for our boy Dali, so case closed.

My thanks to “The Professor” for all his help in my three cases that had Dali as a judge.