l'Escale

The cabaret "L'Escale", in 1952.  On the left, Jesus Rafael Soto and Narciso Debourg, in the centre, Carlos Caceres-Sobrea in guitar, Carlos Ben-Pott, on flute, Léonardo Astiazaran and Paco Ibanez on guitar.

The cabaret " L' Escale ", on the street Monsieur-le-Prince, was a Mecca of that period in Paris,  and also played a significant role to make known to the French  the then distant Latin America (it took twenty days on a liner to cross the South Atlantic). In this former students'  bar, some future celebrities of visual arts,  Jesus Soto, Narciso Debourg, Caceres-Sobrea and others came for the pleasure, for a few francs, to sing colourful folklore with guitar, Indian flute and bombo.

Barbara, Guy Béart and a whole public of intellectuals of the left bank discovered, thanks to them, rhythms and new tones of a continent still haloed with exoticism.

From the book "The Latin Americans in France", Jacques Leenhardt and Pierre Kalfon.