DIANA DIEZ PEREA AND ROBERTO LEÓN
Community Manager Attach to Secretariat
DOSSIER
More than half a century of history
The Association of Spanish Bartenders (ABE) was established on the initiative of the first bartender who crossed our borders, Don Pedro Chicote. He closely followed the problems of the Spanish hotel industry and together with a group of bar professionals decided to give this profession the importance it deserves, since other sectors at that time had professional associations.
After some time working on giving it a legal form, it was formally constituted on February 15, 1964.
The ABE Foundatio n Act establishes as the main priority the possibility of constituting said Association for, in addition to meet the aspirations needs and problems of the profession, also make clear the reference to the express and clear objective that the Hospitality Industry has for a country like Spain that has to be firmly oriented towards tourism development.
Chicote was very clear about the lines of the association: professional development and tourism promotion. Very soon, representatives of this activity from different parts of the country were added to this Association of Bar professionals, who would progressively create groups of Bartenders in their respective cities, adhering to ABE as Delegations of the Association.
From the association, the activity between professionals and interested commercial brands begins to develop, and it does not take long for them to want to expand their knowledge with other countries, that is when they apply for entry to the IBA. It is a great opportunity for ABE as it would allow them to participate in bartending contests and competitions.
The International Bartender Association (IBA), created on February 24, 1951, admits the Association of Spanish Bartenders, as a full member, in
More than half a century o f history
their annual meeting held in Edinburgh, 1964, under the presidency of Don Ángelo Zola, distinguished president of the Italian Bartenders Association.
In June of that same year, the Association of Spanish Bartenders (ABE) organized the 1st National Cocktail Contest, whose first three classified, a few days later, would participate in the International Cocktail Championship held in the Scottish city. From then on, FABE has not been absent from the World Championships, initially held triennially and now every year.
In 1967, ABE organized the World Cocktail Contest in Palma de Mallorca, demonstrating its organizational capacity and great professional career. This contest was classified as one of the best of all those held to date. Bartender
Enrique Bastante, from the Madrid Bartender Association, was proclaimed World Champion, with his "Mallorca" cocktail
On March 28, 1996, under the presidency of Mr. Félix Artalejo, the Association of Spanish Bartenders changed its name to the Federation of Spanish Bartenders Associa tions (FABE), thus fulfilling an aspiration of all the Associations that belong to it.compose and which in turn went from Delegations to Associations. Since 2003 Spain has participated in the World Cups with a representative in the Classic and Flair categories.
Since the success achieved in that first Cocktail Contest held in Palma de Mallorca, in the following decades Spanish Bartenders have held prominent positions in International Championships: in 2011 in Warsaw (Poland) Manolo Martín, from the Seville Bartender Club , won the World Champion Gold Medal again with his "Magic Garden" cocktail, in 2007 in Turin (Italy) Yoly Troitiño from the Gipuzkoa Bartenders Association, with his "Stick Blood" won the World Cup for under 27 years of age; In 2012 in Beijing, Rafael Martín from the Balearic Bartenders Association won the Bronze Medal with his "Cool Family" cocktail.
More than half a century of history
On several occasions he has won the Technique Award, starting in 2008 with World Championship Value, just that year in which Mario Navas, from the Seville Bartender Club, won it in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
In 2010, the Asturian Bartender Víctor Suárez from the Bartenders Association of Tenerife with his cocktail "Goodlife Espíritu Latino" won the Pan American Cocktail Competition in Ecuador. A trilogy began that awarded the Property Award to FABE when Rafael Martín won in 2011 with his cocktail "Dream Team" at the Pan American Games in Tenerife and was finished off by Ana María Martínez from AGABA, the Galician Bartenders Association, winning it in 2012, with the "Adara" cocktail, in Arequipa (Peru). For the second time the Property Cup is awarded, the first one was taken by Cuba, but they were three alternate years. Our cup had the merit of being three years in a row and for the first time in history.
In 2011 President D. Pepe Dioni won the Presidents Cup, in the Pan American that was held in Tenerife with his "Little Witch" and in 2014 Leo Gálvez was proclaimed World Champion in the Flair modality.
Beginning with our founder Perico Chicote and the national presidents who happened, Manolo Blanco and Pepe García Luque, unfortunately already disappeared, who together with their Boards worked to develop such a beloved profession. They began to give the Spanish Bartenders a presence in the Institutions, respect among the citizens and they laid the first stones of what would later become this Federation. In those times, not a few presidents of Bartenders Associations and regional Boards collaborated in this movement to extol the personality and prestige of bar professionals. The then called ABE was growing and occupying almost the entire national territory. Their Championships made the Bartenders travel throughout Spain, when few
they did, exchange knowledge and experiences to improve as people and as professionals.
More than half a century of history
Then came Félix Artalejo, seventeen years of work, in many times only with the help of those who gave what they could, what their work and even their health allowed them.
In February 2009 José Dioni Fayos, his influence and his work in the Federation grew over the years to lead to the position of national president of FABE. José Dioni is a historical bartender from ABE Gipuzkoa and a person who has been characterized by his struggle and demands to improve the professional conditions of his colleagues, the bartenders.
In 2017, a historic event occurred for our federation, since Mr. José Dioni Fayos, will hold the position of president of the IBA (International Bartender Association), an honor never before granted to a president of our federation.
After the work carried out by José Dioni Fayos, his successor was his National Vice President and until then president of the Seville Bartender Club D. Ramón Ramírez Fresneda, who did a fantastic job, which led him to currently be one of the fundamental pieces of the International Bartender Association, currently holds the position of Vice President Public Relations Communication FABE is made up of 20 Associations and in 2022, after the first annual meeting held by bartenders after the pandemic, Mr. Juan Carlos Muñoz Zapatero, President of the Madrid Bartenders Association, was elected President to continue carrying the essence of FABE, which emerged more than 50 years ago by a group of professionals in love with their work and in order to dignify the sector, today the Federation of Spanish Bartenders Associations continues the work that others began with the same tenacity and without an expiration date.
PHOTOS OF PREVIOUS CONGRESSES OF FABE NATION WIDE
