1900 My Way

A city club, not a beach club

A magazine feature of the period defines it precisely: 1900 My Way was “the club of the city, the only one in Caracas”, equipped with private lounges, gaming and reading rooms, a discotheque, a piano bar, banquet halls and two restaurants. It broke with the traditional scheme of the country's clubs —neither beach club nor sports club— to set itself up as the center where the whole family carried on its social life, with “a space and an activity for every member of the family group”, including the youngsters who at a certain age began to join it.

Business meetings, birthdays, weddings and lunches or dinners of a private nature were held there, as well as lavish musical shows. And, according to the same feature, the excuse of a scheduled activity was not needed for the members to come: it was enough to spend a pleasant while, listen to some music or share a drink with friends. Its atmosphere, luxurious and exclusive, lent the simplest moment the air of a gala.

Live

Live music was one of its hallmarks. The shows drew the members to see great stars in a format far more intimate than a theater's, and it was Alberto Añez who personally saw to contacting the most important figures in song.

Los Melódicos performed in one of its lounges. A public concert archive, of collaborative record, also preserves two dates at the venue: Henry Stephen on June 5, 1986 and Trino Mora on April 15, 1988. They are the only two calendar anchors this entry has today.

“La catedral de la amistad”

What converged there, according to Añez, was a group of people with common interests and one particular aim: to make friends. His definition of the project was put in print: “This is a club for the new Venezuela, for new professionals with very definite needs and a vision of the future”.

For its luxury and for that personality of its own, the club earned the most expressive epithets. “La catedral de la amistad” —the cathedral of friendship— was one of those Añez recalled with special emotion; the most repeated, and the one that in the magazine's judgment summed it all up, was “el club más bello del mundo”, the most beautiful club in the world.

In the booth

The CMTK Archive links this club to the discjockey (now DJ) Lony Ortega, who has his own entry in the collection “One Mixshow, One Name”. His specific role —resident, guest or part of the team— and the years he was there remain under verification.

Article in progress

Article in progress…… The year of opening and that of closing are not on record, nor the ownership of the club, the exact location within the CCCT or the rest of its discjockeys. Neither is the precise position of Alberto Añez, nor the rest of the artists who passed through its shows. Were you a member, did you work there, or do you keep membership cards, invitations, flyers, press advertisements or photographs of its lounges? Contribute to the MiniTK Archive and this entry grows with credit.

Social media

• · Facebook: 1900 my way (Caracas)
• · Do you keep material from its nights? Write to us through the contact form

Credits and sources

• · Magazine feature about the club, a clipping kept in the CMTK Archive (with no masthead or date visible on the piece): definition as a city club, facilities, activities, shows, statements by Alberto Añez and the epithets “la catedral de la amistad” and “el club más bello del mundo”.
• · Key fob of the club with its logo —cream oval edged in maroon with “1900” and “my way” in italics—, a piece kept in the CMTK Archive.
• · Location in the CCCT, description of the venue and the appearance of Los Melódicos: Rafael Franquíz, “Siete discotecas que todo caraqueño debe recordar”, La Guía de Caracas (May 21, 2024).
• · Second independent mention of the venue —“1900 My Way, en el CCCT”— in a thread of Caracas nightlife memory on the blog Venezuela de Antaño (2015).
• · Dated appearances by Henry Stephen (June 5, 1986) and Trino Mora (April 15, 1988): the venue's entry on setlist.fm, a public concert archive of collaborative record.
• · City Hall in the same shopping center since 1979 and its later stages: La Guía de Caracas, same chronicle, and the entry for City Hall Discotheque in this Archive.
• · Link with the discjockey Lony Ortega: primary source of the CMTK Archive.
• · Facebook page of the club: facebook.com/1900myway.
• · Under documentary verification: years of opening and closing, ownership, exact location within the CCCT, the position of Alberto Añez, resident discjockeys, the rest of the artists presented and photographs of the lounges.