09 Oct Statement by Fernando Franjo – 07.10.2017

” I am enormously pleased to be part of Ehica as an association in defense of the Historical Cafes of Europe. For years I have been able to see in different countries that perhaps most of the premises remain open but are still unknown to the public and have even become mass tourism recipients.

There are, for example, studies and publications on the most beautiful castles, the grandest cathedrals or the best theaters, but not the same with the cafes, which in most cases only appear in small press reports. I believe, in this sense, that sometimes, just as coffee is not recognized, we are not recognized by those who love them.

It is undeniable that the cafes change because it also changes the society and that can not be changed, in the same way that they also were born after a social change.

My objectives?

For years, as a journalist and historian, I have been working to get a recognition of the cafés as a heritage, that the visitor chooses for its beauty and the quality of its service, are part of the tourist legacy of each city and even of each small town because every village cafe is a part of its life, its history. But all that requires knowledge that, in general, does not exist, Let’s work for it.I am currently working on the organization of a conference on coffee relations as an environment of music and literature. They will be celebrated next year. It’s just a project, but obviously I’ll keep you posted and, if you will allow me, Ehica will occupy a place in the head.

But I think that associations like Ehica should help to recognize and distinguish the iconic cafés for their history, their characters, and their anecdotes and make them not only a place of leisure but also culture and that requires working together to make them known correctly. We do not have a good economic moment but there is no doubt that this recognition should start from the institutions (muniicipalities, governments)  that help this coffee heritage. .

Thank you very much 



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