The soirées that Antonio El Bailarín organized in this mansion with Hollywood stars, nobility, and friends of all kinds have caused rivers of ink to flow. Villa El Martinete was his refuge, where he felt freer… and where he used to bathe naked in the swimming pool, which has a copy of the drawing dedicated to him by Picasso.
Villa El Martinete en la Milla de Oro marbellí. Fotos: Forbes y Rimontgo.
Antonio Ruiz Soler (Seville, 1921-Madrid, 1996), “El Bailarín”, has not had much luck with how his legacy has been dealt with after his death. Almost everything was sold or auctioned in 2000 (such as a ring given to him by Pablo Picasso) and his Madrid home did not become the museum he had dreamed of. On top of that, there was a lot of fuss over the inheritance issue, with the state involved and the family divided.
Many of his personal objects were acquired by public institutions that did not want the legacy of Spain’s most important dancer to be disintegrated. For example, the Junta de Andalucía, which displayed this purchase in an exhibition for the centenary of Antonio’s birth. Afterward, they have been preserved in the rich heritage of the Andalusian Flamenco Centre, among other public bodies.
Exposición Antonio El Bailarín.
Villa El Martinete, several times for sale
But the Junta, of course, is not in the business of buying mansions in the most VIP area of Marbella. That’s where this house is now for sale by Rimontgó Real Estate and Forbes Global Properties.
Previously, around 2018, it had been auctioned for 15 million euros, although the final price for which it was bought was never known. Incidentally, in another offshore company mess. Around 2021, it was a spa hotel, which retained the name El Martinete and was in operation until this spring.
But, as if karma had something to say, this business has closed its doors and, once again, Villa El Martinete is for sale. On the starting price, total silence.
If walls could speak…
More than a whim, this house would be Antonio’s refuge. He bought the land in the 1950s. After a few years of fiddling with licences, work began in 1959 and it was inaugurated in 1961. The artist himself said of it that it was like “a miniature Alhambra”, although he would name it after the flamenco palo (form) that the Sevillian brought to dance for the first time: the martinete.
At the time, he lived in Madrid. Also in the Spanish capital he enjoyed his studio in Coslada Street, which he wanted to be a museum and dance centre and which, as mentioned, has not been. Carmen Roche, a friend of the Sevillian and owner of this Madrid residence, opened the first private dance conservatory in the capital, and that, in a way, is a tribute from the dancer that we should be grateful for.
So this was his “second home”, his space for leisure and rest. Antonio had a very good eye, because in the 70s, this area of Marbella would become a trending area, that is to say, the place for millionaires, aristocrats…
Between the Marbella jet set that surrounded him and his friends, many from his time in Hollywood, this villa has seen it all. Parties, love affairs and lots of dancing. Vivien Leigh, Ava Gardner, the Duke of Windsor, Gina Lollobrigida, Rappel, Rocío Jurado… And her male lovers who gave so much to talk about during the Franco era.
Columnas doradas y mármol,
A luxurious mansion with a private beach
This spectacular coastal mansion just a few metres from Puerto Banus, has direct private access to the beach. The property covers more than 4,000 square metres of garden, encompassing the impressive main villa, cosy guest houses and comfortable staff quarters.
The main house welcomes through an imposing entrance hall adorned with majestic columns leading to a living room with French doors. This opens onto a large covered terrace overlooking the swimming pool. In addition, there is a cosy living room with fireplace and sea views, a guest toilet, a double bedroom en suite (currently used as an office) and a separate dining room with seating for up to 20 guests.
Columnas doradas y mármol,
The villa has a large kitchen divided into two areas; one more familiar and the other, let’s say, gourmet, with a central island. We imagine Antonio preparing cocktails for Ava Gardner and handing out caviar in delicate dishes…
Toda la casa salió de Antonio, que compró la finca y la diseñó desde cero.
Upstairs, are five double bedrooms, plus the splendid 120 square meter master suite with a sitting room, modern and elegant his and hers bathrooms, a dressing room, and wonderful views of the Mediterranean.
From the basement floor, you can access the garden and the swimming pool, a pool whose tiles replicate the famous drawing that Picasso made for Antonio and which, in a certain way, makes Villa El Martinete unique and special, just as its first owner was.
Los azulejos de la piscina reproducen el dibujo que le hizo Picasso en 1961.