Diksha Sundriyal
Love takes an unusual form in Netflix’s ‘Love, Divided’ where two people, separated by a thin wall, fall in love with one another. The story follows Valentina and David, both going through an uncertain time in their lives. The unexpected crossing of their paths gives them a new outlook on everything, changing the course of their lives. And it all begins when Valentina moves into the apartment next door to David’s.
Valentina is a musician and is wondering if she is cut out for it. She is preparing for an audition that will make or break her, but while doing that, she also has to provide for herself, which means even when she doesn’t want to, she has to get a job. Her friend introduces her to the owner of a cafe named USB. If it looks familiar, there is a good reason for it.
USB in Love, Divided is Filmed at a Real Madrid Cafe
Ultramarinos Sebastian Berruguete, aka USB, in ‘Love, Divided’ is a cafe run by a man named Sebastian. While the name of the cafe is fictional, the cafe is actually located in Madrid at Calle de Embajadores, 9. The scenes concerning Valentina’s employment place were filmed at the popular Café Pavón, which the viewers might also recognize from another Netflix production, ‘Berlin,’ a spin-off of the international hit, ‘Money Heist,’ in which it appears in the final episode as the Buenos Aires cafe, which Berlin, the titular character, reveals is one of his favorite places in Madrid.
Apart from being a happening place for great food and hanging out, Café Pavón also has quite a history in Madrid. Commissioned by Francisca Pavón, a businesswoman after whom the place is named, it was designed by Teodoro de Anasagasti in 1924 and was opened to the public in 1925, being one of the first buildings in the city “built entirely in the art deco style.” It was more than just a cafe; it had a lobby and rooms attached to a theatre to house 1277 spectators. Over the years, however, its condition deteriorated. It received a renovation in 1953 when it functioned as a cinema for a couple of decades.
The place went through another renovation in 1978, where it once again opened to the public as a theatre, but things didn’t go very well, and it started to fall into disrepair once again, closing down in 1990. Another restoration, this time on a much greater scale, happened in 2001 and brought the original design back, giving the place the appearance it had in the 1920s. Now, however, the place had contained itself to being a cafe, serving “breakfast, appetizers, portions, beers, drinks and cocktails.” The popularity of the place has gradually increased over the years, and with several movie/TV productions choosing it as a background, Café Pavón’s popularity is bound to increase further.
Read More: Berlin: Is Buenos Aires Cafe a Real Place in Madrid?
