Cadaqués mourns the death of Ana Mota, from Casa Anita

The white church of Santa María in Cadaqués was packed to the rafters. Yesterday, Tuesday, the townspeople said goodbye to Ana Mota Cortés, who died Monday morning as a result of a urinary tract infection, just three days shy of her ninetieth birthday. Her children recall that Anita arrived in Cadaqués as a teenager with twenty duros in her pocket. "She worked hard so that her children would prosper, so that we would work, so that we would follow a good example, and today I have to say that none of the four children even smoke," says the eldest son, Rafa Mota, who adds that his mother came to Cadaqués to be near her boyfriend, Guillermo Martín, whom she married when she was eighteen.

An intelligent woman, without her, the gastronomic and wine-producing fabric of the town cannot be understood today. Nor can many of the legendary stories told in Cadaqués, centered on famous actors. Actor Kirk Douglas once had lunch at Casa Anita while filming the movie The lighthouse at the end of the world, and ate every day, and always said he'd pay when they finished the film. "My father was afraid he wouldn't, and I remember the conversation the parents had where they mentioned that in the end there wouldn't even be a nickel left," says Rafa Mota. The surprise was that actor Kirk Douglas, once he'd finished his work, showed up at the restaurant with a wad of bills, without asking for the check. "There were so many that the parents were able to buy another house, a little further down from where the first Casa Anita was, and which is still where it is today."

Anita learned to cook with the residents of Cadaqués, for whom she worked as a babysitter or in other jobs, such as at the home of Joan Aymamí (town secretary) and Josefina Aymamí, and years later in well-known restaurants. But her children remember that she had a special talent. "Their father was a chef, and his lunchboxes were prized; so much so that their colleagues encouraged them to open a fonda, a restaurant, so that they would all go there to eat before returning to work," says Rafa Martín. This is how the Casa Anita adventure began, where two of her children, Juanito and their youngest, Ana Mari, now work as a cook.

At Casa Anita, the macaroni was famous, but especially the fish, shrimp, recapte cakes with Cadaqués anchovies, of course, and the rice dishes. As the children grew older, they joined the restaurant and later opened other businesses of their own. Rafa, the eldest, opened the restaurant Can Rafa and also two others, Enoteca and Raviyu. Furthermore, Rafa Martín, along with his wife and children, runs the Martín Faixó winery, a benchmark in the DO Empordà. The second son, Tito Martín, opened the restaurant Can Tito, which also made a name for itself in Cadaqués for its excellent seafood cuisine. It is still open today, but rented to the Vehí family, with whom they are related. Thus, the former Can Tito is currently the Vincle restaurant, where Alexandre Vehí, nephew of Pere Vehí, owner of the defunct Bar Boia, cooks. Tito Mota currently runs the Hotel Arrels with his children.

Rafa Mota remembers his mother as a woman with great drive, and also very boastful. "Always with lipstick and a flower in her hair," he says. So much so that he asked her children not to leave the coffin open once she died, as he didn't want anyone to see her lifeless. On the contrary, he wanted them to place a beautiful photo of her, wearing an apron, on top of her coffin. And so they did, and that's how the townspeople and all those who have made a name for themselves at her restaurant will always remember her. Anita will always be a symbol in Cadaqués.