Gilda: Spanish Pintxo with a Hollywood Connection
— by David Eugene Perry

Ahoy! One of our favorite watering holes when Alfredo and I are visiting his family in Santander, Cantabria, España is “LaLula.” The pours are friendly, the staff is generous and the clientele diverse in age and perspective. 

Also, they offer a nice nosh selection, including a Spanish classic that I first discovered at LaLula and have come to love: La Gilda, a small bite with a big Hollywood connection.

That connection is Rita Hayworth.

The Gilda is a deceptively simple thing: usually an olive, a pickled green pepper — often a guindilla or piparra — and an anchovy, all threaded onto a toothpick. Salty, sharp, briny, and a little spicy, it is now one of the classic bites of Spanish bar culture.

Its origin story is generally traced to San Sebastián in the 1940s, often to Casa Vallés, where the combination became linked with the 1946 film Gilda, starring Rita Hayworth.

The reason for the name is wonderfully Spanish and wonderfully cinematic. Hayworth’s Gilda was considered provocative, seductive, and a little dangerous — and so was the pintxo. Delicious, salty, and a little spicy.

In the film, Hayworth plays Gilda, a nightclub singer in Buenos Aires who becomes the center of a tense love triangle involving her husband, casino owner Ballin Mundson, and Johnny Farrell, a man from her past. It is classic film noir: glamour, jealousy, betrayal, and cigarette-smoke atmosphere. The moment that made Hayworth immortal was her performance of “Put the Blame on Mame,” in which she removes one long black glove and somehow manages to make Hollywood history without really revealing very much at all.

That mattered in Spain.

In the late 1940s, under Franco, Spain was still deeply conservative and tightly censored. A character like Gilda — independent, knowing, sensual, and defiant — landed with particular force. The film became a sensation, and Rita Hayworth became an icon. The pintxo’s name was not just a joke; it was a wink.

Hayworth herself had a Spanish connection. She was born Margarita Carmen Cansino in New York City in 1918. Her father, Eduardo Cansino, was a Spanish dancer from near Seville, and Rita began performing as a dancer when she was still a child. Hollywood remade her into Rita Hayworth: the hairline altered, the hair dyed, the name changed. By the 1940s, she was one of the great stars of the screen — and one of the most famous women in the world.

Her personal life was as dramatic as any studio script. She was married five times: first to Edward C. Judson, then to Orson Welles, then to Prince Aly Khan, then to singer Dick Haymes, and finally to producer James Hill. She also had a long and complicated connection to Howard Hughes, who pursued her romantically but never married her.

Later in life, Hayworth suffered from Alzheimer’s disease at a time when the illness was still poorly understood. She died in New York in 1987 at the age of 68. Her daughter, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, went on to become a major advocate for Alzheimer’s awareness and fundraising in her mother’s memory.

So there it is: a toothpick, an olive, a pepper, an anchovy — and one of Hollywood’s most luminous stars.

At LaLula in Santander, with a drink in hand and a Gilda on the plate, you get a perfect little collision of Spanish bar culture, Spanish culinary history, postwar cinema, and Rita Hayworth glamour.

Not bad for food on a stick.

¡Buen provecho!

media contact: David Perry & Associates, Inc.
David Perry | (415) 676-7007 | news@davidperry.com

San Francisco Maritime National Park Association to host inaugural Maritime Spring Fling Luncheon May 6 at the Presidio

Jack Lapidos & Fisherman’s Wharf Community Benefit District Honored

Fundraiser Supports Education, Public Programming, the USS Pampanito, and San Francisco’s Maritime Legacy

Highlights from A Balcony on the World Documentary To Be Shown

28 April 2026 – San Francisco, CA: Nearly two centuries ago, sailor and author Richard Henry Dana Jr. looked at San Francisco Bay and predicted: “If California ever becomes a prosperous country, this bay will be the center of its prosperity.”  On Wednesday, May 6, 2026, the San Francisco Maritime National Park Association will give proof to Dana’s words and celebrate that legacy with its inaugural Maritime Spring Fling Luncheon, a lively and inspiring afternoon at the Golden Gate Club at the Presidio. Taking place from 11am to 1pm, the event will feature a silent auction, wine toss, special fund-a-need appeal, and recognition of two outstanding honorees whose contributions have made a lasting impact on San Francisco’s maritime community.

“San Francisco’s maritime history is not something locked away in the past — it is alive in our ships, our shoreline, our neighborhoods, and the people who continue to care for them,” said Darlene Plumtree, CEO of the San Francisco Maritime National Park Association. “The Maritime Spring Fling Luncheon is a celebration of that living legacy, and an opportunity to support the education programs, public events, historic vessels, and philanthropic initiatives that help keep San Francisco’s maritime story accessible to all.”

This year’s luncheon will support the Association’s education programs, public event programming, the USS Pampanito, and philanthropic initiatives benefiting the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. 

The event will also recognize two honorees: Jack Lapidos will receive the inaugural Salty Dog Award, recognizing his longstanding dedication and continued support of the San Francisco Maritime National Park Association. The Fisherman’s Wharf Community Benefit District will receive the Maritime Community Award, honoring its leadership and ongoing efforts to revitalize and support Fisherman’s Wharf, home to the historic USS Pampanito.

“To be recognized with the inaugural Salty Dog Award is deeply meaningful,” said Jack Lapidos. “San Francisco’s maritime history has shaped this city in ways both grand and personal — from the ships and sailors who connected us to the world, to the parks, museums, and historic vessels that continue to educate and inspire. I am grateful to the San Francisco Maritime National Park Association for keeping that legacy alive, and honored to support its mission.”

“The Fisherman’s Wharf Community Benefit District is honored to receive the Maritime Community Award and proud to support the San Francisco Maritime National Park Association’s work preserving the stories, vessels, and public spaces that make our waterfront so meaningful,” said Bri Maughan, Executive Director of the Fisherman’s Wharf Community Benefit District. “Fisherman’s Wharf is one of San Francisco’s most iconic neighborhoods, but it is also a living maritime community — home to working waterfront traditions, historic ships, small businesses, visitors from around the world, and generations of San Franciscans who see the Bay as part of who we are.”

Additionally, highlights from “A Balcony on the World,” the acclaimed documentary by San Francisco filmmaker John Rogers that is a great tribute to the period art and architecture of San Francisco during the 1930s, will also be shown during the Maritime Spring Fling Luncheon. The film explores the history, art, architecture, and civic meaning of the Aquatic Park Bathhouse Building — now home to the San Francisco Maritime Museum — illuminating its WPA-era origins, its extraordinary murals and design, and its enduring role as a public treasure on the waterfront.

The luncheon will include a silent auction, wine toss, and fund-a-need appeal. Individual tickets are $175, with sponsorship opportunities available for those seeking to further support the Association’s mission.

“San Francisco’s waterfront has always been more than a postcard,” Plumtree summed up. “It is where Gold Rush dreamers arrived, ferryboats stitched the Bay together, fishermen built livelihoods, sailors came home, and generations of San Franciscans learned that the city’s story begins at the water’s edge. At SF Maritime, we’re proud to highlight those dreams and dreamers.”

About the San Francisco Maritime National Park Association:
The San Francisco Maritime National Park Association supports education, public programming, historic preservation, and philanthropic initiatives benefiting the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. Through programs, partnerships, and community engagement, the Association helps preserve and share the maritime stories, vessels, landmarks, and traditions that shaped San Francisco and continue to inspire visitors, students, and residents today.

Event Details
What: Inaugural Maritime Spring Fling Luncheon
When: Wednesday, May 6, 2026, 11am – 1pm
Where: Golden Gate Club at the Presidio, 135 Fisher Loop, San Francisco, CA
Tickets: Individual tickets are $175 per person
Sponsorships: Sponsorship opportunities are available