Gold Plated Dishes, a Luxurious Mansion and 72 Bodyguards: The Exile of Iran’s Last Shah to Cuernavaca

Luigi Araujo, manager of the restaurant “Las Mañanitas” in 2018. (GlobeLiveMedia)

At the end of the seventies, Cuernavaca, in the state of Morelos, was considered a rest center for millionaires, artists, royalty and politicians that in this city, located 85 kilometers from Mexico City, they found not only a perfect climate but also a place to hide from cameras and the crowd.

In June 1979, a character arrived who changed the history of the capital of Morelos: Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, this sick and exiled after the triumph of the Islamic revolution in his country, I was looking for a quiet place to live.

The shah arrived in Mexico thanks to the intervention of the American government and businessmen. The newspaper The Washington Post published when Henry Kissinger had lobbied the government of then Mexican President José López Portillo for months to grant him a temporary residency visa. the emperor and his family.

David Rockefeller, then president of Chase Manhattan Bank, New York, also reportedly interceded for Mexico to release the document, with which he defied a warning from the new Islamic regime in Iran that it considered an act of hostility against his country to open the doors of the shah.

For this reason, an urban legend says that one day, from a helicopter, the house of the Persian monarch was machine-gunned in Mexico, but all the information was hidden.

It was not the first time he had visited the country. In 1975, he had toured the tourist port of Acapulco and Southeast Archaeological Zones and since then he has referred to the climate and people of Mexico.

The shah arrived accompanied by his last wife, Farah Diba, and her eldest son, then 18, Pray to Cyrus Pahlavi. The three daughters of the marriage had left to live temporarily in the United States. His arrival was discreet and although the international press anticipated the arrival of the monarch in the country, in Cuernavaca could go unnoticed and finding peace of mind despite always being surrounded by a security team of more than 70 people, watching over him from a safe distance and from different angles.

The natural space for Reza Pahlavi to find his refuge was on the luxurious Palmira Avenue, famous for its French-style houses. That of the monarch, according to locals, it was the most luxurious of all. It was a white mansionwith a swimming pool and a dance hall in the lower part, little used because the family rarely visited its neighbors, but received visits from foreign personalities on certain occasions.

Many Cuernavaca residents who were close to the monarca have already passed away, such as Dr. Carlos García Kichner. Others know the details, but few wish to be quoted. One of them said GlobeLiveMedia What the monarch had three security rings consisting of 72 people. The first circle – the closest – consisted of 12 Iranian agents, the second of 20 Americans and the fourth of 40 Mexicans.

One anecdote that came out is a dinner in honor of the shah that was held at Casa Morelos -the official state residence- which was prepared for weeks with guidance from American chefs and with food and wine purchased overseas and brought to Mexico by private plane. The menu consisted of four courses: it offered meat, fish, champagne and the appropriate wine pairings for each course.

The shah arrived sick and the only thing he asked to eat was berry yogurt. The problem was finding a silver vessel to serve him dinner. Due to the time it was already almost impossible to go and buy it somewhere, so a silver bowl for someone to put cigars in was improvised. They washed it, disinfected it and there they served the yogurt.

At this dinner, Farah Diba dazzled, who arrived wearing a long black dress, a necklace and diamond earrings. “I had all the money there,” he said GlobeLiveMedia one of the guests

The emperor and his son could only be seen publicly in two places: at the Racket Club, where they played tennis, and at the hotel restaurant “Las Mañanitas”, famous for hosting celebrities like a young prince. Felipe of Spain and actress Marilyn Monroe, among others.

At the restaurant, he was seen three or four times, but they were enough for the rumor to spread that a royal figure could be met there, as he said. GlobeLiveMedia Luigi Araujo, manager of the place and whose father was one of the chefs who once prepared food for the monarch and his family.

The restaurant is famous for being surrounded by green areas where exotic birds are around all the time. Table 14 has become one of the most emblematic, because the family was still sitting there.

Due to his health problems, he always asked for something special to be prepared for him, usually accompanied by steamed vegetables, such as the call “milk chicken” it was very smooth.

Her son was a fan of Mexican cuisine and usually ordered tortilla soup, a typical Mexican dish of tomato broth with fried tortillas, cheese and, in some cases, avocado.

His presence led to Cuernavaca residents of neighboring states such as Puebla and the capital, who came to visit the place only to see the monarch and his family from afar, as the nearby tables were usually occupied by his security personnel who came at different times. , he would order a drink and sit there while the family prepared their lunches.

The family bill was always paid by one of the bodyguards, and that of the security personnel was paid by everyone.

Sometimes, the sha liked to go and rest in the swimming pool from the hotel, located a few steps from the famous table 14.

“Being a public and political person and in some places frowned upon, he often chose for us to bring food to his house. My father would cook for him there. He always wanted to be served in his special dishes gold plated Only two people could enter the kitchen, cook for him and a trusted person would lead him to the table,” commented Luigi Araujo.

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi died in Egypt on July 27, 1980.

Note Originally published November 20, 2018