Garces opening nightspot beneath Rosa Blanca

Nearly a year after the debut of Rosa Blanca (707 Chestnut St.), Jose Garces has opened the downstairs lounge.

Garces, channeling his inner Desi Arnaz, is calling it Nacional 56, after Cabaret Parisien, which opened in the Hotel Nacional de Cuba in 1956.

Nacional 56 opens at 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, with music spun by Pena Productions from 7 p.m. to midnight. On Fridays and Saturdays from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m., live bands take over the back dining room of Rosa Blanca while the DJ spins downstairs,

Garces' people promise cocktails, Latin American and Spanish wines, white and red sangria, and beer, plus Cuban comfort food such as chicharrones y palomitas (adobo-spiced popcorn with pork rinds); croquetas de pollo and croquetas de jamón (chicken and ham croquettes); and empanadas, including queso (cheese), pollo (chicken ropa vieja), or espinacas (smoked corn with spinach and cheese).

There's no cover charge.