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MEXICO
CITY - ENTERTAINMENT AND
NIGHTLIFE |
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There's a vast amount going
on in Mexico City, which is
the nation's cultural and
social centre as much as its
political capital. Dedicated
bars are dotted all
over the city and range from
dirt-cheap dives to the
classy cigar bars of the
swanky hotels, but there's
little in the way of
comfortable moderately
priced bars. The bottom rung
is occupied by pulquerías
and cantinas , from
where it is a major step up
to hotel bars (most
of which are in the centre)
or to the established night
spots in well-touristed
enclaves.
A lot of the obvious nightlife, especially in the larger
hotels, is rather tame in
its attempt to be
sophisticated, but in recent
years the live music
scene has broadened
appreciably. Finding what
you want can still be hit
and miss, a process full of
disappointments but with
occasional delights.
Sometimes the genuinely
appealing stuff is tucked
away in less visited parts
of the city, but by
assiduous trawling of the
listings magazines and
following our
recommendations, there's no
shortage of diverting stuff
to do in tried and tested
areas. Rock and Latin music
are common with US chart
music and Europop filling in
around that, but you'll also
come across Cuban grooves,
deep trance beats and even
live jazz. Many of the best
venues are to be found in
the south, towards Coyoacán
and San Ángel, but the Zona
Rosa and Condesa are also
good stomping grounds, and
if you want to hang with the
beautiful people there are
several classy joints in
Polanco.
Two attractions stand out
from the crowd and shouldn't
be missed: the mariachi
music in the Plaza
Garibaldi , a thoroughly
Mexican experience; and to a
lesser extent, the Ballet
Folklórico , which is
unashamedly aimed at
tourists but has an enduring
appeal, too, for Mexicans.
While Mexican theatre
tends to be rather turgid,
there are often excellent classical
music concerts and
performances of opera
or ballet by touring
companies. Bellas Artes and
the Auditorio Nacional are
the main venues, but other
downtown theatres as well as
the Polyforum and the Teatro
de los Insurgentes may also
have interesting shows. On
most Sundays, there's a free
concert in Chapultepec Park
near the lake.
Cinemas are
scattered all over the city,
though there are very few
within easy walking distance
of anywhere you are likely
to be staying. We've
mentioned several in
"Listings": some
are in the Zona Rosa, but
the greatest concentration
is along Insurgentes where
there are at least ten
multiplexes. Most show all
the latest releases, usually
very soon after release in
the US and typically in
their original language with
subtitles, though
occasionally they are
dubbed. If you go to the
cinema arrive early, as
popular screenings
frequently sell out.
Listings for
current cinema, theatre and
other cultural events can be
found in the
English-language daily The
News , and more fully in
local newspapers in Spanish,
or you could try the weekly
magazine Tiempo Libre
( www.tiempolibre.com.mx
), found at most newspaper
stands.
Plaza Garibaldi
Entertainment in the Plaza
Garibaldi (Metro
Bellas Artes and
Garibaldi) is not for
those of nervous
disposition. Here in the
evenings gather hundreds
of competing mariachi
bands, all in their tight,
silver-spangled charro
finery and vast sombreros,
to play for anyone who'll
pay them among the crowds
wandering the square and
spilling out of the
surrounding bars. A
typical group consists of
two or four violins, a
brass section of three
trumpeters standing some
way back so as not to
drown out the others,
three or four men on
guitars of varying sizes,
and a vocalist, though the
truly macho serenader will
rent the band and do the
singing himself. They take
their name, supposedly,
from the French mariage
, it being traditional
during the
nineteenth-century French
intervention to rent a
group to play at weddings.
You may also come across norteño
bands from the border
areas with their Tex-Mex
brand of country music, or
the softer sounds of marimba
musicians from the south.
Simply wander round the
square and you'll get your
fill - should you want to
be individually serenaded,
pick out a likely looking
group and negotiate your
price. At the back of the
square is a huge market
hall in which a whole
series of stalls serve
simple food and vie
furiously for custom.
Alternatively, there is at
least one prominent
pulquería on the square,
and a number of fairly
pricey restaurant-bars,
which try to drown out the
mariachi bands with
their own canned music,
and tempt customers with
their "No Cover"
entry.
Plaza Garibaldi is the
traditional final call on
a long night around the
capital's bars, and as the
night wears on and the
drinking continues, it can
get pretty rowdy around
the square and pickpockets
are always a threat:
despite a high-profile
police presence, you'd be
better off not coming
laden down with expensive
camera equipment or an
obviously bulging wallet.
The Plaza Garibaldi is
on Lázaro Cárdenas about
five blocks north of
Bellas Artes, reached by
walking through a
thoroughly sleazy area of
cheap bars, streetwalkers,
grimy hotels and several
brightly lit theatres
offering burlesque and
strip shows. The last
Metro leaves at midnight.
Ballet Folklórico
The Ballet Folklórico
( www.balletamalia.com.mx/eng.html
) is a total contrast: a
long-running,
internationally famed
compilation of traditional
dances from all over the
country, elaborately
choreographed and
designed, and interspersed
with Mexican music and
singing. That said - and
despite the billing -
there's nothing very
traditional about the
Ballet. Although it does
include several of the
more famous native dances,
they are very jazzed up
and incorporated into what
is, in effect, a regular
musical that wouldn't be
out of place on Broadway.
The best place to see
the Ballet Folklórico is
in the original setting of
the Palacio de Belles
Artes , where the
theatre is an attraction
in itself. There are
usually performances on
Sunday at 9.30am and
8.30pm, and Wednesday at
8.30pm. Tickets, however,
can be hard to come by,
and pressure of other
events occasionally forces
a move to the Auditorio
Nacional in Chapultepec
Park. You should try to
book at least a couple of
days in advance - tickets
(US$20 for the cheap
seats, US$35 for something
really good) are available
either from the Bellas
Artes box office direct (tel
5529-9320) and through
Ticketmaster (tel
5325-9000), or arrange to
go with an organized tour,
for which you'll pay a
considerable premium.
Rival troupes, often every
bit as good, perform at
the Teatro de la Danza,
behind the Auditorio
Nacional (Metro Auditorio;
tel 5280-8771).
Cinema
Mainstream Hollywood
movies make it to Mexico
just a few weeks after
their release in the US
and often before they get
a European release. With
the exception of movies
for kids, they're almost
always in their original
language with subtitles,
and since you'll usually
only pay around US$3-4
(often half price on Wed),
a visit to the flicks can
be a cheap and
entertaining night out.
Movies are listed
on Friday and Sunday in The
News and more
thoroughly every week in Tiempo
Libre , as well as in
most of the Spanish-
language dailies.
There are cinemas
scattered all over the
city though none anywhere
near the Zócalo. One of
the largest concentrations
is along the length of
Insurgentes Sur where
there are half a dozen
multiplex adding up to
perhaps fifty screens in
all. Well off the Metro
system, they are not
particularly convenient
and you might prefer the
handier places in the Zona
Rosa such as Lumiére
Prado Coapa, Londres 127 (tel
5511-1309), and Lumiére
Reforma, Río Guadalquivir
104 at Reforma (tel
5514-0000); or in Polanco
where there is Cinemex
Casa de Arte, Anatole
France 120 (tel
5257-6969).
Bars, clubs and live
music venues
Bars where you might sit
around and chat are
relatively thin on the
ground in Mexico City, that
function more often filled
by restaurants. There are a
few, but most of these
concentrate on music or bill
themselves as antros , a
relatively...
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