the little pocket of chula vista where my father grew up, and where countless primos still live, is otay (not to be confused with otay lakes or otay ranch). and right there on 4th & main, around the corner from our lady of guadalupe church and close to the house where my father was raised, is the old palomino bar. formerly a vaquero hangout, it's now a rock en español club.
over the border
3008 main street (@ 4th avenue), otay-chula vista
it's tiny, holds at most 300 people, but panteón rococo, gustavo cerati, andrea echeverri, bersuit, and el gran silencio have all played there. most saturday nights you will find the house band, los ingratoz, playing some of their vast collection of rock en español covers. this weekend there was a lot of taking it back to the old school with songs like déjenos bailar, tren al sur, oye mi amor and el chico de la calle. they are good musicians those guys, and the crowd loves them! especially during the requisite shout-outs to tj, df, and guadalajara. the djs usually do well too, with some of the more innovative mixes i've heard... rancheras + reggaeton, anyone? this weekend there was not quite enough cumbia, and too much techno but i won't hold it against them.
for a straight club on a saturday night, it's pretty cool. the boy-girl ratio is not oppressive, the pick-up action isn't either, and the cocktails are served by boys with poky hair, not girls in miniskirt-uniforms. also, the young woman at the door was wearing heavy eyeliner and a man's suit. chulita.
here's a song the band covered in their first set, excellent for a spin on the rock en español dance floor if you ask me...
la negra tomasa : caifanes
Posts
1 comment:
oh man! why don't gustavo and bersuit come play up here? if i ever move to southern califas, it'll be for the music.
Post a Comment