Kumbia Knights at El Marrakech

Anahí and I have been remiss in not publicizing this weekly event sooner. We went to the opening night the first Thursday after the pride march, and there are only two more Thursdays in July to check out this free party. But, based on the scene we saw on the night we went two weeks ago, it is well worth showing up. The Marrakech seems to be the hip young gay bar right now, thanks, in part, to events like this.

Kumbia Knights is the combined efforts of three movers and shakers in DF’s queer nightlife scene, DJ Guagüis, lead singer of both the iconic Mexico City queer punk band Las Ultrasonicas and the all-female queer neo-Kumbia band the Kumbia Queers, Sonido Islandia, one of the founders of the Meras Efímeras dyke social events collective and current Burlesquímera, and Pollymiller, a dynamic duo of fags specializing in tropical and live electronic music. These four take turns spinning neo-Kumbia (in the metaphorical sense, since all the music they import is stored electronically), which keeps the crowd of mostly young, hipster queers on their feet, dancing and having fun.

Cumbia is a style of latin music that originated in Colombia but developed popularity in other countries like Mexico, where it developed its own unique sound. It is slower than salsa, more tropical than ranchero, and is unintimidating to dance to due to its relaxed pace. The songs played at the Marrakech are mostly not the oldies from the golden age of cumbia, but are newer creations, with electronic keyboards clearly heard on most of the tracks.

Islandia and Guagüis, good friends of ours, know how to throw a party. When DJ Guagüis wasn’t playing music, she was winding her way through the crowd, striking a güiro in time with whatever song was on. Islandia was in prime form as well, adding a touch of glamour to the intentionally (dare I say self-consciously) casual hipster crowd with a fabulous outfit composed of clashing leopard print patterns.

The crowd was a mix of queers and queer-friendly bugas, and I was suprised by how many dykes there were in this predominantly gay male bar. Everyone seemed to be between 20 and 35 (a very different scene from the Oasis, another gay bar, down the street), but instead of the too-cool-for-school attitude one expects from the hipsters of, say, Williamsburg in New York City, these kids were dancing their asses off, laughing and having a blast.

Check out this party if you are in Mexico City this July. Who knows, maybe the bar will extend the party further into the summer months…

Marrakech Salón, República de Cuba no. 18, (a block from Eje Central), Col. Centro. No cover.