The Clit Party is back again, with DJ May Crown spinning playful and sexy techno for the ladies to dance to this Thursday in the Condesa.

The party offers itself as an alternative to Lipstick, but caters to a similar crowd: twenty and thirty-somethings, middle class, femme-of-center. Being in the Condesa, however, expect a slightly more hipster vibe than at Lipstick. I’m sure electronic music aficionados can identify with much greater accuracy the sub-genres of techno that May Crown spins, but I’ll just describe it as pure ponchis-ponchis, the onomatopoeic descriptor used frequently in Mexico to describe any electronic dance beat.

Perhaps the best way to capture the feel of this scene is to leave you with the following footage from a recent Clit Party that the promoters published on youtube:

Clit Party: Electro Pop Love; Thursday, January 21st, 9pm; Nuevo Leon 67, Colonia Condesa

El Imperial; 293 Álvaro Obregón, at the corner of Oaxaca; Colonia Condesa

One of my favorite lesbian venues in Mexico City, Cabaretito VIP, has reopened after a long closure, bring back their lesbian night on Thursdays for us machas. Cabaretito VIP holds a special place in my heart; it was the location of the first dyke party I went to in Mexico City and was the home of Second Annual Festival Lesbico in November of 2006, my first broad exposure to the growing DF lesbian culture.

Caberetito VIP was closed for over a year, one of the many clubs in Tito Vasconcelos’ “Cabaretito” chain to end up with a CLAUSURADO sticker posted across the door. Walking down Londres, in the heart of the Zona Rosa, it was sad to walk by the gated patio in front of the club, the hedges the ran from the street to the club dry and dead from neglect. In the walk-way, which two years before was filled with festival-goers and tables from local GLBT organizations, was dark and littered with garbage thrown in from the street. With such contrasting memories of the place, I’m pleased to report that VIP has reopened. My sources tell me there have been parties there since mid-March.

The crowd at “Jueves Lesbico” at VIP is one of the few placed in Mexico City where I’ve seen a more visible butch/femme culture, although it certainly doesn’t dominate the space, which hosts a mix of women of all gender expressions. There are passing-butches, their go-go dancing high femme girlfriends, and plenty of young women with jeans, ponytails, and baseball caps. The crowd is generally younger and more middle/working-class than the ladies at Lipstick, with a little less snobbery and a few more bar fights too. Watch out if you dance with someone’s girlfriend by accident; these machas don’t fuck around!

Cover is free and the space reflects a low-cost decor. The music is a mix of faggy house music, remixed English and Spanish pop hits, and occasional grupero songs sprinkled in. Beers are cheap, but other drinks are small and disproportionately expensive. Expect a crowded dance floor on a good night, lots of young tipsy women, and no toilet paper in the bathroom. I recommend Caberetito VIP as a low-pressure place to go people watching or dancing with a group of friends.

Tonight, promoter Martha Cuevas has brought in aerial dancer Draco Art and is billing the event as a circus themed night. I saw this female aerial dancer perform at the Festival Lesbico and recommend checking her out as she flips and spins suspended above a crowd of spellbound machas.

Cabaretito VIP; Londres 104, Zona Rosa, Insurgentes Metro and Metrobus station. No cover.

From their website:

Celebrate México Now, a groundbreaking citywide festival, offers an introduction to the vanguard of contemporary Mexican art and culture. In the 1980s and 1990s, Mexico experienced a cultural boom that generated new artists, ideas, and forms of expression. Cross-disciplinary collaborations and collectives, focused on reexamining and redefining Mexican identity within a global context, sprung up in the country?s major urban centers. Celebrate Mexico Now presents this thriving generation of artists in an annual festival that encompasses architecture, cuisine, dance, film, music, theatre, and visual art.

For those who live in New York and can’t make it to the D.F. this year, this festival offers a peek at the kinds of cultural happenings that are coming out of Mexico right now.

Highlights include a screening of new Mexican short films, a photography exhibition featuring images of Mexico City and New York’s respective subway systems, a dance party at The Delancey on Saturday, September 13th, produced by Fresa Salvaje, who routinely bring hot (and often queer) latin american DJ’s and performers to the big apple.

Blending influences from Bariloche (Argentina) and Tijuana (México), FACA’s “Bari-juana” sound mixes surf, garage and techno, with kitsch and retro iconography invading the duo’s live shows. Sonido Discoyoácan spins eclectic mixes that include vintage barrio beauties like mambo, cha cha cha, Mexican soap opera classics and wedding anthems, all seamlessly intertwined with psychedelic, early punk, indie rock, and electronica; DJ Papichulo (Fresa Salvaje’s DJ de la casa) is inspired by the music he grew up with in the 80´s in Mexico and the cumbia poblana he discovered later on.

There are also poetry, dance, and other events, as well as a guide to “authentic” Mexican Restaurants, which are having their own mini-restaurant week. All of which can be viewed on the main calendar.

Today is the opening night of the Second Annual Rock and Sexual Diversity Film Festival, which features film screenings, musical performances, a fashion show, and several dance parties.

According to co-organizer Artemisa Téllez, the festival aims to create a space that is welcoming for the GLBT punks, emos, darketos (goths), and others who may not feel at home in more mainstream gay venues. “There are gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people who may mostly go to straight venues because they prefer the scene there to what they find in the Zona Rosa. This festival is an event for them, but one that is explicitly gay.”

a group of emos protest machismo, homophobia, and "emophobia" at the marcha del orgullo in june 2008

The festival begins tonight at 5:30 at Buzón de Arte in la Romita. Highlights for tonight included screenings of Todd Hayne’s cinematic tribute to glam rock Velvet Goldmine (at 6:00 pm), a screening of the black and white John Waters cult classic Mondo Trasho (at 9:15), as well as performances and art exhibitions in between.

There is no official website for the event, but the full schedule can be viewed here.

Buzón de Arte is located in the Romita, a small neighborhood in the northeast corner of Colonia Roma, a short walk from Metro Cuautémoc. Callejón de Romita, núm. 8, Col. Roma, between Puebla y Durango

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.

When I arrived at this bar, the first impulse I had was to call the crowd to order and give a history lesson. This group of queer preppies, dressed in a way that I couldn’t understand, were giving me deja vu from the short period when I worked as a high school teacher.

But the night went on and suddenly I was listening to M.I.A, one of my favorites singers. And, making the scene even more attractive to my eyes, a bunch of teen fags were singing her lyrics and dancing as if they were her or, at least, as if they were in one of her videos. La Bomba, indeed, turned out to be a real explosion for my eyes, which I suppose were no longer used to seeing this array of color, youth and hormones, altogether in the same place.

In order to understand what the appeal of this place is, I have to mention Pepi, Lucy, Bom y las chicas del montón, Pedro Almodóvar‘s first movie, where Carmen Maura is unbelievably young and the Spanish now-famous-singer Alaska is fifteen years old. La Bomba is a place where anyone can appear, from fashionistas trying to find “alternative” new places to “emos” showing off their creative outfits. This small, kind of improvised bar, gives life to colorful characters–it’s as though their myspace layouts have come to life–who come to migle away from their homes and parents.

In my earlier posts, I’ve talked about how the victims of the gentrification of the Zona Rosa include the young queer teenagers who can barely afford a dinner and a couple of beers in the upscale new venues on Amberes street. Although one of the regulars mention that this place opened about five years ago, La Bomba seems to be filling this gap, since it is located near the gay area, and offers a wide variety of music; even hosting young dj’s that are beginning their careers.

Following the requirements of the new local policy, an ID has to be displayed at the entrance. A big, young machota will frisk you if you are a woman. So don’t bring any weapons….

La Bomba: Jalapa 13 Glorieta metro Insurgentes, Col. Roma; Caguama 30 pesos (US$3.00), tostadas and snacks are served.

I guess this is the upside of the gentrification of the Centro Historico. At least, that’s how I’m interpreting the opening of the Marrakech Salon, a great bar located on Republica de Cuba between the Viena and La Perla, both famous local gay bars.

This place was founded by a couple of guys who also own two restaurants known for their comida corrida, one behind the Museo de San Ildefonso and the other one on Gante street, also in the Centro Historico. Both restaurants are characterized by their peculiar decorations that are reminiscent of old Mexican kitchens, but infused with an extremely gay aesthetic: the paintings hanging on the wall are like Tom of Finland drawings, but in bright colors.

It is worth mentioning that Marrakech Salón is different from its neighbors because it doesn’t offer the drag shows that Viena and La Perla boast as their main attractions. Instead, there is a juke box with a large variety of music, from disco music to reggaeton, both in English and Spanish. The place is spacious enough to dance, bathrooms are clean and there is a smoking area upstairs. The beer is cheap (25 pesos or 2.5 dollars) and the best brands are served; also cocktails are part of the menu. Drinks come with peanuts or habas con chile as a botana (snack).

Of course, machas will feel welcome here, along with their friends coming from abroad. Although it’s a gay bar, there always seem to be a good mix of queer women in the crowd. An artsy, hipster kind of crowd mixed with veteran gays and young lesbians looking for a place to have fun shape the landscape of this new great bar, which I highly recommend.

(And my gay male friends, connoisseurs of these matters, are always fascinated with the beautiful waiters that work here….)

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

The Under, Mexico City’s foremost darketo (goth) club, is a must for those seeking a different corner of chilango nightlife. Located in the colonia Roma, The Real Underground was opened a few years ago in order to create a space that was welcoming to members of this subculture. The proprietors of the club, darketos themselves, seek to provide non-mainstream musical groups a space where they can perform and their fans can hang out without being disturbed. What is interesting about this place and its economics (if I can say that) is that here, you definitely won’t find the typical guys trying to fight the system by avoiding any kind of marketing. Instead, the Under is run as a business that satisfies a very specific market.

Regulars at El Under (pronounced ünder) wear deep dark mascara, white make up, corseted waists, high heels and velvet coats. However, it is common to see punks, rockabillies and emo kids sharing this place that looks a little bit like the rec room at the Adams Family mansion. The club is, in fact, housed in an old, beautiful house built in the early 20th century, with wooden floors on both of its two stories. Two giant murals have been painted on the walls of the main rooms, one of a mysterious castle and the other, creepily, of the “Singing in the Rain” scene from A Clockwork Orange.

People who don’t dare to dress up to explore the night are still welcome at the Under. All you need here is the willingness to listen and dance to good music without a pretentious attitude. In my experience, my machas and gay friends have never been disturbed, even in PDA cases.

If you pick the right day, you might hear an interesting band or dance to DJs from all sectors of the chilango scene–and sometimes from abroad–spinning 80s and 90s music.

Beer is cheap and there is a little hot dog cart around the corner if you get hungry.

El Real Under;Address: Monterrey 80, Colonia Roma. A couple of blocks from Durango Metrobús station. Very close to Insurgentes subway station. Tel. 5511 5475. myspace.com/el_under