At Cantina de los Remedios, Tijuana
Prior to Saturday night, I had never partied in Tijuana. Thanks to Oso, Nathan and his wife, Rosario, that’s all changed. A fairly large group met up for dinner and drinks at la Cantina de los Remedios in Tijuana and then headed over to Tangaloo for dancing. The next morning, Oso and I had a late brunch with HP in Hillcrest. Oso left to work a little later and I visited Old Town San Diego with HP. I got a little sunburnt. Ouch.
Thoughts from the night and trip to San Diego:
- Any place with a ceiling covered in lotería cards is alright with me.
- I drank way too much, but that’s what happens when I don’t need to drive.
- Apparently, Mexicanos can tell the difference between a Chicana or a pocha and a Mexicana without even speaking to her. Rosario’s friend said that Mexicanas are more made up than the girls in the states. In my case, that’s right… but everyone is more made up than me.
- The fresa boys are attractive, but they all dress the same (and Oso thinks they’re more interested in him than they are in me).
- Mango margaritas with chile powder — rather than salt — are quite yummy.
- I’ll dance to techno and reggaetón if I’m drunk enough. True story. So will Oso. He gets down. Hell, everyone in Tangaloo (the club we went to) was getting down.
- You never know who you’ll bump into at la línea. I heard my name just after we crossed the border and turned to find a friend from LA who was also returning from a night out in Tijuana.
- Those little seats at windows are not meant for sleeping. Just ask Oso.
- Oso really needs to get some chanclas/flip flops/sandals. He is breaking the California white guy code by wearing tenís on a hot Sunday in June.
- Eating a pickle in the presence of Oso and HP will elicit some junior high type jokes.
- HP scares little old white ladies when he reads the nametags on their hats and says, “How you doing, Dorothy?”
In general, Oso and HP have a point. I really should make more trips to San Diego and Tijuana and Baja California.
frankly I would have been disappointed had Oso and HP not had any middle school jokes during the pickle eating…
“Apparently, Mexicanos can tell the difference between a Chicana or a pocha and a Mexicana without even speaking to her. Rosario’s friend said that Mexicanas are more made up than the girls in the states. In my case, that’s right… but everyone is more made up than me.” – I’m intrigued. Is that a good or bad thing about being more made up?
Hah. Sounds like you had a fun down in Tijuana y San Diego!
Yes you should!!!…maybe next time we can catch a baseball game too, I won’t bring my HW this time.
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I’d like to make a very sincere point: every time a reggaeton song game on, I stopped dancing. I am a man of morals.
Oso,
One day my dad in a very serious and sort of sad tone said, “please don’t like reggaeton. Please.” A few months ago this one station we use to listen to in the car that played a bunch of romanticas (like El buki..and well, thats the only one i remember cause i get a big kick out of him) turned into a reggaeton station. Needless to say, we were both devasted. So, thank you for being a man of morals!
I am in the middle of reggaeton land here and some of my collegues are doing their research on it. What is the stigma it carries out your way?
Also, how can Oso always be so mellow yet so lucid? He always seems to be living in his own little personal Nirvana.
Sounds like a fun time. I am sorry my trip to San Diego did not coincide with your soiree.
Cindylu,
You can always crash with us when you are in town. After all, oso is leaving town, and no decent girl should ever stay overnight with HP (nothin’ but love for ya homie).
Oso,
Morals? We have blackmail pictures of you dancing with the girl in the cage!
Xolo,
I think the problem is that most popular reggaeton has about as much of a message as gangster rap. I’m not ashamed to say I enjoy the beat, though.
no shame in gettin down to a little reggaeton. i’d never deliberately listen to it in my car for example, but i’m no one to bash the herd at the club. dance on! hahaha…
un abrazo, ciao.
LOL “The fresa boys are attractive, but they all dress the same” HAHAHA
Very true…
I do notice that when I go to Mexico.
Sounds like you had fun though!
Cool!
Man, the last time I went to Tijuana was to try to catch a flight out to “Guadalajara” but they were all booked. I remember that trip to T.J. because my Step-Dad did a U-turn where he wasn’t supposed to and he got a ticket from a Mexican cop. LOL Of course, the cop offered to let him slip for some “pesos” so… he got off the hook and we were able to go back home.
LOL
Same here w. Puerto Ricans from the States vs. the locals — the locals wear insanely high heels, a lot! and wear more make-up than anyone could possible need! I”m a dead giveaway as from the States except I did grow up here, no one could tell by my flats and zero make-up maybe just a little vegan lipstick!
1 more thought: is it the machismo that keeps the local women clad as if they always have to be sex symbols?
oh, reggaeton is *huge* here in PR, a friend of ours (same Law School as my oldest sib) represents Daddy Yankee (thru him I met Pablo Portillo *swoon* what a cutie!)
Joel,
Isn’t it good to know that men never seem to lose that sense of humor? I mean, I have it too, but not on a Sunday morning when I’m nursing a hangover.
Julissa,
I don’t know. I remember my friend noting the difference when she went out to see a movie while she studied abroad in DF. She was just in jeans and chucks and all the other women were more dressy. For me, I’m much more comfortable in casual clothes and shoes. I don’t mind getting dressy and makeup is a rare thing for me (only on special occasions). As long as the women are comfortable, that should be cool.
Brenda,
Yeah. I need to do it again… with more comfortable shoes next time. Your dad is too cool.
HP,
I only go to baseball games with real fans.
Oso,
I do recall you saying that you did not like la gasolina, but I’m not sure your morals kept you from dancing to reggaeton.
Xoloitzquintle,
I think the stigma only exists among music snobs. It seems like the kids like it. I’m not sure about the popularity of the radio stations with the “hispanic urban” format and their success, but there was a reason the station Brenda mentioned above started playing reggaeton.
I think Oso’s little Nirvana came after about 4 margaritas on the rocks.
Nathan,
Thanks! I get to go to SD enough for business and pleasure. Woo hoo. I’ll be there again in July.
Alejandro,
The guy I was seeing would sometimes play 96.3 in his car. I complained so much! He kept telling me I was not appreciating his Panamanian culture. It was almost as bad as listening to the Game in HP’s car.
Ana,
You can see the fresa boys in the picture behind Oso. See much of a difference? I’ve never been stopped by a cop in Tijuana, but I guess my dad did a pretty good job of following the laws or avoiding the cops.
Frances,
I can’t walk in high heels so much. It would be helpful for the times when I do want to wear shoes like that. Maybe it’s the heat that makes the women look like sex symbols? Hah… I don’t know the answer, but I’m sure the culture of women having to look a certain way to be attractive is part of the reason they look the way they do.
Brenda,
We must unite against the mediocrity! (The real reason I don’t dance to Reggaeton is because it’s a great time to take a breather and watch the ladies who are dancing to it … shameful, I know).
Xolo,
Cindylu is right … one of these days I’ll make you hang out with me sober. LOL … you shoulda seen how much those margaritas were making me sweat in TJ.
Nathan,
I thought he was a girl in the cage too! The adam’s apple was very difficult to notice. How much do I have to pay you to keep those pics offline?
Frances,
My feminist side (it’s there, somewhere) is offended to read that women who decide to dress “sexy” do it to be “sex symbols.”
Oso,
I should have known better…a man of morals…::shakes head::
cindy, mango margaritas con chile, yummmm!! sounds like you had a blast, I couldn’t stop giggling throughout this post.
xolo, ha! I thought I was in reggaeton land when I lived in Chicago, but now I’m REALLY in reggaeton-landia
My personal feelings about reggaeton: fun to dance to, but the lyrics are for morons. (i.e. ” Si se me pega voy a darle
Rakata, rakata…Esta noche quiero hacerle Rakata, rakata”)
And I’m hardly a music snob! Of course the same can be said about a lot of popular music, and there are a few singers that stand out in the crowd, (Calle 13, Vico C, Voltio & Ivy Queen) but they tend to lean more toward the genre of Spanish Hip Hop.
¡Wow, que guapo es el Oso! Y tu también, la Bella Chicana
*sigh* I miss Aztlán sometimes…
The first time I heard “La Gasolina,” was, oddly enough, in Montréal for a Latin American parade. As Mr. Gordo and I walked closer to the parade, the booming sound of the song rang across the faces of the skyscrapers, and viejitas and chicas jovenes were all grooving to the song, singing their parts: “¡Dame mas gasolina!” As we heard the lyrics (which at that point were impossible to ignore, as the sonido was, ahem, very LOUD), Mr. Gordo turned to me and said, “My, the lyrics are really nasty!”
Ya think?
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