Entertainment in Baja California
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Club Extasis
Tijuana's biggest and some say best gay dance club - complete with male strippers and karaoke - is right on the border. It's famous for its male dancers and 'dark room' area where no lights means much more than dancing goes on.
reviewed
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Caguamamas
Thursday is karaoke nights, and Friday through Sunday it hosts the somewhat legendary Amanda's Show, featuring trávesti (transvestite) performers. It's next door to Club Extasis, right near the border.
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La Estrella
Just off La Revo, this is a great spot to sip cheap beers, dance some salsa, or belt out karaoke tunes.
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Plaza Fiesta Mall
What La Revo is to gringos, Plaza Fiesta mall is to locals. The dozen or so bars and restaurants here are great places to knock back a few tequilas and hear the local rock and DJ talent thrash (or spin) it out. It's unique because you can take your pick simply by walking door to door.
The bars include Sambuca (a Brazilian-themed place), Monte Picacho (live rock en español - Spanish-language rock - Sunday through Thursday, DJs Friday and Saturday), Callejón del Ambiente (great for '80s music and the diverse crowd), Bar Sótano Suizo, El Bunker, Indestruckt (for the industrial and garage scene) and Pancho Villas ('tequila, tacos & rock-n-roll!').
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El Lugar del Nopal
This sophisticated café-bar-cum-restaurant-cum-cultural center is a fervent supporter of local artists and an enchanting place at that, especially in the garden patio. It's known as a café cultural (cultural café). These places are probably the best way to experience Tijuana's independent arts and music scenes. It's tucked away in a residential area and is a bit hard to find but well worth the effort.
It offers music and art classes, and live music Wednesday through Saturday nights. It's also a super place to eat.
reviewed
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Sancho Panza
As much a visual as a culinary treat, Sancho Panza is one of San Lucas' most high-profile restaurants. The chef cleverly fuses Mediterranean and Latin tastes to create exquisite dishes such as sea bass with cherry tomatoes and wild mushrooms, lamb shank Ossobuco, or portabella mushroom filet in a red-wine reduction. The wine bar is superb, and Cuban art adorns the walls. There's also live jazz most nights. Reservations recommended after 19:00.
Cuban art adorns the walls and cool sounds, among them live jazz, keep the ambience vibrant.
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Hemingway's
Saunter into this sophisticated cigar and tequila lounge for good smokes and great swill. The tequila bar features over 150 premium tequilas, and you can purchase a tasting of five types (which keeps you from getting drunk and going broke too quickly). There's a walk-in humidifier for top-end Cuban puros (cigars), and the bar serves knockout mojitos and daiquiris.
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Teatro del Estado
A variety of theatrical and musical performers appear throughout the year at the state theater, Teatro del Estado, a modern building seating 1100 and equipped with the 'latest acoustical technology.' The Instituto de Cultura de Baja California also presents retrospective film series in the theater's Café Literario. The theater is opposite the Cotuco tourist office.
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El Toreo de Tijuana
El Toreo de Tijuana. Spring bullfights take place at El Toreo, which has room for 12,000 spectators. In July or August, corridas move to the ring in Playas, which holds up to 25,000 people. This may change, as there has been talk of demolishing the Toreo de Tijuana ring, in which case all corridas will take place at Plaza de Toros Monumental.
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Balak
Masquerading as a giant Mayan temple about 10 minute's walking distance from the border, Balak is Tijuana's biggest, loudest most state-of-the-art disco, featuring international DJs, a multi-million-dollar sound system, wildly festooned performance dancers and an always-packed dance floor. Pay extra to take advantage of the barra libre (open bar).
reviewed
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El Palmar
Banda may not seem the type of music you want to listen to over a plate of food, but it can put you in the party spirit if you give it a chance. Attracting more locals than tourists, this is a great place to hear good Mexican music (rather than Creedence and The Doors). Music starts at 22:00 Friday, Saturday and Monday, and at 16:00 on Sunday.
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Dandy del Sur
For something more down-to-earth than many La Revo watering holes, hit this Tijuana classic. The sort of nostalgic dive that would make Tom Waits proud, it's been around since 1957, and the charreada (Mexican rodeo) photos, vinyl barstools, mixed clientele and eclectic jukebox make it one of the most interesting places downtown.
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Tropicana Bar & Grill
Part of the Tropicana Inn, the Bar & Grill is a huge space, with garden views and a generous menu of Mexican and American faves. Popular with travelers and locals alike, it's renowned for its super-fresh seafood and signature dishes such as baby-back ribs. There's also live music and dancing as the evening wears on.
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Multikulti
One of Tijuana's newest entertainment-cum-cultural venues, Multikulti occupies a burned-out old theater that's been gutted and turned into a sort of urban amphitheater, showcasing music, media and cultural events. It's well worth catching an event here if you're in town at the right time. Great for punk shows.
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Sandbar
A great place to escape the madness is this low-key bar on Playa Médano, next to the Hotel Meliá San Lucas. Here you can sip your drink snuggled into a comfy beach chair while toasting your tootsies beside a crackling bonfire right in the sand. There's live music on weekend nights to boot.
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Nikki Beach
On the sand in front of Hotel Meliá San Lucas, Nikki Beach guarantees a lounging good time all day, all night, with goodies like sushi happy hours (18:00 to 21:00 every Friday) and fire shows (20:00 to 22:00 Thursday and Saturday) and lots of fine, fine people.
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Barómetro
A break from the mold, Barómetro is an ultra-hip open-air lounge down on the marina where martinis - not margaritas - draw the crowds. Great pizzas and appetizers too. Settle into white leather couches and enjoy movies projected onto the wall above the bar.
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Blanco & Negro
Not the sort of place the tourist office will send you to, this small working-class salon social (social club) kicks out some of Tijuana's very best salsa, cumbia, merengue and other Latin grooves. It's a great place to get sweaty with the locals.
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El Patio
If tequila poppers, whistles and buckets of beer aren't your style, slip into this classy, dimly lit, low-ceiling bar where, for once, you can actually carry on a conversation with your mate (except on Friday and Saturday nights, when there's live music).
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Las Varitas
A great place to escape the tourist scene, loud and local Las Varitas hosts live Mexican bands, from rock en español (Spanish language rock) to banda (raucous brass-band music with vocals). Women get in free 21:00 to 23:00.
reviewed
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Sótano de Rita
With its exceptionally unique (and naughtily inviting) location in a basement beside a strip club, this alt-culture venue hosts everything from movie nights and art shows to excellent live music, and the occasional 'literary café'.
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La Casa de la 9
In a funky old building surrounded by auto-repair shops, this long-standing art gallery and café hosts visual-art exhibits, live jazz, folk and various forms of Latin American music, book readings and more. It's well worth a peek.
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Again & Again
For a taste of the local pop-music scene, join the youthful crowd here, where gringos in shorts are rarely seen and live bands rock the house every Thursday and Saturday night. On Friday it's a disco, and the dance floor is packed.
reviewed
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Tangaloo
One of the biggest discos in town, Tangaloo branches out from the standard techno-house sets with the occasional 1980s mix, and sometimes hosts live music. The place gets packed, and scantily clad stage dancers keep the pitch high.
reviewed
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Nowhere Bar
A dedicated watering hole with a small dancefloor, this place is a popular gringo hangout and has a very lively, animated vibe. There are DJs and - possibly the reason behind its festive atmosphere - an epic, four-hour happy hour!
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