Heading to La Troja!!!!!!!!!

elmodefoque says on Sep 20, 2004, 09:16:

"la troja" Hey tone, you’re the man! Damn, I wish I was going with ya. My buddy from the Bronx loved it. Is nice to get away from those stuffy, very plastic young barranquillero elite or “pupis” and have fun like real curramberos. The place is right in the corner of the block and most tables are outside, so is the dance floor. Well, the dance floor is really where you want it to be. The questionable crowds usually hang out with each other and bother no one. As long as you mind your business, I guarantee no problem. Is like San Andres was or is with Colombian cartels, no business or fighting, just a place to have fun and enjoy the fruits of their labor. Don’t get alarmed if you see people snorting perico (coke) in the bathroom, but you see that in NYC, all the time anyway. After they get a little drunk, they will indulge out in the open. Soldiers are usually stationed right across the street to stop fights, stabbing, shootings etc. all the fun stuff poor barranquilleros enjoy. The music is mostly 70’s NYC Latin salsa, and those vallenatos that get everybody singing out loud with a bottle in their hand. I saw the best salsa moves in that place.
Listen, you’re going to find kids selling buttifarras right outside, have one for me. Don’t worry if dog is part of the ingredient, they are boiled for nearly 4 hours and is perfectly safe. When I was a kid (4-9 years old) selling that stuff. I had plenty of repeat, loyal, costumers. I still bump into people who knew me then, the old guys, now in their 80’s 90’s (all from eating my butifarras) still say the same crap to me “hey, tu eres el pelaito guajiro que vendia las butifarras sabrosa (Hey, you’re that little guajiro kid that sold those delicious butifarras.” And I answer. Si, soy yo! you old fucking, dust farting goat! Que? Que?

I'll get there, when I get there!

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toneloc24 says on Sep 20, 2004, 10:33:

I'm so ready to go.... on Thurs. This week can't go fast enough for me.

La Troja will be icing on the cake, along with my side trip to Cartagena. Not messing with the butifurras. Yo no como carne....except.

Not really concerned about La Troja. My novia's mother & father and I already have agreed to polish off a couple of bottles of aguardiente together, along with his my mother. Mom and I have a dance date, whilst pops sings the blues (vallenato/classic salsa) at the table. Mom says she was a very dancer sometime ago. The whole family seems to be up for it. We'll see. My novia will be shitting her panties the whole time. I'll love every minute of it.

It's going to be a fun evening. We'll do a chiva first, hit the discos. I'll have had my fill of the "plastic" crowd, then we can get down to the business of having a good time. It will really be an interesting time for me in BAQ. Yeah, I know there's a dangerous element, but what's life without it?

I used to frequent many NYC/Bklyn nightclubs in the late 80s/early 90s. As well as some places in Brasil. I'm not a drug-user, but my tolerance for witnessing crazy stuff is pretty far-reaching. Not a problem for me, as long as my party of people are cool and comfortable.

"PBH is dead!!!!"

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toneloc24 says on Sep 29, 2004, 10:27:

Never made it there It was closed on Thurs. nite when it became the one of the only options after the elitist pricks at Frogg Leggs wouldn't let us in. Something about needing a reservation. Or it being full. All bull because we watched as people passed right by without issue. One of the security guys told my Caleno friend something in confidence. Not discussing it here, because such things seem not to exist in Colombia, or rather do not like to be discussed in regards to Colombia. I'll never go back to or recommend Frogg Leggs to anyone. I'll leave it at that.

Anyway, La Troja was closed on Thurs. Needed somewhere in BAQ to go listen to some good salsa, merengue, vallenato, campeneta, reggaeton, whatever, while downing some aguadiente chased by cold Aguilas.

Went to La Quinta, but they were closing. Juanitos had a private party for teenagers, and another place was only playing vallenato.
Ended up at some obscure place near to El Prado & Centro, damned if I know the name, but similar to La Troja. Narco-traficantes, ladrons, prostitutas, sicarios, whatever. Place was dark, but at no time did we feel unsafe. Drugs being sniffed in the bathroom. Real low-life type of place, but the people were cool.

There was a dancefloor, used for merengue, salsa, vallenato, reggaeton that was played as people danced.

One guy approached my Caleno buddy to ascertain where he was from. Told him Cali. The guy said he's a "representative" of the Medellin cartel. Not sure if it was true or not, but dude turned out to be cool. Bought my buddy a drink. No issues.

"PBH is dead!!!!"

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toneloc24 says on Sep 29, 2004, 10:36:

Next night at La Quinta After the bad taste in our mouths from Frogg Leggs the night before, we had drinks at Luna Negro then walked over to La Quinta. Had a great time with our chicas dancing on the tables.

There were loads of single ladies there. A bouncer named Angelo stopped by several times to make sure everything was cool, and that were enjoying ourselves. Great time had there by all.

Had no energy left for La Troja. Plus, we were all pretty drunk after 3 bottle of aguardiente chased by beer.

"PBH is dead!!!!"

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elmodefoque says on Sep 29, 2004, 10:42:

I’m telling you man, those pris pris plastic clubs are mostly, Colombian peso rich assholes. I don’t go there, because I will surly get into a fight, I much prefer places like “la troja”
Colombians with a couple of pesos in their pockets are the worst, I can’t stand them. I get treated like crap by them all the time, just recently when I went to the consulate here in NYC, I immediately got that superiority attitude from them. They were the typical cachaco light skin, little pricks, and got no where with them. now I can't even return back home

I'll get there, when I get there!

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elmodefoque says on Sep 29, 2004, 11:10:

Hey tone if you don’t tell them I will. Americans should also know about the ugly side of Colombia. Most Colombian, middle to upper class are racist sonamanbiche pricks. The same shit happened to me. Those little third world bastards think they got it going on as to discriminate people because of their race or economical situation. I understand racism in America, I don’t like it but it makes a lot more sense since you got incredibly dollar I repeat dollar rich people and they don't want a low life like me sweating up a storm dancing next to them, but in Colombia, to get discriminated by some insignificant little third world jerk, it just boggles the mind.

I'll get there, when I get there!

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toneloc24 says on Sep 29, 2004, 11:48:

Yeah, you get it Elmo The bouncer told my buddy that he would get in trouble if he let us in right now, even though the club wasn't full. That reservation stuff was a sham.

We spent too much time trying to get my novia to understand that this stuff does happen. We even watched as people came up and went in, without reservation. And yes, they looked "different" than we did. She wouldn't put two and two together, and was adamant about it.

We were pretty burned by that. Everyone was down. You leave the USA and deal with some crap like that in Colombia? The same thing happened last time I was at Frogg Leggs, but I took their word for it, even though my instincts told me that there was more to it.

I hate being told "I told you so", but Elmo you did tell us. Thanks for the warning. I'll never frequent that place again. I hate being talking about this. Viva La Troja and its unpretentiousness!!!

"PBH is dead!!!!"

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elmodefoque says on Sep 29, 2004, 12:23:

Hey tone, I ‘m embarrassed, I ‘m ashamed, and I’m sadden and I apologize and I know you understand that we have cool people there, much like me. I will not BS you by telling you that those assholes are a small minority, they're not. Some in my own family are also racist bastard. What you went thru happened to me in Bogotá and Medellin; I don’t even given the satisfaction to do it to me in Barranquilla because I will retaliate violently. I have some crazy ass guajiros relatives that would just go off on those pris pris plastic bastards and turn "froggs legs" into "fried froggs legs"
A lot of people here on this site do not understand what we're talking about; stuff like that never happens to them so they must think I’m loco.

I'll get there, when I get there!

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caslug says on Sep 29, 2004, 12:25:

Hey Tone, you shouldn't keep quiet about it... It's doesn't help if people keep quiet when faced with social injustice(racism/classism/ism, etc.,). Of course I'm not advocating make a scene in public and getting in trouble. But you should definitely share your experience with your friends and forums like this. That's the best way to get the word out to hopefully open people's eye. Everytime racism comes up on this board, there's some poster that swear up&down that it's not as bad as we(gringos) make it out to be. Well it's not as bad until it happens to you or people you know. Just because something is ACCEPT doesn't make it right.

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toneloc24 says on Sep 29, 2004, 13:27:

Caslug/Elmo I agree with you. And no need to apologize. I have a lot of love for Colombia and its people. Remember I'm a jaded new Yorker. I don't see the world through rose-tinted glasses. I know what's real and what's bogus.

I know Colombia is a wonderful country with many great experiences to be had. The people that I encountered were generally warm and fun. I always had a fun experience trying out my Spanish on an unsuspecting female, in front of my novia. The results were always huge laughs, after my novia (who understands me) would have to interpret my Spanish in Spanish.

In my life, I have never used race as a crutch, and tend to steer clear of those conversations online. When I experience something like that at Frogg Leggs, it gives me pause. I'm sure there are other places similar throughout Colombia. It's their prerogative, as it is mine to tell people online about my experience there.

But to be told that "you're not getting in somewhere because of the color of your skin....." You don't have to tell me twice.

Crazy enough, even after having heard what the bouncer said, and witnessing the "other" patrons being allowed in after we were turned away, this time and back in August, my novia still has a difficult time accepting this is what occurred. With her own ears and eyes, yet trying to come up with excuses. I'm not sure if that's Colombian custom, but I call a spade, a spade.

No more on the race thing. I'm done expressing.

"PBH is dead!!!!"

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