What am I missing in Candelaria

santiBOG says on Aug 30, 2005, 08:21:

I don't really know of any places in La Candelaria but now that you mention auditioning you may want to talk to Bill Rueda (ex-Elvis drummer), he has a little place in Villa de Leyva where he jams with other old-time rockers. Just a thought.

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Gator says on Aug 30, 2005, 08:47:

Different Strokes for Different Folks... lets see, take in the Teatro de Cristóbal Colón, Plaacio de San Carlos(offices of MRE might as well take a look because if you plan to stay for a while you will likely end up here), Museo de Arte Colonial, Museo Militar, Plaza de Bolivar, Catederal Primada de Colombia, just take in the old colonial buildings. Lots of little restaurants that are inexpensive and good. If you like to check out old churches this is the place to go.

"Credidi pretio parvo emere et magno vendere tibi in animo fuisse!" .

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Rubiazo says on Aug 30, 2005, 08:52:

I guess you guys are all going there in the daytime maybe. I went at like 10pm thinking i was EARLY for a night out. I usually dont even start till midnight!

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kat1 (Moderator) says on Aug 30, 2005, 08:54:

you can go to the Juan Valdez Coffe shop
La Biblioteca Luis angel Arango ( I think is opposite the Juan Valde'z coffe shop
El chorro de quevedo.
Chao X-)

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Lucia Rojas says on Aug 30, 2005, 22:07:

Candelaria Casa de citas- bar with live music on 3 and 13
Museo del banco de la republica- in front of the Luis angel arango library
Escobar Rosas- bar on 4th and 14..
Around escobar Rosas- at least 6 differnt bars and clubs, so you can hop
Teatro La Candelaria- good theatre
Teatro Colon- the most beautiful of Bogota
Plaza del Chorro de Quevedo- good coffee shops and chicha shops
tons of churches to visit- if you´re into that
Los Secretos del Mar- cheapest chocoano restaurant..good corrientazo on 5th between 12 and 13
Juan valdez coffe shop is part of the musuem...the museum is free..

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Lucia Rojas says on Aug 30, 2005, 22:12:

by the way if you want to meet some of the gaiteros of san jacinto, the old ones, the real ones... I can get you in touch with them... maybe you can play gaitas with them

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Rubiazo says on Aug 30, 2005, 22:13:

That is exactly where we went but at 10pm on a thursday there were only maybe 5 places open. El almacen viejo, el parqueo or whatever its called on 13 between 3 and 4, some cafe, some reggae bar on the same block as almacen viejo that was dead, and el taller, that was supposed to have live cuentaria, but it was dead.
I´m loving Bogota in general but I wish there were more action outside of the weekends. But at least in other entertainment areas if you go at 1am on a weeknight you will still find clubs open with people in them.

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Rubiazo says on Aug 30, 2005, 22:14:

I´d probably be better off listening to them first, folkloric music can be very tricky!! :P :)

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Lucia Rojas says on Aug 30, 2005, 22:16:

seeing them and talking to them is the best way.. they are super generous with the music and they love to teach people how to play
also I have the name of the best drum and gaita maker in the city.
his name is fredys arrieta and he lives in candelaria

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Rubiazo says on Aug 30, 2005, 22:17:

PM me i´ll definitley do that next week
tomorrow i´m meeting some of the Brazilian musicians here for a workshop first thing!

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kernow62 says on Aug 31, 2005, 12:00:

Lucia Rojas, there was a documentary made about Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto, I haven't seen it but it is available on VHS in the US.

I only have one CD of their music and love it, can you provide any other CD titles and labels? Do they have a website?

It is odd, when you say gaiteros to a Celtic person we would assume you were talking about bagpipes.

Thanks.

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Lucia Rojas says on Aug 31, 2005, 21:40:

Unfortunately they haven´t gotten the credit they deserve. I spent almost two months in San Jacinto when I was learning cumbia and gaitas and I met the whole lot of them.We stayed at their houses which they opened up to us cachacos mechudos with no questions asked. Theres a long history behind them... and many of the real "maestros" have already died, but some are left and they often come to Bogota... Theres also the new generation of gaiteros, sons and nephews of the old ones, who grew up learning all the secrets... But theres still Toño Garcia the best gaitero alive, and Juan Chuchita the singer with the original gaiteros...Rafa Castro the Llamador drum guy who is a s firm and steady with his beat as a rock. They now play with the young ones. Because gaita music is trendy now, a year ago the original gaiteros had to sue to get a lot of new groups to drop the same name.

But its a treasure like Buenavista S C. Many of the old recordings are really bad... and they never got payed, some of them couldnt even write, so managers always got the best, while they still live in dire conditions ( no water no floors) I remember Toño saying once that all he needed was some money to get a proper tile or cement floor instead of a dirt floor, so his wife wouldnt have such a hard time cleaning. And that was all he needed!!!!Amazing!

The best recording is one they made a couple of years ago called Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto. Its a better quality recording. it seems they are doing more lately than in the last 20 years... Maybe it was the 20 of us cachacos putting ideas in their heads after we lived there for months at a time.

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Lucia Rojas says on Aug 31, 2005, 22:02:

by the way rubiazo Check out the concert on friday in casa buenavista....It s a group called selva blanca with colombian percussion and voices...
Cra 6 no 35-37. tel 2454427 cover is 5,000 pesos

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litost says on Aug 31, 2005, 22:15:

Rubiazo, unfortunately the Candelaria at night is not safe enough to attract a lot of people, it's a real shame because I love the area and think it has a lot of potential. However there are some bars and clubs that open till late, especially fridays and saturdays, like the ones already mentioned. I haven't been there myself, but have heard a lot of good things about Escobar y Rosas. The Gato Gris, in the Chorro de Quevedo, is an excellent place for an evening visit with somebody on a romantic level or just to talk for hours and have a glass of wine or cup of coffee.

For now though, the best way to take advantage of the Candelaria is going by day, on a weekday preferably. Lots of college students everywhere, artists, you can walk up to the Externado and enjoy the gardens and the view of the city, have lunch in any of the gazillion little restaurants serving "corrientazos" or visit the delicious Israeli place "L'Jaim", have a desert in the Pasteleria Francesa, there's even a Serbian restaurant I saw on the calle 12 a few blocks down from the Externado. The Museo Botero, completely free and incredible is a must, take advantage of the little theatre houses and places to see really good movies really cheap... just stroll around, get lost in the streets full of history and colorful houses with the Cerros in the background, walk down to the Plaza de Bolivar, the Avenida Jimenez, etc. It's a totally different Bogota!

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kernow62 says on Sep 1, 2005, 04:12:

Thanks Lucia, the recording you mention is the one I have, it is indeed wonderful. I have a unusual audio system in my office, it uses a speaker called a Voight pipe, they have the uncanny ability on certain recordings to make the musicians come to life; particularly lifelike with vocals and acoustic combos. When I put Los Gaiteros de Dan Jacinto on the effect is magical, you would swear they were playing live.

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juanalejo says on Sep 1, 2005, 05:27:

Rubiazo Unfortunatelly you must have gone on a trash collection night. Unfortunatelly in many areas in Bogotá there is no culture of garbage bins, and people just put out their collected rubbish in supermarket bags, with the subsequent dog attack on many of them. In general terms it is not that dirty during the day, and on normal nights. Give it a second visit in the day, you might change your mind.

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Rubiazo says on Sep 1, 2005, 14:03:

They took the bins out because they didnt want the FARC doing what the IRA used to do in London.

I was there yesterday at 5pm and it was a LOT more lively and nicer. The houses closer to calle 6 are a lot nicer in general too.

I talked a bit with the owner of El Taller after my audition and she gave me the skinny.
The area is full of students who go somewhere else for the weekend, so weekends arent the greatest there. Saturday night is OK early, up until 9pm or so. Weekday evenings are good till 8 or 9 pm, then everything dies. Friday is the only late night of the week in Candelaria.
Personally I think all the area needs to be a lot safer is crowds of people. If everybody decided at once to stop worrying about security everybody would go and have a good time.

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pedro says on Sep 2, 2005, 21:31:

I admit it's been very hit and miss for me.

I like the universitaria feel of the neighbourhood. Nice mix of refined and cosy restaurants along with dive bars. Good old town feel, it's built on a human scale, people walking to go places.

You can wander from there to Carrera 7 which is really impressive to walk along.

Downside is there are lots of homeless and vagrants on the streets, it's not so great for just walking at nights.

Nightlife can be found on school nights if you know where and when to look (eg Quiebra Cantos has a popular night, Wednesday I think -- soul, hip-hop vibe).

que nota!

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