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By Anne Dahneey - Acapulco Night life does not wake up until midnight, although the clubs along Condesa Beach begin to stir around 10 p.m. Brian Rullán, 25, runs his father's hillside nightclub dynasty Palladium and Mandara, while on Condesa Beach at the more informal and rock 'n' roll dance club, Disco Beach, Jonathan Rodriguez, 21, prepares to take over for his father.
Disco Beach, Avenida Costera Miguel Alemán 111, is the alpha male along this strip. Since 1980 it has pulled in young partiers (and throngs of spring breakers) with live bands on a rock 'n' roll stage (and a fleet of scantily clad house dancers) on the street level, while downstairs the D.J. area opens onto the beach. The cover changes depending on the entertainment, theme of the evening and time of year, but is generally about $30 for men and about $24 for women.
Heading east, Baby O, Avenida Costera Miguel Alemán 22, (52-744) 481-1035, www.babyo.com.mx has been open since 1976, although now it is across the street from a Hooters and next to a Wal-Mart. The club, with a multileveled labyrinthine space with a vaguely jungle theme, is open only Wednesday through Sunday starting at 10:30, $9 for women and $35 for men, and does not have an open bar. Palladium, Carretera Escénica, Las Brisas, (52-744) 446-5483, www.palladium.com.mx, seems to be the club where everyone eventually ends up now. On a recent night the crowd included a musician from Montreal, a designer from South Africa, a chef from France, D.J.'s and club kids from Brooklyn and young Mexicans working in government, media and fashion. The huge pleasure dome is perched high on a cliff with a wall of windows 160 feet wide and 30 feet tall with views of the entire bay. The dance floor, ringed by banquettes, cantilevers out over the cliff so that young men in button-down shirts and leather shoes and women in form-fitting tank tops and short skirts appear to be dancing in the sky. A man painted silver with an Aztec headdress makes a high-energy appeal for continued partying with a dance performance between 3 and 4 a.m.; a spray of fireworks outside the windows follows his appearance. A sister club, Mandara, is just down the street and has a similar, if smaller, dance space. It also has a relaxed piano bar. If the right people are met while dancing, visitors may score an invitation to the after-hours lounge Privado, which starts at 3 a.m., also housed in the Mandara club. Admission to each club is $22 for women and $31 for men, with open bar for everyone. |
