Bars:

On June 14th, the BajaGay.com team visited Ensenada and participated in the second Gay Pride parade in as many years.  Congratulations to the good men and women of Ensenada for joining forces, and supporting each other in conducting this important event to the gay community of Baja California.
 
The good news is that there are currently three gay bars in Ensenada that are open and operating, the most in recent years.  During the Pride celebration, we contacted the owners/managers of all three and asked them to provide us with specific information about their websites, addresses, and special events.  We will post all that respond, and do what we can to support the gay scene in Ensenada because upon reflection, we see it as a vital part of The Baja scene.
 
The bad news is that Scandalosas Night Club is closed, and is not re-opening.  We spoke to the owner, Sandy, and it is clear that the club is not financially viable, and perhaps was always too ambitious.  It was a large space with high overhead, and that should be a lesson to any bar owner.  Gay bars depend on a specific crowd of patrons, and overhead is always a killer.  The lesson to gay bar patrons is to support the brave businessperson who attempts to open and survive in this industry.

Let’s clear up some confusion:  La Feria bar closed about three years ago, and is no longer in operation.  However, in its exact location, Iguana Night Club has opened, so we will start our reviews here.
 
We were not familiar with La Feria in the old days, but our guess is that little refurbishment took place before re-opening Iguana.  It is a comfortable layout that could do with some infusion of cash and investment in sound and lighting, as well as décor.  What could be classy with some good lighting is now just dark…in typical gay bar style.  It seemed to be well-staffed with friendly people, however we were never asked to buy a drink; instead we had to go to the bar and order ourselves.  The drinks were good, strong and fairly priced.
 
Our guess is that Iguana will have a local following with a very mixed crowd.  It had too many tables for our taste, as most people were sitting down and little mingling was taking place…leads to a “cliquish” feel, however if you know people, it is great.  Otherwise you are left to look for people at the bar to make eye-contact with…which we did!   The bar is just not long enough!
 
Over-all, we give Iguana good marks and even higher marks for future expectations, since it was open only for a few weeks at our visit.  Hopefully things will only get better…we’ll be watching and sending good thoughts toward them.

 
Next on our tour was a brand new bar called Slide Zone, located at Lopez Mateos, 7750-2, Centro Ensenada.
 
Our instinctual reaction toward Slide Zone is pretty positive.  This is another brand-new club, in its infancy.  However, it has a good location, and we believe strong management; we found the principal owners and managers on-site, which is always a good sign.  It is located above the Sports Bar, on the second floor, as are all the bars in Ensenada.
 

 
Most other aspects could not be evaluated because Slide Zone was so new, still actually in the “birth canal.”  But it gave every indication of significant money being invested on sound and lighting, as well as all other décor.  This is the smallest of all the Ensenada bars/clubs, however this looks like it will have a sleek and modern look; however,  drinks were priced on the high side, which will not bode well for young locals.  However, the owners seemed honest and interested in serving the community, even though straight.  We expect the managers will be attuned to the young gay community since they were formerly associated with our third bar/night club, Sublime.

Sublime is located two blocks west of Slide Zone, upstairs on the corner.  This was the only place that had been open more than a few weeks, and it’s popularity was apparent.  It is also the largest facility, plenty of help offering seating, drinks, etc.  We got there about 10 PM on Saturday evening, and it was full of a young, attractive patrons.  Once again, there were tables and people were generally sitting down, however, the tables are bar height, making conversation and meeting people entirely possible.  Which we did, and our brief time there was enjoyable.  The feel was cubbish, comfortable, and friendly; drinks fairly priced which allowed everyone to imbibe freely.  The Owner was also present, although we were interrupted…we look forward to future chats.

Our hands-down favorite for the evening was Sublime; however we realize that both Iguana and Slide Zone are relatively brand new and deserve the chance to get up and running…which they showed every indication of doing.  The bottom-line for Ensenada is that there appears to be a blossoming, healthy and entertaining bar scene on the horizon.  Even better, the downtown area was vibrant and we felt completely safe walking around…a far different feeling than walking in downtown Tijuana.
 
Ensenada has a very healthy and exciting young crowd, no doubt due to the presence of several universities, and a large population base.  While Ensenada is not a quick cross-the-border-for-fun-and-get-back-to-San Diego excursion for gay tourism, that may not be a bad thing.  Perhaps weekend visitors will build a more positive gay tourist.

Got a bar report or review?  Send your news to info@BajaGay.com