Los Angeles... AZULES!

Even though I had a Toluca-based weekend, it was a blast! It started Thursday night at a bachata contest in Mexico City at the Martini Room. My salsa teacher was on one of the 4 competing teams and they won the whole competition! The costumes were amazing. Everyone looked fab. The entrance ticket included a free dance lesson but it was so packed you couldn’t even turn. I even ran into fellow Fulbrighters from Mexico City! They played all kinds of music: bachata, cumbia, salsa. I danced until my feet said stop (because of my heels).

Friday was a girl’s night! Jemina, Adriana, some of her friends, and I toured the restaurants and clubs of the area. Within an hour we had been to about 5, looking for the right place to stay for a while. We started out in the restaurants and went to 3 clubs (the first 2 were too full). The place we ended, Habitat Lifestyle Club (I don’t understand why it’s Lifestyle), at was a lot of fun and had great music. Adriana taught me some tricks about how to say no to drinks by saying yes and placing it on the table. We got home around 5 but it was totally worth it! That’s what always happens when Adris says we are going to have a chill night.

Adriana and I went out for breakfast (at 1PM) and enjoyed enchiladas. I’m going to miss really good Mexican food every 100 feet when I come back to the states. After “breakfast” I hurried home to get ready for a birthday party and concert. Bruno’s niece, Frida, turned one and was dressed like a lady bug. She’s the cutest thing with the biggest cheeks. For her present, I sewed a poncho for her with pink monkeys on it. I was quite proud of myself. It would have taken a lot less time if I had a sewing machine. The birthday party was at Bruno’s sister’s house. They rented a jump house for all of the cousins. It’s so much cheaper to do that here. I think it’s about $40USD to rent it for the whole day in Mexico. There were about 30 people at the party, which is small for a Mexican birthday party. It was a cookout so we ate steak, cactus, and onion tacos. This is a typical cookout meal. Quite different than the states. Bruno and I had to leave after only a few hours because we had tickets to see Los Angeles Azules!

They is one of my favorite groups here in Mexico. There are more than 10 people in the band and people rotate in and out but their music is great. They mostly play cumbia. As a belated Valentine’s Day gift, I bought Bruno and I tickets months ago. The concert was in a parking lot outside of a concert venue. Not sure why, but it’s Mexico. We got there early and Bruno was sure it was going to start late but it started on time! It didn’t go too late either. We bet on it and I won. J But we only bet 2 pesos. L We stood for the concert but had a great place. We were able to dance and go stand right by the fence to watch the group play when we weren’t dancing. I knew about half of the songs, which I was proud about.

Sunday was a bittersweet day for Bruno because his younger brother moved out of the house. We helped him move to Mexico City because he is interning at a company in the northern part of the city. His bro brought half a carload of stuff with him. When I went to college, I had a whole car full. After dropping him off, we stopped by la Condesa to visit Anna and Julie to catch up. Then we made the most delicious stop of the day: Butcher & Sons. This place has the most delicious burgers I have tasted in Mexico. And their milkshakes are divine. I wish I lived closer to it. Actually, that’d probably be a bad idea.