22 replies to this topic

[Paul's Grandma]

Just a reminder that there is a group of musicians that play country music at La Bodega every Sunday starting at 3 PM. Also, I teach country and other line dances on Monday's from 4 PM to 6 PM. So those of you who love country music come and join us. We have a great time.

[Catinmex]

I agree with Paul's Grandma; it IS lots of fun. The musicians are entertaining and the people that attend are very friendly. It's such a fun Sunday afternoon. And lessons on Monday afternoon are free! Come and join us.

[natbug]

Another vote for line dancing! Even if you don't know a step, come to the lessons, you'll get lots of support and encouragement until you've got them mastered. And come to La Bodega on Sundays..even if you haven't mastered the dances yet. We still mess up too sometimes, and it is a VERY supportive environment. The local businesses need your support, especially now that the snowbirds are gone and it's mostly just us year-rounds.

[Mainecoons]

As a neighbor and member of La Bodega's involuntary audience that weekly gets to listen to their too loud, too late music, I'm sorry to say that this is one local business that to my knowledge, all but several of the neighbors have stopped patronizing (and one of those several sings there.) because this establishment seems to have turned from a pleasant neighborhood restaurant into a music/night club specializing in selling beer and wine and loud music that is inappropriate for the formerly quiet neighborhood in which it is located.

I'm glad you all are having fun with the line dancing and thank you and the other line dancers very much on behalf of the neighbors for quitting at a decent hour so we can have some evening peace at least three nights per week (one night the place is closed.) Your consideration is gratefully acknowledged though it would be nice if you would turn down the volume on whoever that "singer" is over there on Sundays who moans and groans off-tempo funeral dirges. Beats me how you could line dance to that.

My wife and I would like to try line dancing again and will do so if you ever move this event to an establishment that is more respectful of its neighbors and their right to sleep in their beds without listening to bad, loud music through four masonry walls at 11PM or later at night.

[zeemama]

Mainecoons, buy some earplugs!!!

[natbug]

Mainecoons, Are you sure it's La Bodega? When walking over the other night to listen to Los Pios, we passed a house a couple of doors before that was BLASTING music. We thought at first that it was La Bodega but realized it was not. We couldn't even hear Los Pios until we were right in front Of La Bodega and then it was not at all loud, or bad music for that matter.

[Mainecoons]

I live here and we're damn sure. We get it week after week, you don't think we know where it is coming from?

You're welcome to come by on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights after 8PM and hear it for yourself. Don't take my word for it.

And Zeemama, I'll forward your brilliant suggestion to my neighbor whose property is unrentable because of La Bodega. I'm sure he'd be quite amused.

Enough said, I simply wanted to point out to the OP that some of us do not feel that every local business is deserving of our support, particularly one that turns a deaf ear to reasonable requests from its neighbors to respect the type of neighborhood they are located in and does not keep its previous agreement with the community to stop at 10PM.

Again, thanks to the line dancers for not keeping us up at night. They do deserve our support and I hope y'all have fun.

[natbug]

I'm wondering, if you want to make the point that the late music is annoying, would it be an acceptable idea to patronize the establishment during the acceptable times and avoid it during the too loud times? Money is always the bottom line, so if they are making money prior to the late hours, but not afterward, might they not "get the message?" Especially if you informed them upon leaving that it is the late music, not the music in general, that offends and loses them income? Just a thought.

[natbug]

And,respectfully, I was there on Friday to hear Los Pios. They played upbeat Oldies and Latin songs very much on tempo and in key, and quit at 11, so again I'm confused.

[Jeanne B]

My honest opinion about this, I cannot post. However, I moved here and respect everything, let it be the loud fireworks, loud music, parties day and night, etc.. I have no right to complain as it was my choice to live here. Again just my opinion.

[Mainecoons]

Natbug, I'm sorry you're confused. Here's a couple of questions that the answers to might help your confusion as to why there is a problem here. It has nothing to do with the what the music is and much to do with the volume and the 11PM or later quitting times in a location that is completely surrounded by residences.

1. Can you name one establishment in Ajijic that has amplified music 6 days per week? Even the places in the commercial district around Colon or on the carretera? Do you know of any places in town that actually advertise they have music daily? Is that typical of any restaurant Lakeside or even of the bars?

2. Have you noticed that the restaurants that provide evening entertainment do so during the dinner hour, not after it, and almost all start at 7PM or before and quit at 9 or 10PM? Do you see restaurant reviews on this or any other board extolling the cuisine in this establishment? Or are the patrons there mainly to drink, snack and dance late in the evening?

3. Did you notice what is around this place? Did you see any commercial businesses or is La Bodega totally surrounded by people's homes in what used to be a quiet neighborhood? Is the street busy or noisy? To get a better feel for what the area is really like, stop by on Tuesday when La Bodega is closed.

4. Would you stop going there if the owner respected the repeated requests of his neighbors to turn the volume down some, particularly after 10 PM? Are you unable to enjoy the music at levels that aren't broadcast into the neighborhood and that would allow you to converse with the people at your table without, as one person suggested on this board, sitting near the door as far as one can get from the stage?

Jeanne, were you familiar with this neighborhood before La Bodega morphed into a night club? We were. We wouldn't have moved here if this innocuous looking neighborhood restaurant were operating like a night club as it is now. Perhaps you can enlighten us as to how we could have anticipated this? We did spend a number of nights at the B&B next door before we bought to get a feel for the area. At that time, it was a restaurant and we used to dine there. And the music, when they had it, stopped at 10PM per the agreement with the community.

Loud parties are occasional, actually pretty infrequent here and interestingly have been decreasing. We expect them. It is true that some neighborhoods have more parties than others and we looked into that before buying.

Fireworks are occasional. We expect them.

La Bodega is now 6 days per week, every week and in season, even louder and later during the snowbird season, as late as 1AM. We had no reason to expect that. It was not the case when we moved here 5 years ago.

You brought up "respect." Are "neighbors" who, in effect, run a loud party for profit multiple nights of every week respecting us and our neighborhood?

I'll reiternate my invitation to any of you to stop in to our place to hear for yourselves inside our home. Hearing is believing. Just PM me and I'll be happy to invite you in to hear for yourselves and see if you visualize 6 days of it week after week across the street from your home.

[cookie]

I realize that you're unhappy MC, and probably with cause....but I think the chances of anything changing in your favor ..are slim to none. They're trying to make a living in a bad economy...if the music wasn't working for them..I doubt if they'd shell out the money for it. This is one of the reasons so many people rent.

[Mainecoons]

Unfortunately, I think you are correct. A number of us have looked at the various options and it doesn't look good. I just wanted people to understand that not all local businesses are deserving of our support as encouraged in this case by the OP. Perhaps if enough of their customers encouraged them to be more considerate and turn the volume down, they would. For certain, they don't give a damn about the neighborhood despite their posturings to the contrary.

[Paul's Grandma]

Mainecoons, I believe La Bodega was there when you purchased your house. So I am at a lose as to why you continue to complain about the noise. Mexico is a very loud country to start with so if you object to loud noise why did you move here. All of us knew what we were getting into when we made the decision to move to Mexico. As for la bodega they are trying to make a living in what is a very bad economic time. I listen to a private party across the street from us on Saturday night until 1 o'clock in the morning, I knew the restaurant was there then we move into the house. I have not complained and do not intend to. One of the things that we love about this area is how the people of this country celebrate the special events in their lifes, culture and history. Shame on you for rainy on their parade. Music is very mportant to the people of this country and they should be able to enjoy it with out someone complaining all the time about how loud it is.

[Mainecoons]

I explained that Paul's. Read my long post above again until you understand it fully. La Bodega was not a music/night club at the time we bought here. It was a quiet restaurant that had music a couple times per week and stopped at 10PM per their agreement with the neighborhood. There was no reason to expect it to become a nightclub or to expect the owners would renege on their promise when it became inconvenient. We are not clairvoyant.

If you can't understand what I clearly explained above, repeating it isn't going to help. And if you can't understand the difference between the occasional event/party and week in-week out amplified music 6 days per week you aren't going to get it either. This is not about Mexican people celebrating Mexican life, this is about a business profiting from playing loud mostly gringo music to mostly gringos. Your emotional appeal sounds great but doesn't fit the situation, sorry.

Other businesses have managed to stay open without becoming a nuisance to their neighbors. These are the places and people we think deserve our support. I posted on this thread because you specifically asked people to support this business. I wanted them to know there are two sides here before they decide whether to support it or not.

Consider the possibility you and the other patrons of this club can support both the neighborhood and La Bodega by asking them to turn the volume down to a level that is appropriate for the community and the hour. That's hardly a draconian sacrifice.

Have a nice day and thank you and your line dancers for being the considerate ones and not keeping us up at night.

[Paul's Grandma]

Give it a rest. You can't change this country and its people by constantly complaining. If you don't like it move.

[Mainecoons]

You can stop repeating your straw man now.

This is not about Mexican people celebrating Mexican life, this is about a business profiting from playing loud mostly gringo music to mostly gringos. Your emotional appeal sounds great but doesn't fit the situation, sorry.

[Catinmex]

I have carefully read all your posts Mainecoons, so please don't accuse me of not absorbing what you had to say.

A restaurant in my potential neighbourhood would have been a red flag to me. People move in and out of neighborhoods and they in a constant state of change. My next door neighbor recently moved out and the new one has dogs that bark every time I come in the door and for hours after. When the neighbor is not at home they bark constantly. This was not the situation that I moved in to. Also, there is an eventos just up the street from us that goes on usually till 4 or 5 am. True, it is only one or two nights a week. But, earplugs certainly help!

I hear your pain, but, I believe that this establishment is just trying to do what they can to make a profit in these hard times. Obviously, if there was an arrangement to end at 10pm, it is no longer viable for them to do that. And, my understanding is that they are licensed to operate till 1am, which they don't do.

The music closes down at 10pm on Friday and 11pm on Saturday. That does not seem unreasonable to me.
As for the line dancers, as you know, we're done by 6pm on Sunday and 6pm on Monday and we appreciate your understanding there.

The reason that this post started was because we wanted some more people to come and enjoy themselves at a decent time of day. If there was more support for those hours, there might be less need for later ones..IMHO

[cookie]

For the ten years (plus) we've been going to Ajijic...I don't remember when La Bodega DIDN"T have music!

[Mainecoons]

That's correct Cookie as I have already pointed out. However,it didn't have it 6 days per week and it didn't go to 11 or later. That's the difference. It was a couple nights per week and for the most part the musicians were quieter.

Catinmex, if you read carefully, you would have seen natbugs post talking about listening to Los Pios, a pretty noisy band, until 11PM on Friday. During season, music has been going until 11 or later on both week nights and weekends. A minor correction but an important one.

I don't know if it is viable for them to keep their word or not, many similar establishments seem to manage to stay open without turning into music clubs. Looking at the restaurant reviews on this and other boards, perhaps they could have also tried to make their food more of a draw. Who knows?

You are definitely right that we shouldn't have relied on the proprietors' word about the hours and should have been more skeptical of the place as a restaurant. That was our mistake. Too trusting for sure. But I do appreciate your thoughtful and non-hostile post.

By all means, you all support them at times appropriate for their (previously) quiet residential location as the line dancers are. And encourage them to turn the volume down so you can enjoy the company of your companions and we can enjoy sleeping. They don't give a damn what we think but maybe they'll listen to you all.

We don't want them to shut down, just to shut up late at night.