Buenos Aires and Beefcakes
Boys on Fire, headed by Sebastian Coronel, have created “Buenos Aires – A Tango Murder Mystery” that is inventive, gorgeously intense to watch, and might be the Sleeper of the Season at The Palm Cabaret and Bar.
The pace is fast and seductive, with the three couples interchanging as rapidly as the scenic background of Argentina unfolding on video in all its majesty. The photos must have pulled a few heartstrings with all the expat Argentines in town and made me want to visit!
Weeks of intensive tango training took place in Buenos Aires this summer, and the results were nothing short of breathtaking. I have to go back and indulge my eyes on perfect bodies, exquisitely tailored costumes, and feet flying in precision. A couple of death-defying moves caught the audience off-guard – the collective gasps could be heard over the sensual, heart-pounding music.
While I always thought of tango as only being sexy and provocative, the dance takes on new meaning when anger, jealousy, rage, and revenge are guiding the feet. Imagine a high, spiked heel flying toward your eyes.
This “tale of love, loss and longing” comes with a printed program that is as stylish as this entire production. What a feast for the senses “Buenos Aires” is; I cannot wait to see it again!
There’s a new bingo in town at Beefcakes, under Act2PV Theater on Basilio Badillo and Insurgentes. Under new ownership and already supporting one of Vallarta’s most worthwhile charities – RISE Children’s Shelter- this nightclub has raised the bingo bar in the city. There is lots of room and A/C, but it isn’t freezing; friendly and helpful wait staff, excellent food delivered from Nacho Daddy, and bingo screens so you can check what balls have been called.
Beefcakes provided a generous supply of several salty snacks on every table. I tried one piece of what appeared to be popcorn. It was, but candied with cajeta and sprinkled with Tajin. OMG. Two bowls of that disappeared.
Four hundred pesos gets you ten games (bring your own dauber if you have one; there are loaners if you don’t!) and a shot of house tequila. Raffles, blackout game, and 50/50 draws are extra at a nominal fee. I look forward to introducing this Saturday bingo to my sister when she arrives at the end of the month. Many thanks and birthday wishes go to Robert Henry, Bingo Ball Caller at Beefcakes.
I left my lucky table – we were six and won four games, during the blackout game as I had a date with Kathleen Palmer to see “Born This Way – The Best of Gaga” at The Palm. We had a delightful reunion; our friendship goes back nearly two decades, and we always pick up right where we left off with a flawless long hug.
Kathleen, who has seen Lady Gaga in concert, had two words after the performance: “I’m impressed.” So were all the diehard Gaga fans in the audience who sang along, cheered, and cried in all the right places. This is a brand new show top to bottom – I think Maru Prado Conti, producer and star of the show, kept one piece of wardrobe from past seasons – that iconic Argentine-gaucho-style pink hat, everything else is brand new. Loads of new songs, and Maru introduced her new costar, Diego Guerrero, who is taking over for uber-busy Chris Lopez.
Mama Tits’s new show, Escandalo, preceded Gaga and also costars Diego Guerrero; I imagine he slept like a baby after two back-to-back blockbuster premieres!
The video work in this Gaga Tribute is the best I have seen anywhere. The editing is perfectly seamless with the music, and the synchronization of the singers in the film and onstage is superb. I know what Chris Lopez did all summer! Extraordinary, Maestro!
Sound and lights, choreography, everything rehearsed to the most minute detail. The exceptional teamwork across the board makes the entire production look like a walk in the park, with everyone committed to excellence and one another. Maru, you were simply splendid, Brava!
Next up, ABBA!
Daniel Celis, who starred in two sold-out weekly shows last season – Rocketman, as Elton John, and the Fleetwood Mac/Eagles Tribute show with his band Monaco, brings us the best of ABBA. Gina Ramirez, as Stevie Nicks (and later Sade), took one of “As” as Anni-Frid, and Ale Matus (Tromba Vetusta) completed that part of the band’s name as Agnetha. The band members’ costumes were absurdly perfect, with gigantic bellbottoms screaming 1970s and the shiny silver platform boots right out of Mamma Mia. The “AAs” covered the stage, sang into everyone’s heart, and delighted the nearly sold-out early show. I looked around The Palm and saw nothing but smiling happy faces, singing along, and the odd tears escaping, recalling some memory from long, long ago. It was joyful and lovely from start to finish. It impresses me no end when a group of singers can nail lyrics sung in a foreign language and bring those lyrics – two and nearly three generations removed from them – to life. ABBA: Memorable artistry onstage.
It’s Thanksgiving in my Old Country today, so to all my Canadian readers, have a wonderful time with family and friends, enjoy the sumptuous food, be grateful for that, cherish all you have, and always share the love.