TRAVEL: COLOMBIA’S COMING OUT
From the walled Old Town in Cartagena to the national parks on the Caribbean coast and the cool capital, Bogotá, Colombia is ready and waiting to be explored by tourists brandishing “pink pesos”.
From Old Town, Cartagena to the Caribbean coast and the cool capital, Bogotá, Colombia is waiting to be explored by tourists with “pink pesos”.
The homeland of Modern Family’s Sofia Vergara, pop diva Shakira, and exercise craze Zumba, it’s not surprising that Colombia’s capital city, Bogotá boasts the (self-proclaimed) largest gay club in Latin America. Aptly named Theatron, it even holds its own drag race, Miss Gay Internacional.
Bogotá is a big, grand and modern city. My husband visited 15 years ago and recalled a homophobic place with one gay “hole in the wall” venue hidden in the suburbs and requiring a secret password to gain entry.
We were pleasantly surprised to find the capital, with its current population of 8 million people, now includes a wealth and variety of LGBT life, spread across several areas, positively and proudly revels in being “out”.
Every weekend, Bogotá is buzzing with a vibrant, diverse gay scene. The city’s annual gay pride event in June attracted 55,000 marchers in 2017. This from humble beginnings – only 32 people marched at the first one, a year after homosexuality was legalised.
The safest area for tourists is El Chicó, where stylish apartment blocks are sandwiched between banks and boutique hotels. We stayed at Click Clack, a hip hotel decorated in black and white with plenty of mirrors and glass.
Nearby is the city’s hottest food porn destination, Co – possibly the most minimalist restaurant in the world. The bare, white walls, grey concrete tables and Japanese-like pebble garden set the scene for inventive, deconstructed takes on borscht, duck confit and crème brûlée. To explore how Colombia has fused Asian flavours, Ceviche style, head to Wok. Its chain of 15 Bogotá restaurants, thanks to head chef Tansy Evans (Colombia’s answer to Nigella Lawson) might just be the best PanAsian food you’ll scoff outside its country of origin.
Another area worth exploring is La Candelaria, with its cute, centuries-old streets, impressive government buildings and hot university students (making meaningful eye contact). The truly gay area of Bogotá is Chapinero, locally known as “Chappy Gay” for obvious reasons. Here’s where you’ll find the underwear stores, dive bars and the aforementioned big gay club, Theatron. >>
>> In daylight hours, visit the city’s famous monastery up on the hillside. The more sporting-minded reader should note that Sundays are car free in many of Bogotá’s streets. Perfect for bike hire, rollerblading, or just getting out and watching seriously hot, shirtless hunks sweat in the sun.
Afterwards, chill out in a park. There’s Zumba and salsa en masse and everyone snacks on Chontaduro, a reddish-orange coloured fruit from a tropical palm species that is said to be a superfood and, like the dancing, reputedly an aphrodisiac.
While Bogotá is certainly an exuberant and exciting city that has evolved into a global gay hub, the rest of Colombia is well on its way to becoming a world-class LGBT destination, too.
One of the must-sees besides Bogotá is the city of Cartagena. A most beguiling, high-end luxury destination, its newer areas resemble Dubai with a shiny, metallic skyline of endless skyscrapers. However, the tourist mecca is, unsurprisingly, the beautifully preserved Old Town. As pretty as a picture, you could colourblock selfies for days thanks to its elegant streets, painted in a rainbow of bold and pastel tints.
The historical architectural styles of this UNESCO World Heritage site are variations of colonial, republican and eclectic (a mix of colonial and republican). Cartegena itself also has a fascinating if, at times, sordid history, which included slave trading and witch burning (during the Spanish Inquisition). Pope John Paul II visited in 1986, urging the country’s 5,000 guerrillas to disarm during an outdoor mass attended by half a million.
Nowadays the walled city encloses fancy restaurants with prices pitched squarely at tourists. Average Colombians could eat out for the whole week for the price of a meal here. Head, instead, to the nearby Getsemaní district, which is bursting with colour and coolness and is much cheaper. Get in quick before the hipsters and foodies completely take over.
Culture vultures should time their visit to coincide with the annual Festival de Cine de Cartagena de Indias, held for a week at the end of February. This year saw the 58th outing of what is now the longest running film festival in Latin America.
Cosy, old-fashioned gay bars from another era exist both in and around the old town of Cartegena. La Plancha is positioned just outside the walled area, while rainbow-flag flying Le Petit, tucked inside the old city, seemed to be more staff than customers when we arrived (before 11pm). Eventually it was busy with the latest Latin pop videos showing on the big screen. Who knew Ricky Martin was still making new videos in Spanish, and oddly heterosexist ones at that? The club downstairs, Roma, doesn’t get going until 3am which was way too late for us visitors, even when on vacation in Latin America.
We did manage to cruise gay-friendly Hollywood Beach, found outside the old walled city in Bocagrande. While there’s some seriously hot talent on display in shorty-shorts, the beach is a tad grubby and the sand an atypical grey colour.
A more genteel early evening option in Cartagena would be to view the glowing pinkorange sunset at Café del Mar. Unrelated to the original in Ibiza, as far as we know, the Colombian one stands on prime waterfront real estate, where, incidentally, swimming is prohibited. Drinking cocktails and peoplewatching is, thankfully, encouraged.
If you’re after a true beach experience, South America’s second oldest town of Santa Marta is just the spot. With a grand history, including being the birthplace of Latin American liberator Simón Bolívar, the area has become a big draw for dreadlocked backpackers. Nearby Tayrona National Park is Colombia’s most visited national park with its own trio of beaches. While it’s pretty, there are few native animals and the vegetation has been cleared and replaced with (gulp!) tents that are available to rent overnight.
We resided at nearby Finca Barlovento, easily one of the loveliest places we’ve ever stayed. Lonely Planet even calls it “the best place in Colombia”. Built forty years ago by architect Simón Velez, this clifftop hotel hovers over the meeting of a mountain river and the Caribbean Sea. In a word: breathtaking. Offering simple delicious meals, with the Colombian staple of corn “arepas” as accompaniment every time, it’s an unforgettable stay at a commendable eco-friendly spot.
We weren’t the only gays in the village and the relaxed, nonchalant attitude of the staff and locals to the influx of male couples was a pleasing reminder of how Colombia has taken such momentous social strides.
Cosy, old-fashioned gay bars from another era exist in and around the Old Town of Cartagena, including the rainbow flag-flying Le Petit.