As a long time visitor to the Zona I have seen a new, disturbing trend at the Adelita. Over the past several months I have been hassled and/or confronted by intoxicated, indigenous mongers who generally start a friendly conversation (in Spanish) with me only to end up confronting me about Clinton, Cuban cigars, US attitudes about Mexicans, racism in the US etc. Fortunately I have a very friendly relationship with the one bartender there (Manuel) who has dispatched these troublemakers out the front door. My Spanish is good enough to show some level of respect for their language and culture but to no avail. Has anyone else experienced this trend?

A couple of times (in the past year) I've had locals try and hit me up for a beer. One got to the point of being obnoxious so I just pushed his arm away and walked away.

Other interfaces with locals have been stricly friendly - them wanting to point out their favorate girls or practice English.

IMO it's the same as you would run into in any working class bar in any low-rent part of any major city in a foreign country. A few of the locals drink too much and because you stand out as a foreigner you make an easy target for their anger or friendliness. Sometimes, when they're really drunk, it's a toss-up which is worse.

That's usually when, suddenly and miraculously, I can't speak any Spanish or English at all. I lapse into the few words of German I know, or even Latin (Cicero's speech against Cataline, which I had to memorize in the ninth grade, comes in handy here). In my experience, once they realize you speak something other than Spanish or English, they think you're the village idiot and lose interest. That's when I pick up my drink and quietly move to another part of the bar.

Just this past Thursday I was hassled for the first time in AB. I have been going once a week on average for the past three years. I was sitting in a booth by the stage when a drunk Mexican approached me very angry and saying stuff in Spanish I did not understand. He had his fist clenched as if he was ready to hit me. I acted very cool and invited him to sit in the booth. He refused the offered. Then I asked him several times what was wrong. What did I do to make him mad? He did not understand me, but walked away finally.

Funny ... I've had to use the "No hablo ingles ... No hablo espanol" several times. But, the Mexicanos usually have good intentions and if you are friendly and tend to agree with them, it will work out.

It is the drunk gringos that can sometimes be a problem. The only time I've had to ask for assistance in a Zona bar was about a month ago when a drunk gringo bought me a beer that I didn't need. Five minutes of hearing how bad MX is, I went to the bano and before I finished peeing, he was there in the next urnial, continuing his non-stop blabbering.

Outside the bano I told a mesero that he was bothering me. When he came out, he was walked to the door by two meseros. I've seen the meseros react quickly on a couple of other occasions. In AB and LC, they seem to be especially protective of their customers.

Brother Matiz,
That's a good tactic--I've used it a few times, also with some of my extremely drunken and out-of-control countrymen I didn't care to talk to. Just went into a litany of insults to them in French, but in a calm voice and with a smile on my face--they totally didn't understand, but presumed I was making a feeble effort to communicate, and after about 3 minutes they shake my hand and go away to barf somewhere. Funniest damn thing in the world. Maybe it'll backfire someday when some drunken 300 lb. 'gringo' wants to gab and I call his mother unsavory things in French and he turns out to be from Bordeaux and kicks Brother Ritmo's ass...

I group the AB locals in one or more of the following:
1) Drunk perverts looking to grab some chica ass while sipping on a cerveza.
2) Chumps looking to steal some cash from the table you are sitting.
3) Down on their luck, looking to babble to anyone who will listen to their problems.

Like Matiz says, "working class in a low-rent part of a major city in a foreign country." My advice: First ignore, or if that doesn't work then move to another table. They have nothing of value to say anyway. Have you ever seen any of these mexicanos take a girl upstairs?...I haven't, but then again I am too busy looking for the girl I want.

Brother P,
Think maybe I ain't understandin' what you mean--you think EVERY local fits into one of your 3 categories? Ain't that like sayin' all the gringos go in one of the following boxes: 1) dumbass losers, 2) dumbass drunken losers, 3) loudmouth dumbass drunken losers? Sure, ya can find examples of all three of your 'boxes,' but I seen LOTS of locals down there just doin' what most of tha gringos are doin'--namely, just coolin', havin' a brew with the homies, not fuckin' wit nobody, lookin' ta dance with or get laid by a hot chica. The hasslers are the great EXCEPTION, least in my experience.

I have never had a problem in AB or the CC of any kind. I should also say that I've never had a problem on the streets either. The locals have always been cool with me. That's not to say that my level of awareness drops at any point in time, however.

The only time I thought a conflict might arise was in Tropical. That bar gives me a strange vibe sometimes, like anything could happen at any time. Well, an amigo and I approached the bar and a chica recognized mi amigo and came right over from another part of the club. She must have been sitting with some locals because a couple locals who appeared to be well intoxicated were looking at us with very angry eyes and bad intentions. One guy looked like he was ready to get up and come after us. I told mi amigo to be ready... After a couple of tense minutes we moved to another part of the bar and the tensions eased...whew!

Great thread... I'm glad I posted here. There is some good advice here. Like I said in the original post, it was a new trend for me after 3 years plus of going to the Adelita. In the past I had never experienced any problem on the street or in the bars. I find one of the saving graces of the Adelita (besides the obvious) is the staff there. As I always leave a 50% tip for my bartender I get treated very well and Manuel has actually saved my ass on one occasion.

Celtics, Tropical does indeed have a strange vibe sometimes. I believe part of the reason is that there are a fair number of rancheros in the drug trade who frequent this place, may of whom operate at a pretty high level in the business. I have spoken with a few of them, and had others pointed out to me by employees who I know well. I do not know why they hang out here more than any of the other bars. Some of them do go to Las Chavelas as well. Of course, it is possible that there are just as many in other bars, and I simply don't know who they are.

Bro R'mo,

Sorry, didn't mean to diss your Mexican amigos. My list was actually for the thread,
"locals who hassle you AB" which I agree is a small percent of the rest.
This is how I happen to group THE ROTTEN APPLES.
Most (just like the gringos)mind their own business, hanging out, having a Cerveza, and talking with their amigo.

Hey my brother Po-yo,
Ain't no thang then--we on the same wavelength--that's the one that's tuned in to them hot booties down in that ol' AB loveshack! Man, I got 3 1/2 more weeks, then I will SEE YA in the zona! More excited than a damn kid goin' ta Disneyland AND Charlie Cheese on the same day...

Haaha!!, "Disneyland AND Chuckie Cheese on the same day"....LOL, now that's hoot.
Kids have the candy store, we have TJ...the simple pleasures in life.