This is a shithole across the street from El Fracaso on 1st between Revolucion and Constitucion. Gringos wonder in occasionally due to the proximity to the tourist strip. But this is really a locals bar like El Fracaso. The dancers are fat and look like junkies (and I like Mexican women) and the waiters are very thieving. Hard to think of any reason for going here. Just thought I'd put a post on it because no one else has.

cf_ good buddy, i think it is time you revisit this place. have been in there on several occasions in the last week. nice young chicas. slow during the day, picks up around 4pm or so and busy in the evening. have been in with milky and ben and both reviewed favorably. three la tropa chicas working their now, and others that are attractive as well. ficha drinks $4.50. had two for one beers at i believe $3.25. could be a diamond in the ruff kind of place.

I'm trying to picture this place. Was this bar once called El Patio Bar, and sits on the north side of 1st, between Hotel Del Mar and Diamonte Bar?

No you big silly it is right near the big arch.
Art 123 the street is full of winners and TJ's most elite business men


Milk

Snapper,

It is on the south side of the street next to the best fried chicken place in TJ. Maybe about 75-100 yards west of the arch/Hotel Nelson on Art. 123.

Here's another thumbs up for Rio Verde. Definitely a locals place to the extreme, but it has been nicely remodeled within the last year or two, and is a helluva lot more comfortable than the dingy, dark El Fracaso.

Chica quality is uneven, but you can find some real winners from time to time. The chicas (including the meseras) are very friendly - if you look like you're comfortable and receptive to a good time...or you're flashing smiles and eye contact, they will come by and pluck you onto the dance floor - more aggressive behavior than you encounter in most of the ficha bars off the gringo trail.

If I have any objection it is that I've been treated a little too well (i.e. patronizingly) by the chicas and waiters when all I really wanted to do was get lost in the crowd. One night when the place was crowded a fight broke out...went through the joint like an earthquake...intense, but over quickly. 10 or more dudes pushing, kicking, punching, throwing themselves at each other - it was over in 47 seconds. Next thing a delegation of waiters is at my table apologizing for the fight as if I was the local priest or something. I didn't see anybody else getting a personal apology...and it is not like I was sitting there filling the cash register - one drink for me and one ficha drink for an ultra-adorable companion.

And they do draw a crowd - they have a live band on some nights and the place gets more inhumane than AB on a Saturday night. Dancing couples packed in together like sardines in the tin. Not altogether a bad thing on the dance floor as you get very close without having the space to display your spastic gringo dance moves.

I was in this bar a few years ago, and after much beer went in me I had to let some back out. In the bathroom, 3 guys were smoking crack out of glass pipes. They offered me some. I politely declined. I then left. I have nothing against drugs, and actively support dope smoking etc. But, this seemed very uncool; all I needed was to be taking a piss when the cops raided the place. I have not gone back, maybe it is a little more civilized now.

bathrooms in mexico are famous for drug transactions. i haven't actually witnessed crack smoking, but if you are in any bathroom in zona norte(or mexico for that matter), you run the risk of witnessing a drug deal.

Bar Rio Verde

One evening a buddy & I went into this bar and I bought him a beer. We were approached by Alejandra; 5'5" ?, black hair that didn't quite reach to the shoulder, gorda, mid-to-late 20's, nice tits. For a dollar I got to suck one, and she stroked my package (through my pants) in the bargain.

A day or two later I saw her stick her head outside the bar, so later I went in.
We sat down and she talked me into a ficha drink, which turned out to be two for about 100 pesos.

She agreed to go to the hotel for 200 pesos, but then mentioned a 100 peso bar fine. I declined and she offered to pay half. She took 50 pesos out of her wallet and my 50 pesos and went behind the bar for a minute or two.

Now I wonder if there is even a bar fine there or did she trick me.

In the room, without asking she stripped down to the buff, I laid down on the bed, sucked some titty (quite ample) and she put the condom on. I didn't move so she commenced sucking without being told. Then we did missionary to finish.

We talked some; I asked my standard questions: How much does it cost you each month to live here in Tijuana ? Her answer $300 bucks a month (Really low ! Big lie.)

She said she had one kid, and that her boyfriend had abandoned her when she was pregnant. And that she was looking for a boyfriend. (You know - the standard big lie.)

Amazing sounds emanated from this girl during sex. Several times I told her "What an actress !", but she didn't quiet down a bit. She deserves honorable mention on that account alone. And it was a pleasurable experience.

My questions to you guys are: Does anybody know the story on her ? Does Bar Rio Verde have a bar fine ?

"I asked my standard questions: How much does it cost you each month to live here in Tijuana ? Her answer $300 bucks a month (Really low ! Big lie.)"

Maybe, but not necessarily. There are plenty of places to be had in TJ for $150 bucks a month or less, and the vast majority of Mexicans wouldn't even DREAM of living all by themselves (unless it was a nightmare). And rent would be by FAR the biggest expense of living in TJ. I bet there are plenty of SG's and dive bar chicas living on that budget if they aren't supporting an entourage in the city with them. Doesn't sound far-fetched to me.

SP, I also discussed this on the chat board where you also raised the question. Here you make it more clear that you did a short term session with her and presumably in the hotel that would be regularly used by RV chicas...that is, if they actually did sessions regularly...I think most of them go up but the local clientele isn't buying sex from them very often, and horny gringos are a rare sight at this bar. Anyhow, under these circumstances I think she was scamming you. It would be different I think if you asked her to go to Cascadas, or the Grand Hotel for that matter.

It was my room in the nearby Hotel Imperial.

Said she was looking for a boyfriend, but her $300/month figure seemed out of line.

My buddy took a chica up from here and it wasnt in a hotel but a private room - upstairs ?
he said all there was in the room was a messy smelly couch and no privacy as they were interupted more than once.

he never got his moneys worth

It was his first time in a kill whitey bar

Milktuff

Milkdart, speaking of smelly, a chica we know who you refer to by that misnomer is back working here as of yesterday. She told me about the situation you're talking about - a "private" upstairs area to which you ascend from inside the bar (the same stairs leading to the dancers' dressing room). This is RV's version of private dances - $25 for 20 minutes. Yeah, so no bar fine when you don't even exit the damn bar!

The scoop is that fichas are 50 pesos. The bar alternates between strippers and dancing, just like just about every other bar in the ZN. This bar isnt that different from Chaveles, it doesn't look like much from the outside, but its not too bad once you get inside.

The one problem seems to be lack of a reasonable hotel nearby.

Hotel Imperial

Step outside, turn left, near end of block, but on weekends they fill up.

Go early, or call in advance.

Went there Friday of "Ley Seca" weekend with a non-puta chica.

We just danced & had fun, bought our sodas outside after we left.

Somewhat agressive meseros/as.

I also dropped in there Fri evening to see if I could recognize any familiar faces from La Tropa. but it was sweltering-one of the hottest bars I have ever had the misfortune to enter-so I made a quick exit.

Reytj

I kept company with a couple of former La Tropettes at Rio Verde on Wednesday night. However, both of them had pretty much committed to Rio Verde shortly before La Tropa blew itself up by not paying dancers. The place was packed, hot and sweaty as always with about 6 hotties out of the 20 or so chicas on hand - a much better ratio than usual.

Usually there's just a couple of seriously attractive chicas and it isn't particularly easy to get near them considering the popularity of this bar with the locals...it is packed 7 nights a week. A couple of weeks ago a couple of locals came to blows on three separate occasions over which one was going to enjoy the company of the resident superhottie.

Another odd thing about this bar is that the prettiest chicas are often the gamest putas in the joint...gringo savvy and ready to ride - so why are they HERE?

They got busted recently for having young girls on the premises. Initially a monger told me about it but it was also reported by el Mexicano which gave no additional info.

Reytj

I am glad I don't hang around a place that has young girls!!!!

El Fracaso was busted and closed on the same night for the same reason. This happened last Wednesday around midnight. It was quite a scene with the substantial population of chicas and customers from these very popular local bars lining both sides of Articulos 123 and lots of cops working the "scene". An hour later I was sitting in the restaurant next door to RV with one of the dancers and she told me that they didn't think they could reopen until Saturday. Both bars were unexpectedly reopened the following afternoon and virtually empty of chicas and customers for the rest of the day. I guess the manager of RV doesn't sit down and phone the chicas one by one to tell them the doors are open...somehow the waiters seemed to know though.

I suspect that RV does not have a laissez faire attitude about too young as some other zona venues have been known for. I know that they ejected a couple of chicas just about 6-8 weeks ago for being too young.

I wonder if this "too young" violation crackdown by the policia is somehow related to the streetgirl murder(s) that recently occurred.
I gotta believe that the TJ cops are under a lot of pressure to do something about the ZN.
The cops first action, something they can talk about to the press and public, is to say "hey, it's a rough place but at least we're making sure nobody who is a minor is going to be at-risk".
Anybody else see these events as being related?

" I gotta believe that the TJ cops are under a lot of pressure to do something about the ZN "

I agree they gotta do something quick the zona doesn't payoff like it used too

The cops are asking for transfers to Rev

milktuff

Rodney that's a reasonable theory and perhaps right on as to the timing. The two events felt morbidly connected to me that night as there were a couple of 2 day old local newspapers floating around the restaurant next to Rio Verde opened to the page that carried Jessica's post-mortem photo.

However, enforcement related to young girls has been performed intermittantly over the years I've been visiting the zona. This is nothing new, though I've never seen a bar actually closed down permanently or forced to change ownership due to violations. The only thing that happens is the young go underground or on vacation for awhile, some "fines" are undoubtedly extracted and the bars suffer some down time. Shows how wired in and powerful these bar owners are...you would think there would be tremendous public consensus to pressure and support any LE moves to permanently put the pimps out of business. This is going to change in Tijuana - prostitution and probably the huge scope of the more tolerated activity in the zona will come under effective LE attack (i.e. driven more deeply underground)...the only question is when.

For all its public declarations, Tijuana is a city that is almost devoid of civic pride or emotional attachment from its residents. Almost everybody there is rooted somewhere else usually much further south in Mexico. I think they view the chicas in the zona as not being their own kids...they are somebody else's kids back in Veracruz or Sinaloa or Jalisco. That is IMO a large part of why TJ is as loosely regulated as it is and why corruption wins out over rule of law.

BTW, the chicas who were booted from Rio Verde a couple of months ago for being too young had been working in another better known zona bar and got booted from there as well because of their status...and that was well before Jessica's murder.

Health card enforcement which has been heavier than usual in the bars and on the streets in recent months, also implicates age enforcement since you obviously can't have a valid health card if you're too young (unless of course the chica is able to fix the bureaucracy). Thus it appears that some clubs have been expecting regular visits from the health reguladores in recent months and have been sending their children of the night out the door.

Interesting observation Erip, and no doubt true, that the working girls are seldom from Tijuana but instead come from faraway destinations within the interior of Mexico. Thus the local citizenry lose one of their reasons for being pissed off; the ZN bars are not recruiting the daughters of locals into the lurid profession of prostitution.
And that makes good common sense. Who wants a jealous father/brother/boyfriend appearing as your walking sweet, innocent Maria up the hotel steps to 30 minutes of carnal bliss.
In fact, at AB (where I always go when seeking out a club girl) I can only recall once when a chica told me she was from TJ (name = Margarita). Seems like telling a prospective ZN bar employer that you are from Tijuana is a sure way to NOT get a job.

Admin: Photo moved to top of thread...thanks Snapper!

I been here recently, when I get tired of Bar El Fracaso.

It's a lot like "Club LapDance" in that you can suck dancer's tits for a dollar. Any stink finger that you get is fortuitous.

They've added airconditioning. Although weak, it reduces the tempurature to very tolerable levels in the late afternoon. Does anyone have recent information on the conditions for and about their privado. Any information about taking a chica to a nearby hotel.

Thanks,
locale

Thank goodness!

I nearly roasted the last time I was in there. I finally had to leave and go outside.

Yes, it is actually more comfortable in there lately. I didn't realize they actually had a/c.

I've only taken a chica out of the bar for TLN outside the zona and they charged me only $20 for a bar fine - and she is a dancer. Don't know if they charge to go to local SG dives that the RV chicas utilize for quickies - I think they do and probably the same $20. However, the chicas who aren't dancers aren't subject to so many rules and tough supervision like at AB/CC, and I've been party to negotiations involving a couple of amigos where the plan was for the hombre and chica to depart RV separately to avoid a bar fine....meet at the hotel entrance or wherever.

Re Privados: Don't think anything has changed since I wrote a detailed report on Mexico Chat of the one privado I did there about 8 months ago. I was only required to purchase a cubeta for the chica - don't remember how big that cubeta was but I think it was about 8 ponies for $40 plus tip - though it could have been as many as 10 and as few as 5. The chica didn't ask me for any additional money...she was happy to get the 8 fichas. We had an hour in the room. So anything charged above the price of the cubeta is the chica's call or a product of negotiation.

I describe the space as "the 13 1/2 floor" of Rio Verde (if you saw the movie "Being John Malcovich" you'll appreciate the reference once you get up there). You get a truly private room with couches and tables (no bed) - but it is dingy, dirty and miserable and just plain foul up there (in addition to not having a high enough ceiling for most gringos to STAND erect - and you can probably expect that roaches will be scampering about the couch where you do your business and the floor underneath. You do get to walk through the dancer's dressing room on the way to your foul nest. Actually not bad for a one time cheap thrill for the genuine TJ adventurer, insane for a newbie, clean freak or repeat engagement.

(Message edited by erip on July 17, 2004)

I ran into a friend & her 5 year-old (acompanied by a rather young chica).

The little girl suggested that I buy them all lunch, and afterwards I suggested a movie.

I held hands with the young chica for the whole movie - turns out she's a dancer at Bar Rio Verde.

The next day she, her roommate (also a dancer there) and I went to another movie. We held hands all day. I guess it's chaperone time, but I had a VERY enjoyable day.

OK, I'm not getting any, but just the same - eat your hearts out.

For me it's the first time I've had a date in years that I wasn't a "client".

If she is indeed the 18 years she claims, she still isn't 1/3 my age...

This morning about 6:30 AM I visited Bar Rio Verde after dropping off my favorita at her house.

When I walked in (as has happened before), the chicas in the "fichera seating area" at the left looked a litle hostile.

One chica at the bar smiled at me. I asked her if she wanted to dance, and we did.

This girl claims 35 years of age, is voluptuous, pretty, and big-titted. Name Ytzayana but goes by "Loba" at the bar. Works 4/5 AM to 5/6 PM, 7 days a week. Carried an out-of-date health card, claiming to have grabbed the wrong wallet in the morning.

She kept trying to steer me back to the bar (to buy her a ficha drink ?), and I kept steering her to the dance floor.

Finally, I asked if she didn't make more money dancing than drinking, and she amswered "Yes".

We danced and I kept feeling her (decidedly) ample bust pressed against me. A surging hard-on rose up out of nowhere (Mine).

I asked her if there was a bar fine here and she said TEN dollars. "Wow, that's a lot !" I said.

So I said 400 pesos for one hour and she agreed.

We went to my room. the first thing she wanted to do was shower, so I let her.

By this time, I had lost my hardon, so I asked her to play with it a bit. She did, placed the condom on it and proceded to give me an unsolicited CBJ.

After a while, we rested and played a while.
Later, I begin to play with her pussy, and she started making fake noises.

After a while the character of the noises changed to an honest note. She began to masturbate.

I am reasonably sure that she wasn't faking. She kept it up more than a little while.

Later we did misionary. Lots of DFK, Lots & lots of kisses in general. Beautiful Tits, pretty pussy. This girls understands what vaginal muscles are for.

She's got a lot of "professional" moves. We finished our hour. She stayed another 30 unpaid minutes. Then we went to breakfast.

I will definitely repeat.

Of course, YMMV.

The big complaint that I have with RV is the lack of chicas. After a while, its so much of a sausagefest that I start looking longingly at the meseras.

I noticed that. It's one of those places where you look for that "gem" and if she's not there, you move on. I don't have the whole vibe yet so I'll make a few more trips.

Well, as per my previous post I might have run across a gem. Adela de Acapulco seems to want to get with me off property and retire. She was working nights and after we started seeing each other I found out she was boinking another member so I decided to end off with her. Very emotional. Lots of drama. She gave me her story and it was a denial. Claims she hasn't worked since she met me.

Took Salma de Miami to translate for the break off. Man, just like in the movies. I later found out Adela was telling me the truth. I hooked back up and we've been seeing each other off property for the past several weeks. She has not returned to the club.

Adela is one of the best sessions I've ever had. Full on GFE from go to whoa, multipops and all. Adela has enabled me to get away from the Zona, something I really needed to do. So I'll take advantage of this opportunity and see where it leads while keeping the other hand on my wallet.

Country John

Well...I stopped hunting at El Fracaso a while back...got bored.

Will start going to RV but I am afraid I will stick like a sore thumb...any recs as to the best day/time to go?

Concarne, the place is busy every night until the after the sun comes up but the chica selection is beyond prediction on any given night. Some nights there isn't a single chica you'd look at twice, other nights the place crawls with semi-pro factory adorables. Sunday night is as good a bet as any to find the place filled with factory girls who want to supplement their income without being all-out zona professionals, though some of the hotter pros may not be working on Sunday. Lots of chicas try the place out and don't hang because of the extreme borracho element that dominates the customer base.

Not many gringos there but the few that get established there like me, go over and over and the trail is cleared for more gringos to explore.

Daytime is more comfortable and peaceful and still has pretty good energy. More often it is difficult to find a single selectable chica during the day. Daytime chicas tend to be more oriented towards going to the room than the good looking night girls who make comparatively excellent money dancing and drinking with the night time borracho mob scene.

The night shift waiter captain Lupe is a great contact to make. He speaks fluent English and is tremendously helpful for gringo customers - and an honest waiter.

Erip...it sounds like it has potential particularly w the action w the factory workers...I would like that best. I am bit burned on the TJ action and would like to diversify a bit...cannot wait until my Cambodia trip.

I am fluent in spanish btw. If you are going sometime after next week let me know if you wish to get together for a beer at RV

Stoped in here on wednesday, they had two for one on beer. So, I started to drink and check out the place. At first I didn't notice that much action. Around 11:00pm I notice there where alot of ok looking females.Mostly dancing with the locals.A waiter came over to my table and told me if I was interested in any of the females to let him know. I'm not very good of a dancer so I said no. But I was suprise how many females where there on a wendnesday night.

Questions about posts by By Erip:

On Monday, July 28, 2003 - 12:54 pm:
"...you would think there would be tremendous public consensus to pressure and support any LE moves to permanently put the pimps out of business."

What is/are "LE"?

Saturday, July 17, 2004 - 11:26 pm:
"I was only required to purchase a cubeta for the chica - don't remember how big that cubeta was but I think it was about 8 ponies for $40 plus tip - though it could have been as many as 10 and as few as 5. The chica didn't ask me for any additional money...she was happy to get the 8 fichas. We had an hour in the room."

"Cubetas" are buckets of beer 'n' ice? What a fantastic bargain! I've had waiters from TB come to my room at the Rizo de Oro, insisting I buy a bucket, as a form of bar fine. Not a bargain!

Neither of these are in the dictionary - yet.

le = law enforcement

cubeta, from the context, it sounds like a bucket of fichas.

Went there Sat night and scored a non-pro (working for the Mexican park authority, trimming the bushes!). She comes to this bar on Saturdays to supplement her shitty income, but cant work frequently because she lives with her family and only does this when she has the cover of "going out with friends". 3 lady drinks (N$200 with tip incl) plus N$400 for 30 mins. Total GFE, but we had good chemistry to begin with. We danced a lot, and talked a lot. I don't recommend this place to gringos who don't speak spanish - these girls won't go just for the money. You need to talk to them, and you'll get less trouble from the locals as a guero than as an obvious gringo. A good test of whether or not one is ready for a place like this is how comfortable you are dancing to Mexican music. If you can go to a regular TJ night club, grab a chica, and dance with her, you'll be cool here too.

(Message edited by dubmeun4given on October 24, 2006)

The next time I see a gringo having a GOOD time in Rio Verde I will walk over and say how ya doin' Dubmeun4given? It will have to be you.

You got this place figured out just right and had the kind of experience you look for at Rio Verde. Lately it seems like the ratio of young semi-pro bonitas to older unattractive hardened borracha ficheras has been tipping more to the bonitas than I've ever seen before.

But fundamentally, it is a really physically uncomfortable place along with the other discomforts that gringos feel here. I bring in my amigos all the time - they don't want to go but agree to perform wingman duty - then go running out of there as soon as possible! :-)

I believe there are two types of Mongers in TJ: Those who love Mexico and Mexicanas, and those who just need pussy and to them TJ is the most convenient/cheap way to get it. The latter would hate this bar, and shouldn't bother with it. The former will find it exactly what they want!

That sums it up well!

Rio Verde is mentioned in 2011/12 Lamalavida - A Good but Not Great Day in La Zona

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Rio Verde is mentioned in 2013/02 Blazers - Fist Fuck Virgin