A Scary Mellow Medellín Halloween

Falling in the middle of the week seemed to confuse people. Or maybe it just didn’t excite people.

I went out on Saturday, Oct. 27, looking for people in costumes because Halloween was on a Wednesday so I was expecting more festivities on weekend night. I found some people in costumes; not a lot.

My buddy John and I started in Parque Lleras, a place you would think would be a sure thing when it comes to celebrating anything, but there were just as many people, if not more, without costumes than with them.

At that point we decided to go to Casa Kiwi, to see some of John’s friends who were staying there and to have a few beers. When we got there we found out that everyone was going to a club, a place I was told I would definitely see lots of people in costumes. Wrong!

It also turned out to be the most disappointing club experience during my time in Medellín.

First, we had to pay 30,000 pesos just to get in. That didn’t bother me at first because I thought, ok, it’ll probably be worth it. Wrong again!

I noticed the bouncers were taking people’s lighters and cigarettes, but not everyone’s, just certain people. Then I step inside to find some people smoking and not just cigarettes. Look, I don’t care what people do, if they smoke or not, and what they decide to smoke. But hypocrisy irritates me and those bouncers fit the description.

I’m not going to mention the name of the club, and there are three reasons:

1. I never thought I’d have to write something so negative on this site and I don’t believe in doing that unless I feel compelled to do so.

2. Because it was so bad, I don’t want to give the place any publicity, not even bad publicity, because, as they say, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.

3. Publicly blasting a business in Medellín — a place that’s safe as long as you’re polite and use a little common sense, but a place that still maintains a bit of its Wild West element — can mean consequences I won’t like.

Scheduling conflicts prevented me from going out on Halloween, as well as the following weekend, but it doesn’t look like I missed much from everything I’ve seen on Facebook and what friends have reported back to me.

The only reason I could come up with for the tranquilo atmosphere was the timing of Halloween. Wednesday is not a big party night in Medellín. Sure, there’s always somewhere to go to find a crowd because it is a metropolitan area of almost 4 million people and paisas like to party. But the energy climbs on Thursdays, jumps on Fridays, and soars on Saturdays.

The other factor tied to this unfortunate timing issue is a simple matter of choice. I’m sure some people decided to party the weekend before Halloween, some the weekend after it.

My disappointment faded quickly, though. What happened, I told myself, was a fluke, and I realized something else. The next three Halloweens fall on days that require no particular reason for a celebration.