Dejavu Discoteca on Las Palmas

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The bar at Dejavu
The bar at Dejavu
The bar at Dejavu
The bar at Dejavu

Dejavu is a reggaeton club located on the Las Palmas highway that runs between Medellin and Rionegro.

I’ve passed it dozens of times, but it wasn’t until I saw it featured in Dalmata’s “Dile a Tu Amiga” video that I made it a mission to visit.

For better or worse, I chose this past Saturday night. Dejavu was throwing a big Halloween party called Locomotion, and I wanted to go out with Viviana in costume. She was the sexy circus ringleader, and I was a priest.

The doors opened at 10:30PM, and we arrived by taxi soon after. A tented area was set up as a transition between the parking lot and club.

First we were handed a sample cup of scotch on ice, with which we had our picture taken.

Passing a faux graveyard to our left, we walked into a separate space, and a hand shot out from a black curtain to our left, scaring the hell out of Viviana in the process.

We were then given a sample glass of JP Chenet sparkling rose wine. It was sweet, but pleasant.

Next it was on to the ticket window, where the regular cover charge of 15,000 pesos ($8) was a bit higher, at 20,000 pesos ($10.50), due to the holiday. I expected as much, and didn’t mind the few extra bucks.

Two glasses of JP Chenet Sparkling Rose wine
Two glasses of JP Chenet sparkling rose wine

We entered the club, and were some of the first people inside. I asked if Viviana wanted to wait outside in the tented area until more people showed up, but she declined, so we took a little table on the main floor.

A waitress came over and gave us a drink menu. I asked if there was a minimum, and she said yes, a bottle. Again, it didn’t surprise me, but knowing Viviana doesn’t drink much, I was counting on a half bottle of rum since it was just the two of us.

The waitress then told us there was no Aguardiente or rum available that night, nor were there any half bottles of say whiskey or vodka either. In fact, there were no bottles available for less than 109,000 pesos ($57) that night, on orders of the management.

This caught me off guard. Halloween was being treated like New Year’s Eve.

I wouldn’t have minded if we were with friends, or we both planned to get smashed, but I knew that wasn’t in the cards, so I felt a bit trapped.

In a first for me, I ordered a bottle of wine at a discoteca in Colombia. I’d already tasted it, and knew it to be sweeter than I prefer, but it seemed like the best option. As I write this, a quick internet search shows this wine to retail for about $10 a bottle in the United States. I was paying almost six times that.

Another first was being in a discoteca in Medellin and not seeing a single person taking shots of Aguardiente.

Dancers performing in front of the DJ booth
Dancers performing in front of the DJ booth

We began drinking the wine, which was given to us in a bucket of ice. I have to admit the service was very good that night. In addition to a female waitress, a huge bouncer-looking waiter also ensured our glasses were always full. I think I only had to pour one glass myself.

Meanwhile, as I proceeded to work my way through the bottle of wine, outpacing Viviana by far, more and more people began to arrive in costume.

I enjoyed seeing the various outfits that walked through the door. A guy dressed in a diaper as a baby was the weirdest. That’s a costume you’ll never seen me in. Another was a man dressed as an Indian, with barely any clothes on.

The women were almost all dressed in sexy outfits, but overall, I’d say no more than 60-70% of the people in the club were in costume, compared to about 90-95% when I went to Mango’s on the night before Halloween back in 2010.

A little after midnight, four entertaining dancers began to perform on stage in front of the DJ booth.

About this time the club also dimmed the lighting and turned on their crazy green lasers. I’m a sucker for lasers, and they had one with eight separate lasers rotating around on a wheel which was cool.

One of the things I liked the most about Dejavu was they left plenty of space between the tables on the main floor. You didn’t have to squeeze your way through a dense crowd to get to the bathroom or bar. The VIP tables were along the perimeter.

We watched the dancers perform twice, and by the time our bottle of wine was gone, I was ready to call it a night. I believe we left around 1:30AM, and by that point, while the crowd was the largest of the night, the club still wasn’t at capacity.

I’d go back to Dejavu again, but next time, it’ll be with a larger group of people.

Have you been to Dejavu on Las Palmas? Leave your thoughts below.

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Leave a Reply to David Lee Cancel reply

4 COMMENTS

  1. David, I cant remember if that was one of the places I tried to get into; but it was a newer complex and was very busy. I was alone so I got the ax. If I would have been using my head I would have asked the girls I had be talking with if I could have payed their way in to go in with them. Did you do a lot of dancing?

    • Yea, I’m sure no girl would turn down free cover. Then maybe you could hang out at their table once you get in too, otherwise it’d be tough to mingle since all the Colombians are either going out as a couple, or in large groups.

      We danced a bit. I like dancing to reggaeton, but I prefer the crossover clubs where you get the variety of music (salsa, bachata, merengue, reggaeton).

  2. Hi David. I will be in Medellin for Christmas Day. Do you know of any restaurants open in the Poblado/Parque Lleras area. Thanks for your help.