Photo provided by: Out & About PV
Gay Bars That Once Were, Made History In Their Heyday BY RANDE LEE
WALKING AROUND PUERTO VALLARTA NOW, THERE ARE GAY BARS IN JUST ABOUT EVERY DIRECTION. AND WHILE IT'S DIFFICULT TO KEEP COUNT BECAUSE OF THE OPENING AND CLOSING OF THEM, AT LAST COUNT WE COUNTED AT LEAST 35 OF ALL SIZES CATERING TO ALL TYPES. This however, was not always the case. There are some, very special, now defunct bars that made history
and many memories. Visiting with; Ricardo Brehm, Paul Crist, Geoff Dodds, Osiel Echeverra, and Wendell Martin, over a period of days in late August, we reminisced about some of them. The recollections of Club Manana are from my own memory of that period in time.
vas, world famous Club Manana, Deja Vecu, El Pianito, Freedom PV, Kit Kat, KokoHome Club, Kox, La Bola, Los Balcones, Los Equipales, Miseria, Picante, Plasma/Club Zenit, Stereo, Stonewall, The Ranch, and Tease. We focused on a few of these here.
The Great Recession in 2009 took out many of the older bars that just could not survive. They included Amor, Bite Me Beach Club, Casano-
ARIA was located at Pino Suárez 212, Zona Romántica, where the PVRPV laundry center now stands. It was opened in that space after Paco
14 • FALL 2023 • outandaboutpv.com
Paco moved out of its original location (we think in the mid 1990s). The owner was Darrell Boyer, a talented comedian, piano player and singer from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Known for their happy hour, Aria was popular and fun. Occupying two levels, the action seemed centered on the second floor. The proprietor did all the entertaining, and he was a natural at it. Sadly, he died young, but left his mark on the history of gay Puerto Vallarta. It closed in 2001.