Gay Bars in Madrid: Delirio
Delirio is smack-dab in the center of Chueca and very gay. This bar with little space for dancing (though that stops no one here) feels hot, slick and very Latin.
Polished and easy, Delirio is a mixed bag concerning its music and the people in regular attendance. The deejay, whose booth is easily accessed to make requests, spins reggaetón, the occasional mass-produced no-name dance song, but also good Spanish pop from the 80s and 90s to now. Expect to hear Mecano, Alaska and Marta Sánchez within the same hour as several reggaetón tracks and an impossible house number or two. Delirio is great for dancing, with go-gos right next to you in the main room and enough people shaking their stuff so that you won’t feel inhibited. There’s a bar as you enter, downstairs, and to the left of the main room (where there’s another bar) a separate dance floor and bar where I’ve heard larger parties can be accommodated.
The people… I’ve met dancers in town for auditions, locals and those who drive in to Chueca and come here to scope out the guys. Terribly cute students, professionals and tourists sticking out like a sore thumb all cross paths here. The pretty people quotient is rather high and although I’ve never seen the go-gos’ faces (why are they always wearing sunglasses at 4AM in a basement bar?), they are very stacked, no matter what their gender happens to be. A curiosity of Delirio is the TV screens that play music incongruent to what you’re hearing from the DJ booth. On a night in September I listened to Alaska while on the screen I watched the Divine of John Waters fame in a live performance.
Delirio is open from midnight every night, but it closes at 5:30AM Sunday- Thursday and at 6AM on Fridays and Saturdays.
There is a 10-11 euro cover charge and a formidable line even on weeknights. The coat check is a plus, but the bathrooms in the back are impossible to get to.
deliriochueca@msn.com
By Allen Ribblett
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