Two nights ago, I had an odd night waking up out of the blue.
I've been going to bed lately at sometime between 8 to 9 PM.
While sleeping, I was woken up to some yelling going on outside.
At first, I was roll around in bed thinking "ay, it's just Mexico being Mexico. It'll end soon."
But that's the naive way of thinking!
Here, nothing ends soon.
So I get out of bed anyhow just to check up on what is going on.
The noise was coming up some dude on top of the stairs leading to the rooftop.
It was the landlord.
Overall, I quite like my landlord that I have in this building.
His personality is more direct and a little intense but he's probably the second best landlord I've had ever in my time in Mexico.
The first best being the cute white Latina I had named Maria in Pachuca de Soto.
God, I wanted to fuck her tight little pussy. Fuckin' slut.
But, apart from that, she and this guy are pretty good landlords because they seemingly actually give a shit about my experience living here.
Always asking if anything could be improved.
Always on top of improving it right away.
And they don't take criticisms personally.
In fact, after living here far (despite a few of its problems), some of the initial problems have been fixed.
The washing machine has been replaced and so there's less risk of a fire because there was some electrical short with the old one.
The shower has been improved.
He did give me a tour of the neighborhood on the first day I moved in.
Dude is on top of it.
If I keep giving him suggestions, he'll have the most First World Apartment in all of Iztapalapa.
The only reason he isn't better than Maria is because he hasn't shown me a cool burger joint like Maria did and also because Maria had an ass I always wanted to fuck.
OK. OK. OK. Maria's ass was the main reason she was better.
Anyway, I see the landlord on top of the building.
Who, to be fair, I still don't know his name. I don't think I ever asked.
Anyway, he's on top of the rooftop yelling at some neighbor from another building.
They seemingly are playing LOUD reggaeton music.
For those who want specifics, this was the exact song I heard when I first walked out of my bedroom.
Daddy Yankee -- Lo Que Paso Paso
Well, at least they don't have bad taste in music!
To be honest, I didn't hear the music until I walked out of my bedroom.
I have a fan on 24/7 (even though the room I'm in isn't terribly hot right now) and that fan, as I wrote here, was considered loud enough to get me kicked out of a previous apartment by Metro Politecnico almost a year ago.
Thankfully, nobody in this apartment gives a fuck about my fan (nor in any other apartment I've been in) and it was good enough that I didn't even hear the music while inside my bedroom.
But I did hear the yelling.
And the dude was going full barrio on their ass.
Something along the lines of "NO MAMES CABRON!!! YA ES MUY TARDE!! ES LUNES WEY, NO SEAS PENDEJO!!! NO MAMES!!! VETE A LA PINCHE VERGA WEY!!!"
And, in the distance, yelling could be heard coming back from some group.
And, in his defense, it was a Monday at around 2 AM.
To be honest, there was a part of me that felt like joining in on the arguments.
I didn't give a fuck about the music but sometimes I like to "mix it up a bit" and participate in chaos.
Especially as a gringo where nobody expects you to join in on chaos.
Get up there, perhaps with a knife in hand, and yell out in my gringo accent and half understandable Spanish with my landlord at the noisy neighbors: "NO PINCHE MAMES WEY!!!! NO ES JUSTO LO QUE HACES CON LA MUSICA!!!! YA CHUPE MI VERGA WEY!!! NO MAMEEEEEES!!!!"
Anyway, I didn't actually join in on the arguments so I went back to bed.
Actually, I took a shit first before going to bed.
After too much vodka from the time before going to bed, my sides were kinda hurting and I needed to take a shit.
Then I went to bed.
But I wasn't able to fall asleep very well as I was already kinda awake by this point and so I gave up on trying to sleep again and just went to my computer.
Poured myself a drink.
And began playing this song through my headphones.
In the barrios of Iztapalapa at 2 AM with some vodka, it's the right song to play.
Kinda makes me feel like Tony Montana.
Bolivia Theme Scarface
The Loud Music of the Latin American Neighbors
It's a fact of life to living in a good deal of Latin America.
Not all of it, of course.
I'm sure if you went to some small town in Uruguay that they wouldn't be playing loud reggaeton music at 2 AM on a Monday.
Those small Bolivian villages might get down to some Andean music but reggaeton no.
And probably only at like 3 PM or something.
Still, when living in big cities, it happens.
And not just "barrio looking" areas like Iztapalapa.
There's a story somewhere on my blog but I forgot which article about how I walked out of my apartment building in Roma Norte over a year ago and there was some drugged out looking foreigner standing outside.
He was seemingly irritated at the loud music happening on the rooftop of my building as some of my neighbors were having a party.
In fact, since I moved out of there, I've heard that the music and parties has gotten worse in areas like Roma Norte and Condesa.
Not sure if that's just Mexicans looking for a reason to bitch about foreigners because, from what I remember, those areas always had loud music late at night on the weekends and sometimes other nights.
Though, given I haven't lived there in over a year, maybe it has gotten worse.
Who knows.
At any rate, it happens in other Latin American cities also obviously.
You just have to get used to it.
Loud music blasting out from some random building -- be it a house party on the rooftop or a bar -- until whenever.
Be it 4 AM at latest here in Mexico City.
For places like Buenos Aires, it wouldn't shock me if it went on until 7 AM.
I remember partying there -- as I wrote about here -- and finding the nightlife too crazy for me as it would just go on and on until 7 AM and I'd want to go to bed.
Though, given I work at night now most of the time these days, I personally don't care if they play loud music at night until 4 AM.
It's usually reggaeton and I quite like reggaeton.
Even though, most of the times, it's never reggaeton viejo but that new Bad Bunny shit or whatever.
Anyway, if it annoys you, I suppose you should just buy a loud fan like I have.
Might help.
When it comes to calling some authority to report it, I'm not sure they'll do anything.
I've never tried or contemplated doing that but I've heard of other gringos or locals trying that and it never working.
Seemingly they never show up or don't do anything.
So it is what it is.
Anyway, if you got anything to add, drop a comment below.
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Thanks for reading.
Best regards,
Matt