Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Problems at the Palace

“It’s just sitting there empty,” says local reggae radio personality Makeda “Dread” Cheatom of the 1800-capacity Tijuana venue named Iguanas. “We’re coming in to reclaim it.” Iguana’s will have its first headlining show in over 15 years next February, says Cheatom, who has booked the room for her annual Bob Marley Day event.

Promoter Harlan Schiffman, who promoted most of Iguanas shows 15–20 years ago, says the owners of the building wanted it to be used every night as a bar instead of just two or three times a week as a concert venue.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“The last show there was Sepultura.” He says the unexpected closure of the venue caused him to move a 1994 Ramones show to UCSD. “After Iguana’s, it was a bar for several years, then a video arcade, then a disco.”

Schiffman says Iguanas had a rare magic to it. “You were seeing a show in a foreign country. It had a surreal design. There was a spiral staircase that dropped down into the sunken floor.” Guests could watch the bands in the pit or from two other levels. “You had the feeling you were in a palace.”

But there were problems at the palace, recalls Schiffman. “Someone would always come along and insist that money be paid or the equipment would be seized. The incidents were few, but occasionally donations had to be made.… It was always a bit of a gamble to do shows there, but now it is definitely more of a concern. The violence rate has escalated. The dynamics are…different. You have to have a visa to go down there now.”

Cheatom says one way she plans to make it safer is by having buses take fans from San Ysidro directly to the venue and then back again after the show.

“People are afraid [to promote shows in Mexico],” admits Cheatom. “You have to really know Tijuana. It’s like a jungle out there, but you just have to know what you’re doing and deal with people.” She says she will bring down a security crew from the U.S. to help with the show. “They just can’t carry guns. You have to have your own cartel,” she joked.

Cheatom thinks the recent decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana in Mexico will help the tourist industry rebound. “They are doing everything they can to turn Mexico around. Pretty soon it’s going to be like Amsterdam down there. Tourism will rise back up.”

The Bob Marley Days event at Iguanas will be February 12 and 13, 2010, and will feature Don Carlos, the Skatalites, Inner Circle, and Gondwana from Chile. The $15 tickets will be available in November at the World Beat Center in Balboa Park and D’Volada in Tijuana.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Coyote tracks in frail San Diego avocado grove

Second place winner in Reader neighborhood writing contest
Next Article

Gilbert Castellanos, Buddha Trixie, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Shane Hall, Brian Jones Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival

Grand Socials, gigs, and record releases in Del Mar, City Heights, Solana Beach, Little Italy, and Ocean Beach

“It’s just sitting there empty,” says local reggae radio personality Makeda “Dread” Cheatom of the 1800-capacity Tijuana venue named Iguanas. “We’re coming in to reclaim it.” Iguana’s will have its first headlining show in over 15 years next February, says Cheatom, who has booked the room for her annual Bob Marley Day event.

Promoter Harlan Schiffman, who promoted most of Iguanas shows 15–20 years ago, says the owners of the building wanted it to be used every night as a bar instead of just two or three times a week as a concert venue.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“The last show there was Sepultura.” He says the unexpected closure of the venue caused him to move a 1994 Ramones show to UCSD. “After Iguana’s, it was a bar for several years, then a video arcade, then a disco.”

Schiffman says Iguanas had a rare magic to it. “You were seeing a show in a foreign country. It had a surreal design. There was a spiral staircase that dropped down into the sunken floor.” Guests could watch the bands in the pit or from two other levels. “You had the feeling you were in a palace.”

But there were problems at the palace, recalls Schiffman. “Someone would always come along and insist that money be paid or the equipment would be seized. The incidents were few, but occasionally donations had to be made.… It was always a bit of a gamble to do shows there, but now it is definitely more of a concern. The violence rate has escalated. The dynamics are…different. You have to have a visa to go down there now.”

Cheatom says one way she plans to make it safer is by having buses take fans from San Ysidro directly to the venue and then back again after the show.

“People are afraid [to promote shows in Mexico],” admits Cheatom. “You have to really know Tijuana. It’s like a jungle out there, but you just have to know what you’re doing and deal with people.” She says she will bring down a security crew from the U.S. to help with the show. “They just can’t carry guns. You have to have your own cartel,” she joked.

Cheatom thinks the recent decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana in Mexico will help the tourist industry rebound. “They are doing everything they can to turn Mexico around. Pretty soon it’s going to be like Amsterdam down there. Tourism will rise back up.”

The Bob Marley Days event at Iguanas will be February 12 and 13, 2010, and will feature Don Carlos, the Skatalites, Inner Circle, and Gondwana from Chile. The $15 tickets will be available in November at the World Beat Center in Balboa Park and D’Volada in Tijuana.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Not enough Readers in Mission Beach

Mayor Todd Gloria's skin color
Next Article

Gilbert Castellanos, Buddha Trixie, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Shane Hall, Brian Jones Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival

Grand Socials, gigs, and record releases in Del Mar, City Heights, Solana Beach, Little Italy, and Ocean Beach
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.