Badulake, pride and amusement

I t’s a leading venue not only in the nightlife of Casco Viejo, but also in Bilbao and Bizkaia. It holds a secret to stay on the crest of the wave for more than 20 years: its soul. Fun, kindness, good drinks and, above all, very good music to dance. In this way they have conquered a loyal audience that feels at home.

On Thursdays, a dance session from 11.30pm until 4.30am is the best way to start the weekend with a craving for evasion. Every Friday starting at 22:00, THE FELLINI, true revolutionaries of drag; they are real queens of improvisation and humour who guarantee a good experience. Fridays and Saturdays, the city’s best DJs fill the Badulake dancefloor until 6am.

Badulake is one of those places where anything is possible. It is a club that is free of free of sexist aggressions, with a gay atmosphere, and also diverse. Its doors are open for everyone.

Those of us who run Badulake can be found doing a course at the printmaking centre and gallery LA TALLER (www.lataller. com) or visiting an exhibition at Azkuna Zentroa. Strolling through the Casco Viejo and enjoying a delicious pintxo at IRRINTZI (Santa Maria 8). We also can be spotted taking a refreshing drink on the terrace of the Ereaga in Villarías street, walking along the banks of the estuary and chatting about the world and its things at VÍA DE FUGA (Gordoniz 5).

Yolanda Martínez and Elena Sarasola opened Badulake on 31st October 2000. And, since the very next day, it was already a classic. A long pub with stage-dance floor at. the back. A postpunk theatre café. Loads of fun onstage and in each corner. That’s the secret.

They open on Thursdays at 21:30 with an irreverent performance by Las Fellini, true revolutionaries of drag. Las Fellini hit the stages the first Saturday of each month. Fridays and Saturdays Djs get the party going on until 6:00.

Yolanda explains that Badulake is “a place where anything can happen, above all, having a good time, dancing, listening to good music. Ours is a place free of sexist aggressions, with a mixed atmosphere, straight and gay”.

This cultural activist is a regular at the Arriaga Theatre and the Guggenheim, she never misses exhibitions at Azkuna Zentroa and often goes to Sala BBK “which has a very interesting new artistic direction”. She likes Vía de Fuga to “enjoy a beer or a bite to eat”.

PHOTOGRAPHY

A few months ago, Elena Sarasola, partner and couple of Yolanda Martínez, premiered an intriguing exhibition of photographs at the printmaking centre ‘La Taller’ (www.lataller.com) that you might find in any gallery at the moment.