My family moved to Spain in 2005, just when I started college. Drinking age in the US is 21, and New Haven is ranked as the 7th least-friendly city in the world, so Spain for me represented a summer escape, a getaway. I grew up in the Bronx before upgrading to the super-friendly city of New Haven, and in the Bronx I developed a shield, one which blinds me and makes me indifferent to any scene around me. And it was with that indifference that I decided to patronize Mae West Granada.
During the summer of 2007, I was often the only person of color inside of Mae West. I had heard from everyone with a tan that the place was impenetrable, that only the whitest, most well-dressed whites could enter. When I first showed up there, alone, the Romanian bouncer demanded to see my ID. "This is your American driver's license?" he asked me as soon as he waved me in.
It was a Monday, so the bouncers remembered me, and allowed me in again the next day, and the next. I patronized the establishment for most of the summer, spending large sums of money. I usually went alone, and I can honestly say that during most nights, I was the only person of color inside.
Though I didn't believe the rumors of racism at first, it quickly became apparent to me that indeed there was a race-policy at the door. Anyone perceived to be Moroccan or Latin American was turned away, regardless of how well-dressed. My American driver's license was the only thing that allowed me entry, and the only reason why I kept going back was because of how loose the puss' was inside. Say what you will about racism, but being the only negro in an establishment does make you the star of the dick show. However, the fact that Spanish women inside were open-leggedminded, doesn't excuse the door policy, and the racism of the Romanian bouncers.
Somehow, that racist elitism only makes the working-class inhabitants of Granada desire to enter the establishment even more. After the summer of 2007, I got tired of tapping elitist-Andalusian-agrarian-ass, and simply went elsewhere.
It wasn't until the summer of 2012 that I decided to return to Mae West. I was sharply dressed and accompanied by three white Spanish girls. The girls were walking behind me, in a crowd, when one of the bouncers picked me out of the white crowd and said: "him, he can't come in!"
I said to him: "I used to come here all the time, back in '07," and he replied: "times have changed." The three girls came to my defense, and said: "if he can't come in, we won't either." I said: "you ladies go in, I'll take my money elsewhere."
An older bouncer came out to help the short bouncer, and impolitely waved me in. Once inside, I had a very mean-faced bouncer hovering over me the entire time. Worse, I approached the counter to purchase a bottle of rum, and the waitress told me in very shocked language: "you know that cost 60 euros, right!?"
Somehow I still decided to spend my money, and didn't display my indignation. Had I not been with those three girls, I clearly would not have been allowed in. The three girls were still college students -- I had met them in 2007. I don't like comparing myself to people or putting myself in a position above anyone, but the entire time that the bouncer hovered over me, all I could think about was where I came from.
I had graduated Yale, moved to Korea to teach, had no students loans, and was in Spain vacationing and splurging. The three girls were unemployed, some picked olives over the summer, and yet because of their gender and skin color they were treated well, no questions asked. Because of my skin color, I was treated like crap, no questions asked.
