Rob-Rivera.com

Baños Públicos, In Casco Viejo

After checking in on the Naso at the Cathedral plaza a couple of times, my friends and I eventually landed on this crazy little nook located on one of the corners of the adjacent Herrera plaza, the same one where La Casona is. I had never given it a chance for some reason or other, and I regret it in every inch of my bones, now.

The place has a unique, patched-together quality that’s incredibly unique. Kind of like if the basement where they shoot “Wayne’s World” had a one night stand with the basement from Sean Paul’s “Get Busy” video. If you’re looking for glitz and glamour, or even artsy sensibilities you can keep walking: there’s a grungy, do-it-yourself attitude about the place that I find absolutely engaging. No one chair or couch is the same, the bar is essentially a table with a cloth over it and the beer cooler is a huge water bucket filled with ice and beers for the night.

The place is small, but its perfect that way. Dogs (with collars, which I find hilarious) come in willy-nilly and they’re awfully friendly if you give them a chance. The beers are a dollar and cold as ice so that’s a welcome change in an area where a national beer can ring you up as high as $3.00 and they also serve drinks. There’s always a live band playing there it seems, and while I was there this really cool Dominican dude who goes by the moniker of “Chapu” was the frontman of this cover band that churned out old salsa tunes through a dub filter: seriously, if you’ve never heard Hector Lavoe’s “El Cantante” by a reggae cover band, you will want to punch babies for the opportunity.

There really is not much more to say about the place other than the fact that you have to be there to believe it exists. I know Panamanian bands such as Rencilla and Skraped Knees have done gigs there, and I definitely would, too. Baños Públicos, which literally means “public bathrooms” and refers to, well, public bathrooms located in certains pots of the city where you pay a quarter for use of the restroom facilities, is a charming little joint that I would go back to in a heartbeat. Now, I leave you with a classic. Enjoy!

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