In the 2000s, Metro Manila actually had a “gayborhood”; that is, a gay neighborhood where LGBTQIA people gathered because most of the LGBTQIA-centric venues could be found there. Alas, the district of Malate in the City of Manila soon “died”, with most of these venues either closing or moving elsewhere – e.g. in Cubao in Quezon City, in Poblacion in Makati City, in Taguig City, in Greenfield in Mandaluyong City, and so on. That gayborhood was eventually declared as “Koreatown”, in its way also a form of gentrification…
Nowadays, the City of Manila has no LGBTQIA space to speak of (unless you count as such the rundown cinemas where men who have sex with men congregate, as well as the older malls where sex workers sell themselves to older gay and bisexual men).
And so now… if even the City of Manila does not have its own LGBTQIA space, where do those in southern Metro Manila (e.g. Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa) party?
And that’s how we ended up in Glitch Bar & Bistro.
To start: This is NOT an (exclusive) LGBTQIA venue. Instead, it’s LGBTQIA welcoming and friendly because… why not, when the pink money is just as good anyway. As such, there are LGBTQIA-centric “events” – e.g. drag shows on Wednesdays, and standup comedy on Thursdays.
The moment you enter Glitch, you’d know its target market. This is for the middle class; preferably upper middle class. Because in truth, they are the ones willing to “waste” around ₱7,000 for the VIP tables. At least that’s consumable.
Glitch is actually spacious. Though apparently, the place gets full particularly on weekends. But this is not crowded in the Awra or Starlites kind of way. More “unsoiled”… in a manner of speaking. That’s elitist, I know. But that’s what this place is going for.
If there’s an issue here, it’s the food. The sizzling tokwa, for instance, wasn’t even sizzling. Aside from tasting of mayo… and nothing else. Meanwhile, the nachos didn’t have a lot of sahog, so you’d basically waste half as soon as you run out of meat.
And this is considering that price-wise, the place isn’t that cheap.
The drag performances were, at least, not shabby. Clean make-up. Well-made costumes. Proper lip sync. Overall good performances. Alas, there’s no pasabog… except for the gulat splits. But then, where else can you catch good drag shows in Parañaque?
In truth, this isn’t a place for everyone; heck, even those who already visited may still say this isn’t their cup of tea. That’s all fine, if you ask me. Because at the end of the day, places like Glitch emphasize one thing – i.e. the need for safe spaces of LGBTQIA people. And if we can have more of such, then so much the better. – WITH ALBERT MAGALLANES, JR. & JOSHUA DOLENDO
Glitch Bar & Bistro is located at 51 President’s Avenue, Parañaque City, 1740 Metro Manila.
