Byegone places / Magic Circus, the most important nightclub between 1982 and 1994.
Although back then the word “antro” wasn’t commonly used, it’s safe to say that Magic—as it was known—was the nightclub.
By Alejandro Pohlenz
In 1982 I was 20 years old (those were the days!) and studying Communication at a distinguished petit-bourgeois university in the western part of Mexico City. The Toreo de Cuatro Caminos still existed, although it never really had a specific function (I think I attended a Joe Cocker concert there; and I remember the entrance corridors were dreadful). Today, when you pass by, you no longer have to look at that awful metal half-dome, because a shopping mall and office buildings have been built in its place.
At Magic Circus there were three different venues
Magic Circus, known simply as Circus, consisted of three spaces: the main one was El Magic; then there was Privilege, a private club; and finally Rock Garage. Nearby, also at the Toreo, was the equally famous News (which later opened another branch in El Pedregal).
A gigantic nightclub
Magic Circus was a true aircraft carrier. For us twenty-somethings of the ’80s, getting in—besides being a feat (you absolutely had to be on good terms with Juanjo)—was genuinely impressive, not only because of its size, but because of its circular shape, the different table levels, the dance floor, and the stage. It was like being in the Roman Coliseum: fascinating (perhaps it wouldn’t feel quite the same now, although you’d be hard-pressed to find clubs of that scale). Concerts were also held at Magic: Soda Stereo, Mecano, Flans, and Luis Miguel performed there; renowned DJs such as Claudio Yarto played as well, although Ulises Jiménez was the last DJ to perform, on Saturday, May 29, 1994, moments before Magic’s demise.
The disappearance of Magic
I don’t know why it failed in 1994 (by then I was already in my thirties, working on Televisa soap operas). I remember the early-evening parties, the cages you could climb into to dance (not me—the dance floor has never been my thing; I have terrible rhythm), and how there was always some “celebrity” around—especially members of Timbiriche. Let us play a requiem for Magic, symbol of a remarkable decade of the last century: the 1980s.
Address: Rodolfo Gaona 3, Lomas de Sotelo, Mexico City.
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