Elegy for a dear friend and child of mine

This weekend, I was able to finally say goodbye to a friend who had been ailing and lingering for some time. Not that death was imminent or even assured; but that for me, the original spirit had already left, and was just waiting for the body to follow.

Saturday night I was stumbling about the hood, blind drunk, with two Kiwi buddies, with the intention of dragging them into Macondo.

Those of you who know me know that this was the only tangible thing I've done with my entire life; after pouring all of my life force into it for many years, I was able to give this bar a foundation that would last it into the 21st century. It was one of only two businesses within a two block radius that survived the atomic-bomb like devastation of Korea's IMF crisis (known outside Korea as the Korean currency crisis.)

It was the only child of my marriage to a famous Korean. She sunk her money, I sunk my time and health into the project (imagine breathing all that smoke 24/7 - a bit like working at the smoking room in an airport.) It ended up, some might say, costing us our relationship - but that'll have to remain for a deeper analysis.

We turned the corner from the intersection, that same intersection I had passed so many, many times on the way to 'work', the only job I truly relished and was able to put in 89 hour workweeks without complaint - we turned the corner and were confronted by the scene you see above.

Rubble. A big hole where my baby had been. I thought all about the wall decorations (which had surely been taken down), the wall mural painted by a famous Korean artist, the wooden floor which had been built by Nick the Canadian and his girlfriend Angie (who looked up cheerfully while holding a jigsaw in one hand and squealed with girlish delight "It's just like sewing for guys!"

I thought about all the good times and how few, really how few bad times there had been; only one fight in all its years, a fight I didn't witness personally, but was apparently a jealous wife hair-pulling catfight kind of thing (the kind of fight guys watch in morbid horror/pleasure, not knowing if or when to interfere).

I thought about all the people who had passed through it's glass doors; diplomats and DDD workers (Dirty, Dangerous and Difficult - mostly Peruvians) , Korean pioneers and hipsters, and foreigners from nearly every nation (the ONLY Cuban passport holder in the entire country was our DJ). Some people had come to Macondo by word of mouth from as far as Buenos Aires and Madrid.

Macondo was the flagship of Salsa in the entire nation; a cradle of latin civilization that spawned as many direct descendants (Sabor Latino, Moonnight, among ) as it did imitators (too many, and too ignomious to mention all- but at last count there were 8 salsa bars in the Hong Dae neighborhood).

Macondo was more than a bar that sold drinks for its livelihood. It was nothing less than a Latin American embassy, disseminating the finer aspects of Latin American culture- and doing a better job than most of the actual embassies at doing that (the Mexican minister of culture used to borrow Mexican movies from us). The first Salsa lessons, the first Salsa dance contest, and the first Latin American cultural festival all were born there. (the festival was held in downtown Seoul, but was designed and carried out by Macondo people)

Macondo also represented the better part of diplomacy to many people; here was a place where Koreans of ALL AGES (so many asked at the door if we had an age-ist policy like the other bars) and outlooks could mingle with people of all nations, outlooks, ethnicity (everyone who crossed the door lintel became an honorary Latino for the night), where people could relax without pretension.

Macondo was truly a community; it went beyond the 'Cheers' concept - not only was it a bar where 'everyone knows your name' - but it was a bar where you would be sadly missed when you left the country, a place many people chose to have their birthday and farewell parties. It was a combination of place and time, a synthesis of all the right elements that I will be forever grateful for having been able to participate in.

Goodnight, dear friend. Go gently into the night, for you will be sorely missed by so many.