{"id":11832,"date":"2017-04-03T10:38:24","date_gmt":"2017-04-03T14:38:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.playadelcarmen.com\/blog\/?p=11832"},"modified":"2017-04-06T16:59:03","modified_gmt":"2017-04-06T20:59:03","slug":"le-lotus-rouge-an-art-oasis-in-playa-del-carmen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.playadelcarmen.com\/blog\/le-lotus-rouge-an-art-oasis-in-playa-del-carmen\/","title":{"rendered":"Le Lotus Rouge: An Art Oasis in Playa del Carmen"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIn a mad world, only the mad are sane.\u201d
\n— Akira Kurosawa —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I’ve written about this place enough over the past few months, but I’ve never actually dedicated an article to the fantastical place that is Le Lotus Rouge.<\/p>\n

It’s my favorite place in Playa to go for a drink, and there’s no space more magical to see a good show either.<\/p>\n

In fact, I’d say it’s definitely one of the best venues for Playa del Carmen nightlife<\/strong><\/a> hands down.<\/p>\n

I don’t even know why it has taken me so long to dedicate this tribute to my favorite place for escaping the dredge of sanity.<\/p>\n

Something I intend to remedy today.<\/p>\n

Not the sanity part, but writing about Le Lotus Rouge.<\/p>\n

An Art Oasis in Playa del Carmen<\/h2>\n

\"Le<\/p>\n

“This is a place to dream,” explains Natasha, the eccentric owner and founder of Le Lotus Rouge.<\/p>\n

“There’s something to catch your attention wherever you look, even on the ceilings.”<\/p>\n

And it’s true. Each corner, each space, each wall, and everything in between is decorated with something that hasn’t just been randomly placed but exists within a well thought out artistic concept.<\/p>\n

“It’s neither a museum nor a cultural center,” she says, “but a multicultural encounter with the arts.”<\/p>\n

Here guests are invited to not only be observers but participants — accomplices — in this unique and exquisite artistic experience.<\/p>\n

\"Live<\/p>\n

To make that possible, Natasha makes everything available from musical instruments and costumes to acrobatic ropes and painting supplies.<\/p>\n

“It’s a place to live art, to become immersed in art.”<\/p>\n

More than that, however, it’s a counter space to the excessive alienation and technologically-driven cyber-individualism of modern society.<\/p>\n

“This project is a creative resistance to the uniformization of the world,” says Natasha.<\/p>\n

Inside Le Lotus Rouge<\/h2>\n

\"Le<\/p>\n

You can tell your in for an experience unlike any other just as soon as you approach this residential house turned art oasis.<\/p>\n

Located on 35th Avenue between Juarez Avenue and 4th Street, the outside awning with “Art Refuge” and “Art Oasis” handwritten in paint, wooden horses and an iron gate fence give a taste of what’s inside.<\/p>\n

\"Le<\/p>\n

Each room is divided thematically, something that might not first catch your attention if you’re new to Le Lotus Rouge.<\/p>\n

Colorful curtains separate these diverse concepts or fields of art.<\/p>\n

In the center is the main stage, an extremely vibrant open-air space covered by a circus-like tent.<\/p>\n

“You can’t run here,” says Natasha.<\/p>\n

\"Playa<\/p>\n

“It’s not like in other places where you can walk briskly through the venue.”<\/p>\n

“You have to take your time.”<\/p>\n

Moreover, the arrangement of the furniture, curtains, and hanging objects means that it is hard not to come here and come into physical contact with the art itself.<\/p>\n

That is intentional.<\/p>\n

In this way, the boundaries between active and passive are blurred, seductively inviting you to participate in not only visiting but being an active participant in the creation of a living art refuge.<\/p>\n

At Le Lotus Rouge, the strange becomes familiar and the familiar becomes strange.<\/p>\n

The Long Road to Acceptance<\/h2>\n

\"Le<\/p>\n

Natasha doesn’t hesitate when asked how difficult it was to establish a place so outside of the norm and what people expect to find in Playa del Carmen.<\/p>\n

“The first two years were extremely difficult,” she explains.<\/p>\n

“If I would have known how hard it was going to be I never would have done it.”<\/p>\n

Luckily, perseverance and her dedication to the arts kept Natasha at it.<\/p>\n

Now, after 4.5 years in operation, Le Lotus Rouge is a big success and continues to grow as the word spreads about how warm, welcoming, and deliciously crazy this place is.<\/p>\n

In the beginning, it was mostly tourists and the immigrant community that frequented this wonderful art oasis.<\/p>\n

\"Le<\/p>\n

Over time, Le Lotus Rouge began building up a local base of Mexicans.<\/p>\n

However, curiously enough, not all generations have made this place their second home in Playa.<\/p>\n

In general it’s the millennial generation of young Mexicans who have found their artistic refuge in Le Lotus Rouge.<\/p>\n

With nightly shows and a diverse array of formats such as live music, karaoke, painting classes, poetry, and theater, this small but accommodating space is generally full on the weekends with a rich mixture of people from many different countries and languages.<\/p>\n

About Le Lotus Rouge<\/h2>\n

\"D'Emergencia<\/p>\n

Le Lotus Rouge is open Tuesday through Sunday from 6:00 p.m. until 12:00 a.m. and is located on 35th Street between Juarez Avenue and 4th Street.<\/p>\n

In addition to the rich cultural programs, Le Lotus Rouge is a full-service restaurant and bar<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Le<\/p>\n

As you can imagine, the food is just as deliciously creative as the space itself.<\/p>\n

Check out the Le Lotus Rouge Facebook page<\/strong><\/a> to keep up-to-date with the weekly events.<\/p>\n

And when you go, take Natasha’s advice and disconnect from our hectic world and become immersed in the beautifully unique experience that is the art oasis of Le Lotus Rouge.<\/p>\n

You’d be mad not to want to visit Le Lotus Rouge!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Our acrobatic travel specialists can juggle you up this best travel deals to Playa del Carmen!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Call them today toll-free at 888-537-9797<\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cIn a mad world, only the mad are sane.\u201d — Akira Kurosawa — I’ve written about this place enough over the past few months, but I’ve never actually dedicated an article to the fantastical place that is Le Lotus Rouge. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":11833,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[143,137],"tags":[512,481,88,392],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.playadelcarmen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11832"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.playadelcarmen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.playadelcarmen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.playadelcarmen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.playadelcarmen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11832"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.playadelcarmen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11853,"href":"https:\/\/www.playadelcarmen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11832\/revisions\/11853"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.playadelcarmen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.playadelcarmen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.playadelcarmen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.playadelcarmen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}