Move Over Ricky: Livin' the Viva Loca in Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv has a reputation for being a crazy party town. This is part urban legend part truth. As the summer winds down you can definitely feel the streets along the Mediterranean quieting down at night. In the past there were nights where the beach was filled with teenagers and 20-somethings doing just about anything. For the most part, the kids are tame, they don't even know how to be bad. There are the few wild ones, and they do kiss and tell. The strip of beach south of the opera building (Alemby Street) is know to be a hot 'making out' spot (AND more). If you are not privy to the inside scoop, an early morning walk on the beach has all the telltale signs of the nights activities (condom wrappers, vodka bottles, underwear). The bars in Tel Aviv and the surrounding towns (Holon, Bat Yam, Hertzelia) are also a great source of mythical tales; from dance floor craziness to bathroom sex. The stories about certain bars in the late 1990s to the early 2000s are not all made up. According to bartenders the stories are true. Crazy activities are definitely limited to certain bars. They occur in the late hours between 1:00AM and 4:00AM. The bars close to the beaches tend to be the most active and the ones toward the south are the wild ones. If you are looking for this kind of action ask around. There are still plenty of cafes and pubs to just drink and talk or even dance, so do not avoid Tel Aviv because of its wild reputation.

Just like Ricky Martin's song 'living the viva loca' ~ Tel Aviv has a reputation, but a home grown Ricky Matin would not hurt

Tel Aviv's wild 'viva loca' reputation is a blessing and a curse blended together. A blessing in diluting the not so great tourist image. Tel Aviv is nice and has world class hotels and restaurants, but the image is not glitzy. It is not exotic or even peaceful sea side resort. City government have been trying to give Tel Aviv a better reputation with P/R and global advertisement campaigns (more in Europe than in American and Asia). This strategy is not working that well. It will probably take a great deal of time and money to overcome the current image. A curse in stereotyping the nightlife as wild parties which is not exactly good for the 'locals'. People who pay millions for an apartment overlooking the Mediterranean have a point when they can't sleep at night from noisy, smoky clubs next door. From the mid 1980's to about 2000 Tel Aviv somehow acquired the reputation of a haven for European gay vacationers. This reputation eventually became a reality and Tel Aviv did become a gay destination specially in the summer months and specially for young gays escaping the less liberal European cities. Today Tel Aviv is also considered Israel's gay haven. 20 somethings from all over Israel come to Tel Aviv to live and find company among the gay and lesbian community. The European gays are gone, probably they do just fine in other Mediterranean beaches.

On the positive side Tel Aviv does want to have a cosmopolitan image. When talking to people on the streets and in cafes you will often hear comparisons to New York and London. Tel Avivians want to feel as if they were living in a big metropolis, a world class city. A reputation of mixing business, commerce and entertainment is something Tel Aviv's image makers try to portray. Israel is surrounded by Islamic countries where the lifestyle does not come close to the one here. Tel Aviv also can portray itself as a well run, almost European city with freedoms and customs befitting the culture and business of globalization. This could make Tel Aviv the gateway to the Islamic world from a European and an Asian perspective. In this vain, Tel Aviv will have to change Israel's image of being regimented and militarily run. For long periods of time Israel was certainly patrolled by uniformed soldiers carrying anything from Uzis in the 1960's to M16s today. This is not the case in 2009 Tel Aviv. Gone are the days where you see soldiers patrolling streets, checking cars and ID cards. The only uniforms you see is of soldiers on vacation going home or 'jobniks' (non-combat unit soldiers) shopping at malls. But reputation is a tricky business, and hard to control. Maybe we need a home grown Ricky Martin to get the image up? Watching his videos gives anyone the feeling that life is one big party. What do you think?