Latin-Internet is moving out of Villa!

[OkieMan]

I am sending this message to any and all posters that are interested.  I am a member of the Latin-Internet Agency.  They have recently notified all members that they will soon be moving to a new location.  They are now in Cuidad Jardin, but will be moving to a neighborhood called San Fernando.  Are there any posters here that are familiar with that neighborhood?   Supposedly, it is more centrally located within the city than the Villa in Cuidad Jardin. The agency will then be located inside a hotel named Dugger's and Green. Do any of you know anything about that hotel?  I find it interesting that the hotel has an anglo name instead of a spanish one.  Anyhow, I have been talking to Heat about his Calipenthouse, and I will probably be staying with him, instead of the hotel; but I am still curious to see if any of you know this place?  Something tells me this is more downsizing on the part of the overall agency situation in Cali; and Latin-Internet in particular.  What do you guys think?  To end this post, I just want to put in a good word for Heat and the penthouse he has.  I have only seen it via the pictures he sent me, but it looks very nice!  If anyone is interested in having a good place to stay and at a good price, then give Heat a call or email.  By the way, Pete also has his place that is nice (so I am told).  I am sure that both of these guys could use the business.  From what I can tell, it's a much better deal then staying at a hotel.  So, that's my free commercial for the day.  Ok, guys, tell me what you know about this new location for Latin-Internet. I am curious to hear from you.

                               OkieMan

[Neil]

... in response to Latin-Internet is moving out of Villa!, posted by OkieMan on Mar 3, 2005

their rent was $1,700 a month.  If they use a hotel their rent is nothing and you pay the hotel for the rooms.  A sweetheart deal.

This agency has the reputation for signing up women with children.  I spoke with the owner from Illinois and he feels he is doing a Christian good deed by matching the poor women with children with us rich Americans.

[Pete E]

... in response to Rent was too much!, posted by Neil on Mar 5, 2005

Plus the rent isn't even half the story on a big house.Utilities are sky high.You will pay alot for maids and maintanance people.You need alot of income to offset it.I doubt its there in Cali right now,so a smart move on their part I think.They needed to do it to survive it looks like.Its not like it was a fewyears ago here.Less guys coming,the ones who do are more $$ savy.

Pete

[Pete E]

... in response to Latin-Internet is moving out of Villa!, posted by OkieMan on Mar 3, 2005

Early 2004 there were 3 major agencies in the north,one in the south,Latin Internet.
By June there was one left in the North,Latin Best,4 in the south including the new Cali Vip plus Latin Encounters and All Colombian girls moved there.
Now it will be back to 4 in the north,one in the south,everybody but Cali Vip moving north.
After so many years itsa little surprising Latin Internet is moving.I think the bottom line is the agency business in Cali is very competitive.Anybody thinking they will make a buck now is probably mistaken.Some Colombians running agencies are just happy to cover their expenses,getting a place to live and a job out of it.
I like  Cuidad Jardine,but its seems its a tough location for an agency,a long way away from most of the girls.For a guy staying there,just more money for cab rides but if he is staying in the north than more cab money for him also.
I can only speculate but it seems perhaps Latin Internet was not covering their expenses on the big house anymore.Maybe they made a deal for pretty much a free location in exchange for the business the hotel will get out of it.
San Fernando is an OK but not luxurious area,like strata 4 maybe 5,but varies alot within it.Its a good general location,close to most everything in the North.I would think its a big step down in class for LI,but it might work better,who knows?
How many major agencies will we have in Cali in a year?
We have 5 now.I would think 3 would let the others make some money.But some of the little guys could hang in and survive and big guys keep dumping money? How long does someone  want to do that? We will see.
And there area a number of minor players.For instance,Lorena Medina will introduce you to girls for 20,000 pesos each,plus she wants to be at the initial meeting,translates for 15,000 an hour,plus you pay both ladies cab fare.She has about 60 girls but used to work at Latin Internet and might be able to hook you up with someone you see there.
Her number,315-579-4436.
And there is Walter Mora at personalmeetings.com.He isreal flexable,will work with you in a number of ways.
And Maricio at Latinlove.net.His web site is still not totally back up.If the numbers don't work I can get you one,he advertises for girls in El Pais.He will bring the girls to you.
Buyers market here.Good for guys.Not so great for agencies

Pete

[OkieMan]

... in response to Very interesting turn of events, posted by Pete E on Mar 5, 2005

Hi Pete,

Thanks for the details.  I did not realize that other agencies had also relocated back to the north part of Cali.  That is indeed interesting.  By the way, FYI to anyone interested, but I received an email from LI, and if I understood correctly, Fabio the owner/manager of the hotel will be having a role with the agency when they move.   I am not sure exactly what that means.  I would bet that the agency owners are trying to not rock the boat too much with customers like me; but I also am betting the owners are trying to sell the agency.  That is just a guess on my part.  I am not aware of how many current members they have. I am very curious if there are any other posters on this board that are current members of Latin-Internet, like me?  Maybe they can shed some light.  It seems that some of the other posters like you have been to LI in the past, but not currently.  There has been some mention about Fabio, the owner/manager of Dugger's and Green, since I originally posted this move info on the board. That is assuming that he is still there.  CaliPro posted about a funny experience at that hotel, but it was several years ago.  At any rate, there were some comments about this guy also working with girls that are "pros".  Naturally, I am not surprised, if it is true.  But, the other side of that coin is that I know the Colombian lady that actually owns Latin-Internet.  She is Colombiana named Maria, and her husband is a gringo named J.R. (I don't remember their last name).   They live in the Chicago area.  Anyway, when I was in Cali last August, she was there visiting her family.  Her brother Hector was the manager of the place. I know that he was still the manager until recently; and he still might be, I don't know.  But, at any rate, they are good people.  But, when I talked to Maria, she indicated that they do not advertise in the newspapers, etc. They do just word of mouth referrals, etc. They were trying to run a tight ship, so to speak. They did not allow the girls to stay with the guys, etc. Now, if this Fabio character starts to take over, either they are selling out to him, or they will be at least giving up a lot of control.  Naturally, I am just reading between the lines.  If anyone else has any other info, please share it.  Right now, I just want to continue to be able to email my calena, until I can meet her soon.  With all of these changes, I am not certain what will happen to this agency.  Pete, you and the other more experienced guys have seen agencies come and go, as you had indicated in your post.  So, do you think my speculation sounds reasonable?  Keep in mind, I paid them $300 for my membership last year, so I don't want to lose that.  So far, I have gotten my money's worth.  But, I am still trying to save my money for the trip.  I don't want anything to go cowabunga before I can see my calena!  Well, this post turned out to be longer than I had intended.  By the way, Pete, I want to stay with either you or Heat.  When I know more about my travel plans I will let you know.  Take care.

                               OkieMan

[Calipro]

... in response to Latin-Internet is moving out of Villa!, posted by OkieMan on Mar 3, 2005

I have chatted with Fabio the owner of "Duggers and Green" a couple times and I have to say I think the combination between the hotel and Latin-Internet seems a bit odd.

[OkieMan]

... in response to http://duggersandgreen.com, posted by Calipro on Mar 3, 2005

CaliPro,
Can you tell me why you think it is odd for the agency and the hotel to work together?  What did you think of Fabio?  Did you say that he is the owner or manager of the hotel?  Since I have only seen a picture of the place,I would like to know more details, if possible.

                          OkieMan

[Calipro]

... in response to Re: http://duggersandgreen.com, posted by OkieMan on Mar 3, 2005

I don't have a problem with Fabio. In fact he is a pretty nice guy once you get to know him.

He is the owner of the Hotel or maybe part owner. There is nothing wrong with the barrio San Fernando.

It was 1997; I believe. I was staying at Latin Connections in Los Cristales. As usual the little greek guy comes over in the morning to talk to all the americans staying there and to tell all the guys that are dating caleñas that they are a bunch of messed up bitches and most likely a bunch of whores. Most of the guys hated the little bastard but I have to admitt he made me laugh but then again he never called my girl a whore at least to my face.

Anyway he starts talking about a party he went to the night before on top of a little hotel. He said that they were having another party that night and did I want to go. I said sure I'll check it out.

Anyway the little greek guy comes over that night and we go to the party which happens to be on the top of Duggers and Greens but I don't think it was called that back then.

We ring a buzzer on the ground floor and a young guy looks over from the top floor and buzzes us in. We climb the stairs to the patio on the roof and he tells us that it is 20,000 pesos and that we can drink all that we want.

It's a small party with only about 9 guys there including me and the greek and there where about 9 women also. Every guy at the party was an american. There were six guys that were together and they told me that they were on a hunting trip. I believe that they were hunting some kind of birds. I was surprised that these guys were able to bring their guns into the country. To tell you the truth, these guys were very comfortable in Cali and it was obvious that they had spent a lot of time there. The only other guy that I remember had two girlfriends that were very nice to say the least. I was wondering how he managed to get to girlfriends that didn't seem the least bit jealous and then he introduced himself as a Tyson as in Tyson chicken and then I started to figure it out.

Then Fabio comes over and introduces himself and let me know how the party works. You can drink all you want, dance with the women all you want and talk to them all you want. But if you want to take one to bed then you have to pay $100 bucks.

Anyway the little Greek guy starts telling me that the pary was a lot better the night before and we sat down at the table with the hunters. One of them is over weight and I listen to the women talk about him. I guess he didn't speak spanish because he requests the only woman that can speak english.

One of the hunters is sitting next to me and he has this woman on the other side of him. From what I gathered from what the women were saying was that she had been with this guy last night and she really liked him. Well I guess the guy didn't want her and didn't know what to do to let her down easy. I mean the guy must have been really nice after all she was a prostitute. I guess he wanted another one or just wanted to lose her because he told me that he would pay me $100 to take her to a room and tried to pass me $100 bucks under the table. I told him thanks but no thanks and then I offer my little greek friends services and he was more than willing to take her for free. So the guy passes me the hundred and I give it to the greek guy who goes over to the guy that let us in and tells him that he wants that one.

Well when the little pimp tells the woman that she has to go with the little greek all hell breaks loose not only did the woman scream but all the women started screaming. Anyway it almost ended the party but the woman refused to go with the little greek guy and the nice guy was still stuck.  

I could go on with what happened with the little greek guy. But I think I'll skip it unless some of you are really interesed.

Anyway the last time I talked to Fabio he had two women staying at his hotel that were getting lipo. and yes he really does have nurses that take care of you after surgery.

If you want it and you have cash. Fabio will do his best to get it for you. I just can't imagine him running a marriage agency. Well I guess guys couldn't complain about his dedication to customer service because if you gave him some cash he would hire someone to brainwash a woman into marrying you even if she didn't want to have anything to do with you.

[OkieMan]

... in response to Re: Re: http://duggersandgreen.com, posted by Calipro on Mar 4, 2005


CaliPro,

That was one heck of a story.  Thanks for sharing.  However, it is not my understanding that Fabio or anyone of his staff would be running the agency.  But, having said that, I don't have all of the details yet either.  So, I guess I will soon find out.  At this point, I don't know how much more I will involve the agency in helping me.  But, right now I do need them to continue to do the translations for me.  Also, when I get there, I will have them formally introduce me to the lady I have been writing to.  Now, if all goes well, I will be set; plus, as it stands now, I plan on staying at Heat's place - the Calipenthouse, as he calls it.  However, if things do not go well with the introduction with my calena, then I will be working on Plan B; which is meeting more women.  So, we will see.  I will be watching out to see if I meet Fabio or not.  Does he really like Harliquin Romance novels?  ha Just kidding!

                          OkieMan

[papi]

... in response to Latin-Internet is moving out of Villa!, posted by OkieMan on Mar 3, 2005

Okie, I remember looking at that hotel several months ago. I was considering a biz at the time in Cali and looked it over. It is kind of a unique place as I recall. I really dont want to say bad things about it and it did have a nice rooftop dining/drinking area. One thing that was kind of bizarre, i remember some but not all of the rooms actually had the toilet in the shower - i never have seen that before! maybe it is designed to save on TP - wash up instead of paper??

[DavidMN]

... in response to Re: Latin-Internet is moving out of Vill..., posted by papi on Mar 3, 2005

[This message has been edited by DavidMN]

I know zilch about the hotel but there was a funny comment about it a long time ago on the Dos Gringos board. Someone asked what the "professional nurses" on staff meant (see the website). Is it close to a hospital? Do foreigners use it as a place to recover from cosmetic surgery? Do they offer to fulfill sexual fantasies with a buxom "Nurse Nancy?"  So many questions!  ;-)

[papi]

... in response to Re: Dugger's and Green, posted by DavidMN on Mar 3, 2005

OK, I will be candid. My impression of the place as I recall – bizarre!  But I think it may have some potential

[OkieMan]

... in response to Re: Re: Dugger's and Green, posted by papi on Mar 3, 2005

Papi,
Define bizarre?  This story is getting interesting!  As I said, I have never been there.  But, if I am correct in my assumptions, the agency is scaling back. I am sure that they were not being as successful as they would like; and even though the Villa was nice, it must be alot of overhead to pay for and try to remain profitable.  I know that many of you experienced guys on this board have commented about the "good old days", and the fun you had at the mansion that is now CaliVip.  Well, the Villa that has been the location for Latin-Internet is not in that league; but it is still nice - and in a very classy neighborhood.  I am still wanting any info about this San Fernando neighborhood. It's funny, because when I hear the name San Fernando, I think of the San Fernando Valley in California.  I have a lot of relatives in California, and I lived out there when I was a small kid.

                              OkieMan

[papi]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Dugger's and Green, posted by OkieMan on Mar 3, 2005

Okie, well having a toilet in the shower was pretty bizarre for starters. I don't know - the place struck me as strange but maybe they have fixed things up. it has been awhile. So when are you making a trip?? Where are you going?? If you want to be successful on your first trip back - I would not limit your visit to one city and in addition to Cali would suggest you consider BAQ, Bog, or Medellin.

[OkieMan]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Re: Dugger's and Green, posted by papi on Mar 4, 2005

Papi,

In answer to your question about where I am going; I will be going back to Cali, at least initially.  I have a calena there that I need to meet in person and determine if we really have something or not.  After that, I am considering Medellin.  Naturally money is a factor; so I will just have to wait and see. As far as a place to stay; I am hoping to stay at the Calipenthouse.  The place that Heat and his partner have.  The agency that I mentioned is in the midst of moving to that new location, and I don't have much in the way of details.  That is why I was asking you guys.  Thanks for your interest.  Send all of your income tax deductible contributions to the OkieMan Colombian trip fund! ha

                            OkieMan