Table tennis or ping pong is a fairly old sport. It was invented in England, in college dormitories, as a game among friends and with improvised equipment: wooden tops, bottle corks and a table divided by books. Eventually the game became popular and spread to many more countries and in 1988 it became an Olympic sport. A bit like the history of ping pong, which arose by chance, is that of one of the clubs that currently exist in the CDMX.
Piong Club started as a meeting between friends, they would get together at Fernando Torres' house, he would cook, someone else would play music and everyone would play ping pong. After a few meetings, it was no longer just his close friends who attended, as word began to spread about these ping pong meetings, so he decided to create a space where ping pong, music and gastronomy enthusiasts could meet.
When Piong Club grew, Feroto's playground became too small, so it was necessary to find a new place to play, that's how they arrived at Central de maquetasone of the most iconic places in Tlatelolco. From Eje Central you can see the emblematic yellow sign with black letters that frame this small place in the 5 de febrero tower in the second section of Tlatelolco. Since its opening in 1965, this space became the store where everyone went to buy the necessary material to build models: miniature animals, synthetic plants, sheets of textures and furniture in all scales. As of 2019 the premises no longer functions as a store but has hosted different art exhibitions.
Piong club meets the last weekend of every month. This ping pong club is not only for experts, but for all those who want to spend an afternoon with friends, with delicious food and music, so if you think you do not know enough about table tennis do not worry, this is a place where you can practice your skills and enjoy ping pong without many pretensions. To participate in the tournament you must write to them through their Instagram account and arrive punctually to the appointment to register, have your photo taken for the tournament and organize the games. In each edition there is a small trophy for the winner, plus you don't pay anything.
Food is an important part of Piong Club, so the menu changes month by month, we went to the July edition and we were able to try hot dogs -very tasty-, but they are very varied menus, as in other occasions they have prepared ceviche, hamburgers, wings and even barbecue. They also have cakes and desserts from International Pharmacy. So food is not a problem if you want to spend the whole afternoon playing.
We were able to talk to Feroto and he told us that his intention in creating Piong Club was to do more than just a club, his goal is to build a space where, through games, music and food, people feel part of a community - Piong Club - and live a memorable experience. At Piong club, attendees can enjoy friendly competition, listen to music specially selected by the DJ of the month and taste special flavors on every occasion.
