First ever cafe for deaf people opens its doors in Colombia

The No Words cafe has large screens playing music videos with the lyrics in sign language, and a dance floor that pulses with music to dancers who cannot hear it (Photo: AFP)

Colombia has more than 455,000 deaf or hard of hearing people, according to the last census carried out in 2005 (Photo: AFP)

Some "odious" guests occasionally take advantage of the waiters' deafness to slip out without paying or to smash glasses (Photo: AFP)

Some new clients are surprised at first, but they end up getting the hang of sign language (Photo: AFP)

The bar opened on June 16, and with its exhibitions, story-telling and other cultural performances by hearing-impaired artists (Photo: AFP)

All six waiters at the bar are deaf too, and even though many of the clients do not know sign language, they manage to convey their orders with gestures (Photo: AFP)

People with normal hearing also frequent the bar, which is as noisy as any other in the capital (Photo: AFP)