For those of you new to the Salsa scene, it is a latin style of dancing. A mixture of different steps such as the Mambo, Rumba and African dance, salsa is very much a street dance. It originated in Cuba. Like many partner dances, the male partner leads the dance. At salsa venues, the atmosphere ... Read review
NH Hotels, the hotel chain leader in Europe, with more than 300 hotels in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Enter into our web site and find the best available tariff at all times
Advantages: Easy to find, drinks reasonably priced, real latin atmosphere, great live band and genuine mixed crowd into real salsa music Disadvantages: played a little too much merengue and had a strange ticket system to buy drinks
...of you new to the Salsa scene, it is a latin style of dancing. A mixture of different steps such as the Mambo, Rumba and African dance, salsa is very much a street dance. It originated in Cuba. Like many partner dances, the male partner leads the dance. At salsa venues, the atmosphere is relaxed and usually there are more women then men.
Well, it was midweek and I was in Lisbon staying at the Le Meridien, a 'working holiday' so to ... ...just any nightlife, but the salsa scene. Was there one? The hotel reception was very helpful recommending a club called Salsa Latina. I expected some back street danger zone, but as the 5 star hotel had recommended it I thought I would give it a try.
The club was a short taxi ride from the hotel (the taxi fares are so cheap compared to the UK!). There were two nice looking latin bouncers on the door, very suave. I climbed up the wooden ... more
For those of you new to the Salsa scene, it is a latin style of dancing. A mixture of different steps such as the Mambo, Rumba and African dance, salsa is very much a street dance. It originated in Cuba. Like many partner dances, the male partner leads the dance. At salsa venues, the atmosphere is relaxed and usually there are more women then men.
Well, it was midweek and I was in Lisbon staying at the Le Meridien, a 'working holiday' so to speak. So far, it still felt like I was in London. It was Wednesday night and I wanted to sample the local nightlife, not just any nightlife, but the salsa scene. Was there one? The hotel reception was very helpful recommending a club called Salsa Latina. I expected some back street danger zone, but as the 5 star hotel had recommended it I thought I would give it a try.
The club was a short taxi ride from the hotel (the taxi fares are so cheap compared to the UK!). There were two nice looking latin bouncers on the door, very suave. I climbed up the wooden stairs and into a dark medium sized room. There was a row of elevated cocktail tables on the right, a bar on the left, dancefloor in the middle, and the most spectacular veranda running the length of the back of the club, with beautiful river views. There was no tuition at this club - very much a place for those who had learnt elsewhere. But to be honest, if you are out to enjoy yourself, you can soon find yourself picking up the basic salsa steps. The beauty of salsa is, you can go to any salsa venue with no shortage of female partners...it breaks the ice so to speak. And even if you don't dance at all, the venue was comfortable, the band entertaining and the dancers eye-catching....not a bad way to wile away the night.
The first thing that struck me was the live band, exceptional voices and so much spirit - they had the place jumping! There was a nostalgic feel to the venue...like a vintage cocktail bar. Needless to say, I was aching to get on the dancefloor. I had a brilliant time, something out of the ordinary. The band was charismatic and played one song after another. Some of the female guests were invited on stage to sing with the band.
The atmosphere gave you a real taste of latin spirit - sweaty, sexy and exuberant (almost like that contrived Bacardi advert). And when I got too hot, I ventured onto the veranda to take in the breeze off the river... a perfect cooling off.
There was no entry fee and a double vodka and orange cost me approx 7 euro. The place wasn't heaving. There were just enough people to be able to dance freely. I loved the crowd, it ranged from 19 to 50, everyone was relaxed, mature and I didn't get any hassle.
When the band finished, a dj came on playing today's modern latin hits. I have made a point of visiting Lisbon again, just to spend another evening there. Well done Salsa Latina, you exceeded my expectations and I had a brilliant time!
