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There’s a bit of everything and it’s still a very good place to get to know some of Mexico City’s hippest dance people, and to see where many of them are. Calle Lerdo 206, between Flores Magón and Estrella, Col. Guerrero, the Salon Los Angeles opens Tuesdays and Sundays from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Salón Los Ángeles, Ciudad de México. 35,420 likes · 384 talking about this · 40,013 were here. QUIEN NO CONOCE LOS ANGELES, NO CONOCE MÉXICO Ven a Bailar todos los martes y domingos a partir de las...
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The oldest Dance Hall in Mexico City. They just turned 77 this month. Whenever renowned Latin musicians come to Mexico city, it is almost sure that they will perform here. Danzon, salsa, cha-cha-cha, mambo... you name it. Live music every week on Tuesday and Sunday plus some special performances and events on Friday or Saturday. Do you like ...
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- Attraction
- Calle Lerdo # 206 Cuauhtemoc, Mexico City
- Overview
- A colorful history
- The challenges of COVID-19 and changing times
Inside the pink halls and neon lights of Salon Los Angeles, the pace of modern life melts away for the rhythms of danzón and salsa.
The sounds of maracas, guitar, and trumpets soar above the buzz of the crowd as dozens of men in zoot suits spin with women in flowing, sparkling dresses. It’s another night on the dance floor at Mexico City’s Salon Los Angeles, and if it weren’t for the face masks the patrons are wearing, the scene could’ve taken place in almost any decade since the spot opened in 1937.
While the band plays on, the dancers’ coordinated steps in classic styles like danzón, chachachá, and mambo drum against the wooden floor. These dances share their names with the music that accompanies them, and they’re what made Salon Los Angeles famous. Most patrons come with a partner, sitting at plastic-topped tables between songs. During breaks, they sip rum and nibble potato chips, chicharron, or maní japonés (peanuts in a sweet crunchy coating).
Located in Colonia Guerrero, a neighborhood known for its nightlife northwest of the city center, Salon Los Angeles is the oldest traditional dance hall in Mexico City. The club is open two nights a week, with these throwback styles on Tuesdays and salsa on Sundays. The music is always live, performed by bands ranging from five to fifteen people.
Dance is a way of life here, and in the city’s few other ballrooms are peddling Latin social dance. “They are places of memory, temples of dance,” says Amparo Sevilla, a Mexican historian and author of a book on the city’s dance halls.
But COVID-19 and changing styles of music and movement are threatening these decades-old institutions. “I’ve seen halls like this be born and die. Only a few like this one remain,” says regular Reinaldo Lozano, 82, who met his wife Elvira Salinas, 79, while dancing.
Thanks to Mexico City’s intense urbanization during the 1930s, more than a dozen dance halls opened across the city. They catered to more established and well-known genres of music and dance, including salsa, Charleston, and swing.
With low entry fees and inexpensive refreshments, ballrooms such as Los Angeles and the California Dancing Club (also still in business) drew diverse audiences and played a crucial entertainment role for city dwellers, along with bullfighting and boxing. Crowds showed up to feel part of a community and to meet their neighbors. “The feelings, sensations, and tension that individual bodies express become part of a collective,” Sevilla says.
Intellectuals and revolutionaries including Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo; Fidel Castro, and Gabriel García Márquez showed up not to philosophize or organize, but simply to enjoy the pleasures of a night out.
Left: For patrons of Salon Los Angeles, dance is a way to survive and the hall is a sanctuary from the competition and grind of the city, owner Miguel Nieto says.
Right: Both men and women come to Salon Los Angeles costumed in bygone fashions to complete the experience of stepping into another era.
In the 1940s, young pachucos began coming to the halls in oversized suits, wallet chains, and feathered hats, using clothing to mock and reject the prejudices of Anglo-American society. Today’s dancers still put on bright colors and zoot suits, but now it’s an act of fashion and nostalgia that adds to the hall’s ambiance. There’s even a tiny shoe boutique and repair shop by the entrance to keep patrons in wingtips and retro heels.
The COVID-19 pandemic shuttered all Mexico City dance halls and bars, keeping Salon Los Angeles closed for 19 months. Owner Miguel Nieto kept eight veteran staffers on the payroll the whole time.
Left: During the pandemic, the hall was closed for nearly two years. Owner Miguel Nieto rented the space for photo and video shoots, capitalizing on its retro charm, which makes it a favorite for young Latin artists.
Right: Patrons sip rum and snack on small bites like chicharrón (fried pork rinds) while they wait for the next song to start.
Nieto made ends meet by renting the ballroom to TV and film crews. Young Latin artists—including singers Rosalía, Belinda, and Lalo Ebratt—love the pink walls, spiral staircase, and neon lights for photo shoots and music videos.
Nieto reopened the business in September 2021. He’s happy that, despite government-mandated face masks and crowd-size limits, many longtime patrons came back.
Many of Nieto’s customers are in their 70s and 80s. He’s hopeful that those music videos, fresh bands, and a new series of children’s dance lessons, will draw a younger generation to these well-worn floors.
Jul 26, 2021 · Dónde: Lerdo 206, Colonia Guerrero, 06300, CDMX. Contacto: 55 5597 5181. Salón Los Ángeles, también conocida como "La Catedral del Baile" es un icónico salón de baile de la CDMX que alberga cientos de historias entre sus paredes.
Salon Los Angeles Oficial, Mexico City, Mexico. 487 likes · 7 talking about this. Tu ya nos conoces. Simplemente los mejores eventos aquí.
7 reviews. #27 of 70 Theater & Concerts in Mexico City. Theater & Performances. Write a review. What people are saying. By Clau. “ Good Danzing ” Jun 2022. Salon Los Angeles is a whole experience. If you are into Mexican old gold era films Salon Los Angeles is the place to go. Tuesdays and Sundays are Danzón and Mambo evenings.
