"Bongos" Fridays (11/20/03)
Club Red 1888 at 41 Pleasant Street
Join us FRIDAY for Latin Dancing!
BONGOS @ Club Red
- Playing the Best Salsa, Merengue, Bachata and MORE!
- Proper Dress REQUIRED
No jeans, sneakers, hats, boots, etc.
- Proper ID Required ... NO EXCEPTIONS!
Ladies 20+
Gents 21+
Cover
- $5 before 11:00 PM
... MORE after!
Doors open at 10:30 PM
Table Reservations: Oscar
@ (508) 868-6289
Club RED 1888 is located at
41 Pleasant Street, near the intersection
of Main Street, in Worcester.
(across from the glass building)
From Brian (7/19/02)
"For too long now, salseros in the Central
Massachusetts are have had to either travel long distances to Boston
or take their lives in their hands in one of a small handful of seedy
dives to get their dose of decent dance music. And they deserved
better: Worcester and Fitchburg both have vibrant and growing Latino
communities, but until now the salsa scene has been spotty and
unatttractive. The Palladium in its heyday would host one or two live
shows over the summer; the Tropicala in Main South was uninviting; an
attempt was made to launch a Latin night at the El Morrocco but the
club went belly up within a couple months of its opening.
"Club Mambo, held Thursday nights in the newly opened Red 1888
at 41 Pleasant Street, is off to a great start and promises to fill
the void. The club is the result of a collaboration between club
manager Daniel Saleeba and local salsero Javier Salort, with DJ Amador
at the wheel. Salort, who has been teaching salsa classes locally for
a number of year, aims eventually to get a serious Latin scene going
in the area with a focus on salsa.
"The facilities themselves are as good, probably better, than
any other medium-sized dance club in the state. Red 1888's owners have
put some serious thought into renovations, and the result is a
beautiful club, with a wide open layout, comfortable seating around
the dance floor (for those of you who waste your time sitting), great
lighting and atmosphere, and a muy danceable hardwood floor. And did I
leave out a friendly crowd?
"The music format is similar to what you'd find at Vincent's
in Randolph: a set of salsa, then bachata, mergengue, and hip
hop/r&b. For now, at least, you won't get "all salsa, all the
time," but don't all clubs start out that way? In the long run,
the aim is to bring more of the crowd up to speed and to dole out more
generous helpings of salsa. The best way to mvoe in this direction has
already been proven in the Boston area: open the club a bit earlier,
offer beginner and advanced lessons for those who get the salsa bug,
and pull together a core of serious dancers who inspire everyone else
to jump on board. Let's hope things move this way, but for now, anyone
within driving distance looking for a place to dance on a Thursday
couldn't do better. Four stars."
Elk's Lodge, 233 Mill Street, Worcester
Series of Latin shows/dances:
The Palladium, Main St, Worcester
occasional latin band. nice place to dance 508-797-9696
The Source Main St, Worcester
small dance floor, not too many salseros... pretty loud,
$5 after 10
Monthly
Social by Salsalegre, Click here: Salsa
Socials
"Latin
Night" Saturdays at the Union Club [old listing, call
first -Ed]
672 Waverly St (Rt. 135)
Use the Bridges Street Entrance
(for more information, call 508-626-8980)
A Review, thanks Pamela!:
Well, come Saturday night, my husband and I arrived at about
11:30. After paying our six dollars, we were asked to put up our
hands and a wand was passed over our bodies to look for concealed
weapons. At least we knew we would be safe inside the club! Inside
was a small crowd of early 20-somethings, looking like they could
definitely take care of themselves. Mirabelle and Mario recognized
us right away and made sure we had a comfortable place to sit. We
were the only people in the place, besides the bartender, sans Latin
heritage. This was just fine with us, and we didn't really feel
uncomfortable. Mario has since assured me that the crowd is usually
much bigger and more mixed age-wise.
The music was good, but novel to me. Then again, I am no
Latin music expert by any stretch. The advertising flyer identified
the styles thusly: Ven a Bailar Cumbia, Punta, Salsa Colombiana,
Vannenato, Quebradita, Y todos tus ritmos favoritos. I asked a
friend to translate: Come dance Cumbia, Punta, Salsa Colombiana,
Vannenato, Quebradita, and all your favorite rhythms!
The dance floor was a good size, the lights flashy, and
dry-ice smoke wafted theatrically across the room. We danced a
little to the Salsas, which I assume were "Colombiana,"
and they were great. Since it was not crowded that night, we had a
lot of room on the dance floor. It was a fine adventure if you don't
mind being checked for weapons.
I am doing my best to convince them to have salsa lessons at
the beginning of the evening. These kids did not seem to know how to
salsa. But perhaps on busier nights more people would. There is some
interest, so we'll see! Hopefully there is a ripe market in Metro
West for Latin dance. If I could find them, I could use that to
convince someplace to start lessons. Maybe you could send out a plea
on Salsa Boston:
Salsersos (and Salsersas?) who live west of Boston--stand up
and be counted!! Send your vote for Salsa in Metro West to Pslavsky@cfia.harvard.edu
means
I've danced there. Call first if you plan to check out a club listed
further down, and also 
