The Colonial City

The Caribbean nights in the Colonial area feature a wealth of diversion that fuels the ample musical offerings of bars and clubs on the plaza.   There is something for every taste and mood, from rock and roll and electronic to salsa, merengue, 80s pop and bachata.  One must only look out onto the plaza and choose.

There is no established route, no imposed rhythm, not a body that resists, nor a delight that is limited.  The nights of the Colonial Zone are defined in every moment they are lived and every second that they are enjoyed with the music as the great motor of pleasure.

A great stage for Santo Domingo night life, “La zona”, as the old neighborhood is known, transformed into a plaza of dance, a stage for excellent music and acoustic seduction, is one of the key locations in the city where entertainment is concerned.

The reason can be seen and heard with every step.  Electronic music, salsa, reggaeton, merengue, bachata, rock, pop classics of the 80s, ethnic music and troubadours have secure spaces in the hip bars of the plaza.

The possibilities increase through the streets like Hostos, Meriños, Isabel La Católica, La Atarazana, Padre Billini  and Mercedes, where cafes, bars, restaurants and clubs spill music into the heat of the nights full of contagious enjoyment.

Without predetermined options decided beforehand, it is recommended to travel from place to place, sampling the options to see what moves the body and the senses.  And there is, assuredly, something that cater to all standards: from the hyperactive person that demands an unlimited party of white-hot rhythms, to the peaceful person who wants a calm evening without excess, ears seduced by soothing tones.

Enjoyment for two, with the variety of possibilities for a couple to move their hips, has a plethora of options in the plazas that offer Latin music throughout the night.

There are places for all, including as a function of how one wants to dress.  Alfatoria and Bobo’s, the former, a restaurant-bar in which one can also dance to the rhythm of a Caribbean group, and the second, a bar and restaurant with agreeable music that invites its patrons to converse, have an elegance and a certain air about them, as does Murano, a true Latin dance floor, with a lounge for the less daring.

Abacus, Carolas and Falafel invite the patron to arrive dressed as informally as she likes.   The electronic music of Abacus, the rock of Carolus and the ethnic music of Falafel widen the possibilities for those that want to be more comfortable in the midst of a climate that lends a great deal of tropical heat to the Santo Domingo nights.

Ocho Puertas, Nowhere and Karamba Bar are on the list of possibilities for contemporary music, while Bar de María supplies music from the 70s and La Atarazana plays tunes that are predominantly Caribbean.

Casa de Teatro makes way for singers, who, guitar in hand, sing boleros from yesteryear and songs from the “new Cuban verse”, while El Sarten invites its clients to let go of their inhibitions with son and Downtown combines 80s and 90s pop with salsa and merengue.