"What it was: A Calle Ocho icon for live Cuban music. People were always dancing, the lights were turned low, and you never knew when Willy Chirino would stop by to blow the roof off the place. Sadly, the music stopped after the pandemic, and the original ownership never got the venue back on its feet. What it is now: Still a place to dance salsa—only now the music usually comes from a DJ booth instead of a live band. You'll still get dipped and twirled to classics from Celia Cruz and Willy Chirino, but there might be an unexpected untz-untz added to the chorus. New ownership has kept it fun, but it's certainly more modern (and expensive)." - virginia otazo, ryan pfeffer