Salsa dancing at the Mambo Club
Claudia Harkavy tells us about dancing Salsa at Playa del Carmen's Mambo Club
Anything can happen in Playa del Carmen, so prepare for the unexpected. Just as I thought that the town was nothing but tacky tourist shops and multinational chains (Starbucks, MacDonald's, Burger King), some classmates and I get talking to a local waiter, Roberto (admittedly at a bar called Chicago) and discover that his friend is a salsa champion. When he mentions international competitions in Cuba and shows us photos of him competing (in a silky red shirt!), our interest heightens. The more they tell us, and the more moves they demonstrate, the more excited we become about going out dancing.
Even then, I had reservations, thinking every club would pump out cheesy house music and be full of foreigners, or be some Disneyfied version of what they think we think Mexico is. But the Mambo Club was anything but. Brimming entirely with local residents (we were the only foreigners in there), it was completely pumping and pulsing with real Latino life. It didn't take long for us to be asked to dance – each partner shows you different moves, has a different rhythm, speed and style. And, also a surprise, the men generally don't tend to assume anything more than a dance or two. Or sometimes three. You can bop away happily knowing you're indebted to no one (of course there are the odd few who try not to take no for an answer, but they soon get the message).
To both salsa records and a high-energy Colombian band we were twirled, twisted and swung about a packed dancefloor and for the first time in a week, I really felt I was in Mexico. With nothing but smiles, salsa (and a fair amount of sweat!), we had the time of our lives until 5am, when our chaperones walked us to the end of our street and politely went no further.
If you avoid the 5th Avenue hotspots and get chatting to the locals, who knows where Playa del Carmen will take you…
Claudia (London, UK) was with us in Playa in December 2007