A handful of Denver clubs play Latin music — and since so many genres and sounds fit under the "Latin" banner, each club offers something different than the last. The dance floors vary in shape and size. Some prefer more live music, while others stick with DJs. Some can lean towards a party vibe and play the hottest Latin hits, and others try to strike a balance with classic Latin dance music.
Don't get stuck at a club where everyone else seems too young or the DJ is playing too much salsa. Or maybe you want more salsa and a younger crowd. Either way, you'll find what you're looking for in this guide to Denver's Latin clubs:
La Rumba
99 West Ninth AvenueOne of the cornerstones of Denver's Latin dance scene, La Rumba is a great place if all you want to do is dance the night away. Its smooth, spacious dance floor opens from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., Thursdays to Sundays, but the club also offers dance lessons each of those nights beforehand in salsa, bachata and cumbia.
The club sticks closely to the core four Latin dance genres: salsa, bachata, merengue and cumbia. These are all genres with accompanying dances that have steps, rhythms and moves for people to master. At times, the club also plays reggaeton, but the dance floor empties out when it does: Most people aren't there for that genre's loose, pop-like party style — they're there for the sophisticated, technical dance styles that they've probably been paying good money to learn.
It's one of only a few clubs where you can walk up to anyone and ask them to dance a typical Latin American rumba or baile, which are small neighborhood parties meant for dancing. But don't let that deceive you: The club can also be a loner's paradise, as plenty of people show up by themselves.
The clientele at La Rumba loves to dance, and nearly all of them — including a robust share of regulars — are there just to do that. It's a relatively big club for downtown Denver, with a wide open space to practice under bright lights, dance under neon lights, or catch your breath on the couches or outside patio.
The club hosts theme nights and live music. Saturdays and Sundays are when you'll hear more salsa and bachata, and usually a live band plays on Saturdays. Thursdays and Fridays are a more even blend, with more merengue and salsa thrown into the mix.
Blue Ice
22 BroadwayBlue Ice has a similar vibe to La Rumba, but in a much smaller venue. It has a dedicated dance floor next to the bar and a few cushioned leather lounge chairs, but the whole club fits in a narrow space, common for spots right off Broadway.
It also stays true to the same Latin-dance core four, but works in more party genres such as reggaeton, Latin pop and house. It gets packed and energetic, and the crowd is pretty social, with a lot of groups or pairs talking on the dance floor and in the lounges. If you come by yourself, you have a good chance of finding someone else to talk to and dance with, but if you really want to work on your dance technique, you might be disappointed: While Blue Ice attracts plenty of good dancers, you'll mostly find people who are just looking for a fun time.
Blue Ice stands apart for its hours. It's open daily from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Because of the early opening hours, it can be a good place to start your night and take it easy while drinking a bit, but later on, it revs up and turns into more of a party.
Lime has a nice wooden dance floor, but you'll mostly find young men and women mingling there until the party revs up later in the night.
Bennito L. Kelty
Olympus Discotheque
2036 BroadwayOlympus Discotheque took over the former Triangle Bar building last August. The ground floor is where you find the party atmosphere with the DJ booth and stage, while the upper floor has a small dance floor used for Latin dancing, including salsa, merengue and bachata. The patio opens up as a lounge area, and sometimes the basement, too. While the ground floor is spacious, it does get crowded, especially because lines from the nearby bar spill over onto it.
What's special about the place (besides the historic building) is that it plays genres that no other Latin club in Denver is playing. The music is mostly reggaeton, Latin pop and hip-hop and top 40 songs, but the club puts on lesser-known Latin party genres such as punta from the Dominican Republic and guaracha from Cuba.
Open from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. from Thursday to Sunday, Olympus tries to offer new theme nights every week, like "noches de perreo" for a reggaeton-heavy party or a "noche de rock" for fans of Latin rock and roll. On Fridays, live bands usually play styles ranging from regional Mexican corridos (think of a Peso Pluma sound) to vallenato, a festive Colombian folk genre.
Ladies drink free until 11 p.m., and Olympus often has no cover charge. It's a great place for anyone who wants to sample Latin genres beyond reggaeton, salsa, bachata or any other go-to Latin club genres, but it's also great for a group looking for a party with any kind of Latin music.
Coco Bongos Denver
1578 S BroadwayLocated in the old digs of Herman's Hideway, Coco Bongos is trying to establish itself as a reliable place that always has Latin nights. The club has live music and DJs from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday through Sunday, but sometimes it has non-Latin events like hip-hop concerts or comedy shows until 11 p.m.
But the club is dedicated to putting on Latin dance music at 11 p.m. every weekend night. Focused on a tropical vibe, it mostly plays a combo of salsa, merengue, bachata and reggaeton, but it tries to work in other genres like cumbia and regional Mexican, though not to the extent that Olympus does.
The club has a stage, disco balls, a DJ booth, two bars — including one on a VIP platform — a small patio and a spacious, polished wooden floor great for dancing. At the same time, it has tables and chairs set up on the floor, so it's not always used as a dedicated dance floor. Still, dancers should have room to enjoy themselves, and on more crowded nights, the club moves chairs out of the way to create more room.
It takes advantage of the stage and seems to have more live performances than the rest of Denver's Latin clubs. Although it has a steady lineup of DJs that come through each week, it hosts live bands playing the kind of music you'd find at tropical destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean, where most of today's Latin dance genres were popularized and where you find a balance of fun and relaxation. The club is perfect for anyone looking for those seaside vibes in Colorado.
La Diabla has a foamy kind of floor, but people show up in groups to enjoy the mix of a social and party atmosphere that it offers.
Bennito L. Kelty
Lime Denver
1600 Champa StreetLocated on a second-floor venue just around the corner from 16th Street Mall, Lime has a roomy setup that attracts an energetic and young crowd. It's open from 9:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 8 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. on Sundays, and sticks closely to popular Latin party music, especially reggaeton, Latin house and pop and regional Mexican.
Lit in neon, the entire club is a dance floor except for the elevated VIP niches and the stage and bar in the back. Occasionally, it will have live music and theme nights for genres like bachata or vallenato, but most nights, it likes to keep things lively and exciting. The club's style is geared more towards perreo, the style of dance used in reggaeton that involves bending over, grinding and hip thrusting.
It's a 21-and-up club, but Lime is best for younger club-goers who can keep up with the movement on the dance floor and party music. It's also best to go with a group because you won't find people who are there alone. The dance floor can get crowded with loud groups of friends, roaming, slightly revealing cocktail waitresses and people standing around in circles mingling.
La Diabla Night Club Lounge
1512 Curtis StreetJust around the corner from Lime, La Diabla offers a similar energetic vibe but with a tad more sophistication. Open 9:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. from Friday to Sunday, the club is going for the same kind of seductive party atmosphere, with DJs playing reggaeton and Latin house and pop. But the club enforces a "casual elegance" dress code, and while plenty of the men there get by with t-shirts and jeans, overall the crowd looks top notch.
La Diabla is also more of a lounge than Lime, with elevated areas where people can relax in a leather sofa and get bottle service from the cocktail waitresses. But the rest of the club is one large space with a springy floor, standing tables and a DJ booth in the back. It has a mix of mingling and party-style dancing going on.
La Diabla is a good place for a couple that wants to dress up, look nice and enjoy the latest Latin hits together or with another couple. The same goes for a group of friends, as you'll have plenty of groups there on a girls' or boys' night out. It rarely hosts theme nights and sticks to the same vibe, so it can also be a place that your group goes back to every week if you're in love with its lively, party atmosphere.
