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Published in the Houston Chronicle on Sept. 16th, 2004

Club Tropicana 3222 Fondren • 713.977.4188

English - Spanish

Hours: 8pm – 2am, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday
Crowd: 20s to 30s from all over Latin America, USA and Mexico.
Cover: $6 and ladies free on Tuesday and $10 Friday to Saturday
Tunes: Salsa, merengue, bachata and live music by Mi Rumba Tuesday and Friday.
Noise level: Conversations possible on dance floor and in bar and seating area so long as you’re away from the main stage.
Smoke Factor: Low
Signature Drinks: Cherry Margarita
Don’t miss: Free salsa lessons on Tuesday at 9pm. Guys may get in free if you arrive during class time.
Restroom: Kept clean and well stocked with toiletries by bathroom attendants who just might provide you with the most stimulating conversation you’ll have all night.
Parking: $4 valet parking to avoid getting towed.

At Club Tropicana, it isn’t a surprise to see a club patron take the stage along with Mi Rumba and help keep the rhythm with a pair of leather maracas. On this particular Friday night it was Mr. José Reyes, a veracruzano who has played the maracas since age six, who helped the band energize the audience. Despite his grandfather appearance, Mr. Reyes promptly stepped off stage after playing a set and grabbed a partner pa’ sacudir el suelo - to wipe the floor. No time to waste.

That is the pleasure about a place like Club Tropicana. People of all ages and all coordinates on the globe come to dance. Not just to drink or pick up digits but to dance. Even those who don’t know how or normally don’t like to dance can’t help but start to “feel” the quick breaths of brass and leathery conga beats of salsa.

The décor is simple but about as close as you can get to being in Havana in Houston. Red lamps shaped like conch shells hang from the ceiling and give the club a tropical urban look. Small round tables which surround the dance floor provide a cozy space to converse over a flickering candle. The VIP lounge has dark red leather seats and is laced with red Copacabana curtains. The three wall-size screens that play silent Latin music videos or mirror the live performance of the band stimulate the eye.

The wood panel floor is not too sticky or slippery and best of all ladies are not afraid to dance with strangers so long as you have some semblance of rhythm. Club Tropicana is a great place to turn twenty-one, especially on Tuesday night with well drinks at $2 when the bar doesn’t keep you waiting too long.

By the end of the night, you may have just danced with all of Latin America; Colombia, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador or Mexico, to name a few. Something that even clubs in San Francisco – where salsa is becoming a marketing tool for silicon valley - or New York - where salsa is losing its popularity - can’t boast.

Club Tropicana is a place where salsa can still become an addiction. Nothing soothes a broken heart like the conga rhythms of “Lloraras” - a song about moving on from a painful relationship - which Mi Rumba renders in near Oscar de León perfection. “Ahora me toca vivir, mi vida como yo quiera…” - “Now it’s my turn to live my life how I want to live it…”

Perhaps after a life time of dancing you may still be able to sacudir el suelo with the energy of a Mr. José Reyes. One can never know. But one thing is for certain, if you don’t leave Club Tropicana drenched in sweat, you didn’t dance enough.