Son Havana

Son Havana is the place to go in Medellín if you want to dance salsa to live music. The club was founded around 2010 by Julio Restrepo Molina, a dedicated music lover who had spent years as a regular at the salsa bars along Carrera 70, such as Son de la 70, Swing Latino and Salsa Video Bar. He first leased an existing bar and, about six months later, opened his own: that, as he tells it, is how Son Havana was born. The newspaper El Colombiano calls it one of the city's sanctuaries of fine melody and serious dancing.

The name reflects Restrepo's passion for Cuban timba, which he discovered in the late 1990s through bands such as Los Van Van, Manolito y su Trabuco and Charanga Habanera. To celebrate the club's 15th anniversary in June 2025 he brought Los Van Van themselves to Medellín for two nights, on 6 and 7 June, at The Green Club on Calle 51, a sign of how central Cuban music is to the club's identity.

Live music is the draw. According to the tour company Real City Tours, the Laureles club has live performances on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, with a mix of salsa and Cuban music, and it welcomes both experienced dancers and newcomers who want to learn. The club also offers dance classes, especially in salsa and Cuban styles, so even first-timers can pick up the basics.

The original club is on Carrera 73, also known as Avenida San Juan, in Laureles, and there is now a second Son Havana in El Poblado, at Carrera 43D No. 10-77. The Laureles venue is the one known locally as Son Havana de la 73 and the one with the regular live programme.

Son Havana suits couples, groups of friends and solo travellers who want an authentic night of Colombian salsa culture rather than a mainstream club. The club grew directly out of the salsa bars of Carrera 70, where its founder spent his nights before opening his own place, and its live programme makes it one of the best ways to experience that tradition today.