GRANADA SATURDAY SALSA DANCING — The Granada in Alhambra is still a venue that caters tremendously to Salsa dancing and is surely one of the top salsa venues in Los Angeles, CA. 

There are signs of a small decline in popularity according to people's opinions, stating that some Saturdays the venue is only half-full, but that's probably just a sign of the economy we are living in the United States, and how less and less people have discretionary money to spend on recreational activities like going salsa dancing. 

But last night, when I had the opportunity to attend after quite a while of being absent from the venue, I saw no sign of a decline! It was packed, the dancers were glowing, everyone was having fun, and it even seemed a bit too crowded at some points of the night. It's certainly a happening club!

Orquesta Tabaco y Ron was playing live at the venue, and they had some really good music going on. The songs length (8-9+ minutes) were, perhaps, not to the liking of many people attending the venue and who find long songs too tiring at times. But the vibe they were sharing with the crowd, was ecstatic.

[ SEE EVENT LISTING: Granada Saturday Salsa Nights ]

Many bands these days avoid having a wide repertoire of songs by extending the few songs they play well to 9 minutes or more, which shortened their sets to 3-4 songs per set. This is something going on in LA and in many cities and for which you can find topics posted everywhere on the web from social salsa dancers complaining. 

Granada truly has one of the best floors in all of Los Angeles, which allows a multitude of couples to dance at the same time. I can imagine that one Saturday night at Granada is like being at a small congress in Europe or small festivals in other cities. We are truly blessed in Los Angeles. 

The DJ music throughout the night was outstanding and I could not stop dancing! Right around 1:30 AM, however, a Bachata marathon of over 15-20 minutes threw off a lot of my friends with whom I went there and we had to leave. But other than that, the constant rations of Salsa and Cha Cha Cha played before 1:30 AM were exquisite!

The Granada does have a separate Bachata Room dedicated solely to Bachateros on its third floor, but as with all big clubs, they have different DJs that have to rotate and you get what you get different music from the likes of the DJ that may be playing at the time. The Bachata Room does not cater to Salsa one bit, but the big ballroom does cater to Bachata as they choose...which can be a turn-off to those who truly love Salsa dancing!

But all in all, Granada is a truly explendid venue to go dancing to. It is very spacious, has a very nice wide and long dance floor, sufficient sitting area for resting, and outside patio for chatting, mingling, or smoking, some of the very best music in Los Angeles with Live Bands and good DJ selections, and certainly some of the best dancers in Los Angeles. 

Going to the Granada on Saturday nights is truly an experience that everyone should have a few times a year, and if you are visiting Los Angeles, it is something that you MUST do.