What time do salsa and bachata socials start?

It depends more on the country than on the city. In Spain a social usually starts at 7:30pm and in Mexico at 8pm. In Argentina people go out much later: the typical time is 10pm, and one in three starts at 11pm or later.

We counted the socials published on Dancetomic over the last four months that state a start time: 787 in Spain, 477 in Argentina and 408 in Mexico.

The median start is 7:30pm. More than half of the socials (56%) start between 5pm and 8:59pm, one in four between 9pm and 10:59pm, and only 13% at 11pm or later. There are also Sunday and Saturday afternoon parties: 7% start between 10am and 4pm.

This is where socials start earliest. The median is 8pm and almost seven in ten start between 5pm and 8:59pm. Practically none start after 11pm.

The median is 10pm. 38% start between 9pm and 10:59pm and 33% at 11pm or later, so a salsa social in Buenos Aires can easily get going at midnight.

They also last longer: about five and a half hours on average, against about four and a half in Spain and Mexico.

Many socials open with a short class for newcomers, and the time on the flyer is usually the time of that class. The dance floor fills up one or two hours later.

If it is your first time, go at the time on the flyer: the beginners class is the easiest way in. If you already dance and want a full floor, arrive an hour later.

On Dancetomic every event page shows the start and end time when the organizer publishes it, and your city agenda sorts them by day. If an event shows no time, it is because it was not announced: in that case the safest thing is to message the organizer before you go.