Jeremy Guevara, aka DJ Snax, learned how to dance with his mother in the kitchen growing up. “I'm grateful because I'm a guy that has rhythm now,” Guevara says with a smile. DJ Snax frequently spins on Boston’s leading hip hop station, JAMN 94.5, as well as live at clubs and venues around Boston. Since the summer, he’s helmed a weekly Latin dance night in the Fenway, Noche Latina at Time Out Market Boston, which has been extended into October to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.
The bars at Time Out Market are also marking the month with a cocktail special that donates a portion of sales to the Latino Equity Fund. Fuego Fiesta combines Dos Hombres Mezcal, chipotle-infused and blanco tequilas with Triple Sec, bell pepper, lemon and a spritz of cilantro.
A free, low-key night of dancing (and drinking and dining), Noche Latina is held Sundays from 6–10pm through October 13, then Thursdays from 6–9pm leading up to Halloween. (Time Out Market also hosts live DJs on Fridays, Saturdays and during select other events.) The weekly event spans genres and generations of Latin music, though it was often cumbia music that was playing in the family’s Boston kitchen when Guevara was growing up. “I play cumbia a little bit here and there, and people appreciate it. But it’s very—I don't know an English word for it,” says DJ Snax, who was raised Spanish bilingual by parents from Guatemala and Honduras. “It’s very much ranchero… Like, you go to an American party and people start playing country music. It's very American, but it's not the American music you want to hear right now,” he says with a laugh.
At Noche Latina, the goal is getting people up on the dance floor, so DJ Snax is more inclined to spin salsa, bachata and merengue, as well as pop-inflected cuts by the likes of Enrique Iglesias, Juanes, Bad Bunny and Pitbull. Guevara has also brought in other local Latin DJs to guest at Noche Latina, including DJ Fingaz, Bryan Armas and DJ RU.
The Latin dance night at Time Out Market is similar to dance socials that happen around Cambridge and elsewhere in the Boston area, Guevara says, which sometimes feature an instructor demonstrating traditional merengue, bachata or salsa movements for first-timers. But there’s no formal instruction during Noche Latina, and Guevara prefers it that way.
Since the series began in August, the continuous weekly event has drawn in dancers who are looking for the structure of traditional forms of partner dancing. But it also invites others to the floor to try something new, Guevara says. The more experienced dancers often welcome newbies and are happy to show them the basics.
“Being Latino, we don't need much to start dancing and have a good time,” Guevara says. That spirit is alive during Noche Latina. “There would just be families that are coming from a Sox game, with the jerseys on and everything. I see younger couples that are just on a nice Sunday out, and a lot of foreign tourists. That's really, really fun, just seeing people learn new steps.”
The open setting at Time Out Market contributes to the welcoming vibe. A few tables are moved every Sunday evening to make room for the dancefloor, but otherwise it’s business as usual at the Fenway food hall during Noche Latina. Dancers take breaks to eat dinner or get a drink, and folks who had no idea a dance night would be happening take breaks from their dining and drinking to get moving.
Some of the more experienced dancers have told the DJ that they appreciate that Time Out Market has water fountains and a restroom. Some of the region’s most popular Latin dance nights are held in public parks, which lack those amenities. “They are looking for this type of space. The representation is huge,” Guevara says.
“I see people walk in, and I can tell if they're there for the event or they're they're just stumbling in,” he continues. “Their eyes open up and they're like, ‘oh, wow. This is the music my mom used to listen to. I didn't know that they did this here.’ That kind of feedback shows how important that is, for the people, and it has been really rewarding for me,” Guevara says. He doesn’t mean just that it’s a consistent gig. “It's important to have representation in a space like that. They want to draw different kinds of people in, and because it is a unique space, I think it's been a really good combination.”
Noche Latina at Time Out Market continues Thursdays, October 17 and 24, from 6–9pm.