Music. It is in the air, in people’s blood, on the streets, and pulsing through people’s hands and feet. As with many ex-slave societies, since music could not be hammered out of people’s bodies, it became a privileged vehicle for protest, for survival, for cultural transmission. It is for this reason the musical traditions in Cuba, in Puerto Rico, in Dominican Republic, in Colombia and many other similar places are electrifying. So if you come to Puerto Rico, watching some live music is in order. I will keep this brief, but here are some spots with great live music:

In Old San Juan, you might want to check out The Nuyorican and Rumba

In Rio Piedras, there is a great music collective Taller Ce (with one of most frustrating websites I have ever seen, sorry to be so blunt but true.. but hey they are musicians not web developers and designers). Along with great music, there is a lawyer who holds weekly Salsa classes to fund his environmental law classes. (double hawt).

In Santurce, you can find La Repuesta the spot with some of the most innovative and varied shows in the metro area.

I will be going there tomorrow night, Friday July 17, to see one of my favorite bands recently featured on NPR the Fantasmes. They are hard to characterize, genre wise, but one thing is clear: they have a very hypnotic and dreamy quality to their music.