Camaradas New Year’s Eve This El Barrio NYC classic prioritizes getting down over dressing up. For New Year’s Eve, uptown staple DJ G-Bo the Pro will be on deck playing the best latin music: salsa, merengue, cumbia, bachata & more. Party goers can also expect a live performance from an Afro-Reggae band from the Ivory coast. A $15 cover at the door includes a boricua buffet and a champagne toast at midnight. Best part: you don’t have to worry if your jeans are too baggy or if they’ll let you in with that fitted – just come ready to get encendio. MORE INFO.
S.O.B.’s Taste of Latin Paradise Ny Mag recently awarded S.O.B’s “Best NYC Rap Venue” of 2012, but this polyrhythmic venue hasn’t forgotten its latin roots (SOBs does stand for Sounds of Brazil, after all…) This New Year’s Eve, you can watch samba dancers shake their tail feather while enjoying a five-course Nuevo-Latino prix-fixe menu. But don’t eat too much, because the live latin music line up is the kind that will have dudes dándote vueltas on the dancefloor all night: eleven-piece salsa orchestra La Excelencia will be playing alongside Haitian kompa band Carimi (kompa is basically merengue’s Haitian cousin). Choose from one of three New Year’s Eve pricing packages, ranging from $30-160. MORE INFO.
Rico Suave’s New Year’s Eve w/ La Prohibida Nacotheque’s Marcelo Cunning is behind this new party, named after hilarious Ecuadorian rapper Gerardo Mejia’s one-hit wonder “Rico Suave” (you all remember it….). For New Year’s Eve he’ll be teaming up with Spanish drag queen/Boy George look alike La Prohibida, whose electropop will have you busting out all the old 90s moves. MORE INFO.
The Rub New Year’s Eve This hip-hop party used to pack Park Slope’s Southpaw before the venue was shuttered (RIP). For New Year’s Eve, resident DJs Cosmo Baker, DJ Ayres & DJ Eleven are taking to the party to Gowanus’ The Bell House. Expect everything from your favorite classic Big Pun jams to newer rap, pop and disco bangers. The usual suspects will be accompanied by special New Year’s Eve guest DJ Wonder. MORE INFO.
Bembe New Year’s Eve. DJ Beto of the iBomba parties will be spinning basically every variant of global bass you could ever hope to get hastabajo to this New Year’s Eve: dancehall, reggae, cumbia, merengue, soca, brazilian, salsa & more. Plus he’ll be accompanied by live percussionist Chauncey Yearwood – so it’ll be BEATS FROM ALL ANGLES. $25 at the door gets you an open bar from 8:30- 10:00 and a free champagne toast at midnight. The space isn’t very big, so come prepared to back it up on your neighbors. MORE INFO.
La Zarza New Year’s Eve Buenos Aires meets Barcelona at this East Village spot. Drawing a model-ish, fancy cocktail crowd, it’s the place to go for a fresa lounge scene this New Year’s Eve. A $65 general admission fee gets you a 5 hour open bar, or you can opt from a variety of New Year’s Eve VIP upgrades that ensure a table to sit at and bottles to pop all night long. MORE INFO.
The Oxford Group Presents New Year’s Eve 2013 This New Year’s Eve party is where Moombah Madness and Dubstep Delirium combine. Featuring a headlining performance by NYC’s Sazon Booya, along with Alex English (Webster Hall) and Dali/Nicky Twist, expect the beats to thump and the booze to flow. Basically, it’ll be like that NY Lottery commercial that used Sazon Booya’s “Oye Mami” track – hopefully including drunken cameos from George Washington, Lincoln and Benjamin Franklin. MORE INFO.
New Year’s Eve at Arka Lounge Dominican model Sally Ferreira will be hosting this New Year’s eve party at Washington Heights’ Arka Lounge. Featuring DJs Bones, Clo, Lobo, & Lu, you can expect a packed dance floor all night. And when we say all night we mean it – el reventón will be going till 8am! Worried you won’t make it that long? Arka’s got your back – it’s probably the only party in NYC where sancocho will be served at 6am to fortify revelers. MORE INFO.
Crimson Lounge New Year’s Eve. The vintage decor of this lounge lends itself perfectly to its Roaring Twenties-themed New Year’s party. DJs Jesse de la Plena – of Vocalo radio station – Frank Solano, and Phattivan will be on the 1s and 2s, and the event will also feature live entertainment, performers and party favors. Tickets start at $95, which gets you a 4-hour open bar (9pm-1am) and a Chef’s gourmet selection. Bust out a flapper dress, throw on some pearls, and celebrate New Year’s Eve like it’s 1929. You know, minus the Great Depression part. MORE INFO.
ARTango! New Year’s Eve Tango is more or less the sexiest couples dance in the world, so bring someone you want to make out with to this New Year’s Eve party. Or find someone to make out with there. Basically, just be prepared to make out. But, you know, in a classy way – the event tends to draw a 30-something crowd and the attire is semi-formal. For New Year’s Eve, ARTango will be hosting an elegant cocktail reception followed by home-made tapas, sangria and a live performance by guest dancers straight from Argentina. Then you get to try out your own moves to the tunes of DJ Katia Alferova. $35 per person before December 21st. MORE INFO.
If you: Know all the words to Oscar D’Leon’s Lloraras.
Nacional 27 New Year’s Eve Part sleek restaurant, part salsa nightclub, Nacional 27 has put together an evening of Latin eats and beats for New Year’s eve. Enjoy a multi-course meal that showcases the cuisine of 27 Latin American countries, including Venezuela, Argentina, Costa Rica and Brazil – then take a spin on the dancefloor to live salsa band Conjunto Candela. After the midnight champagne toast, DJ X will take over, churning out latin top 40 faves. Word to the wise: at some point in the night Pitbull will get played. Maybe more than once. If you hate Pitbull this is not your New Year’s Eve party. Dinner/dancing ranges from $35-95 depending on dinner seating and drink options. MORE INFO.
FKA New Year’s Eve. You know that saying “you get what you pay for”? Not this time. At only $7, the FKA party may be one of the cheapest New Year’s Eve tickets in town, but the line up is a good one. Genre-busting DJ Reaganomix is a fixture on Chicago’s queer party scene; she’ll be joined by Black Gold (of Queerer Park), Jyldo (Soft Rock Sabbath), and DJ La Perla. MORE INFO.
Dillon Francis at Enclave. If Dave Nada is the progenitor of the Moombahton movement, then Dillon Francis is its Galactic Emperor (or so he says…). Signed to illustrious party-boy label Mad Decent, Francis has been spreading the moombah gospel across our fair nation – and you can catch him for only $10 on New Year’s Eve. For an additional $20, Enclave throws in a 2-hour private cocktail reception. MORE INFO.
Porn and Chicken New Year’s Eve. Voted best dance party two years in a row by the Chicago Reader, this is a no holds barred get-wasted-get-naked-get-down type of New Year’s Eve event – and probably the only one to get gays, straights, preppies, goths and hipsters to regularly come together and while out on a Monday night. Don’t worry about wearing your New Year’s finest – just come in something you don’t mind getting spilled drinks and chicken grease on (free chicken wings are a part of the deal). Oh, and don’t be surprised by the vintage porn playing in the background. The party is called Porn and Chicken, after all…MORE INFO.
A Dirtybird New Year’s Eve The innovative House DJs of SF-based Dirtybird Records are a good match for Grand Central’s lofty, raw warehouse vibe. Their ultra clean sounding music is of the variety that builds up until you think your head might burst, then drops into thick bass that gets the crowds jumping uncontrollably. On New Year’s Eve, admission gets you three hours of open bar (9-12), with table packages available. MORE INFO.
The Foxhole New Year’s Eve Not quite a year old, The Foxhole is a secret, speakeasy-esque South Beach lounge. Behind an unmarked door on an easy-to-overlook side street off Alton, this spot may seem a little seedy from the outside, but don’t let that fool you. Inside, you’ll find a slick bar with leather booths, pool tables, darts, and a more polished upstairs lounge area. For New Year’s Eve The Foxhole will have tunes from DJ D Up – voted Miami’s Best DJ of 2011 by the Miami New Times – DJ Iron Lyon, and DJ Sharpsound. They’ll play an all-encompassing set of house, electro, hip hop, rock, 80s classics, reggaeton, & more. MORE INFO.
Bardot New Year’s Eve From the outside, there’s no sign of life, just a desolate stretch of midtown strip malls on North Miami Avenue. But inside is one of Miami’s flyest music venues – something between your best friend’s basement and a hip East Village spot. Known for showcasing an amazingly diverse lineup of artists – from sonic jazz to Latin fusion, classic hip-hop, vintage funk, electronic trance, reggae, alternative rock, and more – this New Year’s Eve Bardot will be hosting NYC DJ Eli Escobar (of NYC’s Le Bain), who will be dropping his deep house edits alongside rising Miami DJ, Santiago Caballero, Troy Kurtz, Derek Walin and Pirate Stereo. There are plenty of couches in dark corners where new friends can making out like crazy to ring in the New Year. Be there. MORE INFO.
Larios on the Beach New Year’s Eve. The Estefan-owned Bongos restaurant gets a tourist destination reputation, but the truth is it’s also at the heart of Miami’s Latin music industry – even hosting after parties for the Latin Grammys, the Billboard Latin Music Awards and Premios Lo Nuestro. As part of the Bongos family, Larios on the Beach will be offering a three-course Cuban dinner, followed by an evening of live salsa with percussionist Ramses Arraya and Melina Almodovar this New Year’s Eve. MORE INFO.
Club Space New Year’s Eve. This cavernous mega-club has long been the go-to destination for young electro-ravey-pill poppers. If that’s your scene, head over on New Year’s Eve for headliner DJ Marco Carola, one of the most respected artists in the techno scene. Known for his marathon 8-hour plus sets, this party isn’t for the faint of heart. Unless you have the stamina of an ox, red bull or amphetamines are encouraged. Just kidding if you’re reading this mom! MORE INFO.
Chalk Miami Beach New Year’s Eve Bowling is so 2012. Ring in 2013 with a rousing match of ping pong, the latest nerdy-turned-hipster sport of choice. Installed in a former bank vault, Chalk Miami Beach’s high-tech, LED-enhanced interior boasts 6,600 square feet of pong AND pool tables, so if you’re too drunk to hit the ping pong ball, you can always try your hand with the cues. On New Year’s Eve, a $40 general admission fee gets you premium open bar all night, complimentary games, party favors, and a midnight champagne toast. We can’t promise those ping pong paddles won’t be used for alternate purposes after a few drinks…MORE INFO.
Tobacco Road New Year’s Eve. Miami’s favorite (and oldest) dive bar is celebrating its 100th New Year’s Eve. Does a thin layer of grime cover everything there? Yes. Does it kind of smell like old cigarettes? Yup. But this beloved Miami staple remains one of the greatest spots to see local musicians perform. The 100th anniversary is momentous occasion in and of itself, but this might also be one of the last few New Year’s Eves to celebrate at Tobacco Road – Carlos J. Mattos, founder and president of Hyundai Colombia Automotriz, recently purchased the land Tobacco Road sits on and may be redeveloping it in the next few years 🙁 Enjoy the hole-in-the-wall while you still can! MORE INFO.
Together As One New Year’s Eve. Last year, this massive electronic music New Year’s Eve party some of the drew top names in EDM to Los Angeles, including Chromeo, Duck Sauce, and the Bloody Beetroots. This year’s lineup hasn’t been announced yet, but it’s sure to be equally epic, and will definitely pack all 54,000 square feet of LA’s Shrine Auditorium. Word to the wise: the event is 18+, so be warned there will probably be some barely legal antics…MORE INFO.
La Cita New Year’s Eve. The people behind popular weekly dance party Mucho Wednesdays are back at LA’s La Cita for New Year’s Eve. Come for the rainbow-bodied, multi-generational crowd sporting statement glasses and pompadours, stay for the music. Still no word on who the live acts will be, but they’re sure to get ya body moving, so check back for more details! Cover is $10-15. MORE INFO.
¡TOMA! New Years Eve 2013 Advertised as “1,500 Latinos in 4 New Year’s Eve Party Areas,” this party will definitely be huge and crowded. With the main room headlined by DJ Paw from Los Angeles’ Super Estrella 107.1 FM, you can expect to hear pretty much everything on the top 40 Latin radiowaves these days. If the super mainstream stuff isn’t your jam, you can check out one of the other three rooms, including the “Retro Room,” where live bands will be performing 80s and 90s classics, the “Habana Room,” which will feature live salsa, bachata & cumbia, and the “Euro Room,” which we can only assume will be electronic music of some kind. A $75 cover gets you open bar all night. MORE INFO.
Brazilian New Year’s Eve. Samba + a booze cruise sounds like it could lead to some light sea-sickness, but if you have a sturdy constitution, or if you look really good in white, then all aboard. A whole lineup of Brazilian performers, including Katia Morales & Brazilian Hearts, “Sambista” Joany & dancers, and Samba Da Mudança, will be performing aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach this New Year’s Eve. Enjoy the performances while you eat a Brazilian buffet (but be careful not to get any on your white ensemble – it’s the dress code). Then get ready to shake your tail feather to the tunes of DJ Chris Brazil. If his last name is “Brazil” he probably has the riddims. MORE INFO.
Bootie LA New Year’s Eve Bootie LA is very excited about its balloons – it advertises “TWO different balloon drops!” If balloons aren’t enough for you, there will also be two rooms (at both the Echo and the Echoplex) where Resident DJs ShyBoy, Faroff, and Axel will be joined by special guest DJ Lobsterdust this New Year’s Eve. If the name of the party wasn’t a hint, it’ll be booty beat mashups all night. Tickets range from $10-30. MORE INFO.
If you: Are longing to bust out that GAYabera. Get it?!
Havana Nights New Year’s Eve. West Hollywood’s The Abbey is continually voted among the best gay bars in LA. For New Year’s Eve they will be hosting a Cuba-themed shindig for those looking to guarachear to salsa, boleros, and more. DJs John Joseph and Dawna Montell will be on the 1s and 2s; a $100 ticket gets you a hosted bar, appetizers and a champagne toast. MORE INFO.
La Desvelada New Year’s Eve Featuring circus style performers, arealists, confetti, and showgirls, this New Year’s Eve party will be quite the spectacle. Downtown LA’s Conga Room will play host to the largest Latino New Years Eve event in Southern California. V/DJs Santarosa and Dee Jay Lu Rox will mix music videos and songs to keep the dancefloor packed, even as you’re mesmerized by the dancers whizzing through the air. MORE INFO.
Lights Down Low New Year’s Eve You know that saying “you get what you pay for”? Not this time. At only $10, the Lights Down Low party may be one of the cheapest New Year’s Eve tickets in town, but the line up is a good one. San Francisco via Peru DJ Joaquin Bartra has been making waves in the tropical bass/house/electronic set, and he’ll be bringing the boogie to take you into 2013. Also with: Matrixxman, Richie Panic, & Sleazemore. MORE INFO.
Wintersalt Fest. Most people abstain from hard raging in the few days leading up to New Year’s Eve, in preparation for the giant bender that awaits them. But if your super power is partying, head to this awesome New Year’s Eve warm up festival presented by EyeHeartSF. The lineup is pretty stellar: party-boy Mad Decent founder Diplo will be joined by moombahton master Dillon Francis, Theophilus London, Zedd, DJ Shadow, & many more. Just make sure to save some energies for the actual end of 2012. Or you could just sleep through it. Whatever, we won’t tell. MORE INFO.
If you: Want to do some schmoozing with your boozing.
New Year’s Eve International Ball The LAM Social Club is a community that connects San Francisco’s Latino professionals to one another for professional and social networking purposes. They’ll be co-hosting the Latin Room this New Year’s Eve with DJ Santero and live salsa band Avance. If you’re looking to meet other people in your field or transition into a new job, this is your party. After all, there’s no better way to bond with people than over 2 or 7 drinks. The event is at the Palace Hotel so dress to impress. MORE INFO.
Frisco Disco New Year’s Eve San Francisco’s The Make Out Room will be keeping the spirit of disco alive this New Year’s eve. DJs 2 Shy-Shy & DJ Melt W/U will be spinning the best soul/funk/hip-hop/disco/wave & more so you can finally bust out the choreography from Saturday Night Fever and impress all the ladies. And all the gentlemens. Really, who isn’t impressed by those moves? John Travolta was a babe. MORE INFO.
If you: Are gay, guey. Or just a fan of go go boys.
Club Papi New Year’s Eve. Promising “Gorgeous Papi Go Go Boyz from all over the USA and Mexico,” this queer latin New Year’s Eve party expects 1200 people in attendance. VIP Drag Hosts Ms. Lola, Violeta and Barbie Doll will ensure the 3 floors of music are always jumping. Plus, this is probably the only New Year’s Eve party in San Francisco where they pay you! Well, almost – partygoers can enter the “Cash Money Booth” competition and be one of the lucky people selected to win upt $1000 in cash prizes, as well as concert tickets to see Rihanna, Lady Gaga, and Pink. Entry includes complimentary tacos and appetizers, four drink tickets, a midnight tequila pour, and a porn DVD giveaway. All the essential things you need to go into 2013, in my humble opinion. MORE INFO.
