Piñones

The area has grown as a nightlife designation, as fancier establishments, some with live music, have opened up. And there are raucous open-air dance halls playing mostly Dominican merengue or local rap, which is influenced by salsa and reggae. But the action begins to cook before sunset. As mid-afternoon turns into evening and people begin to leave the beach for refreshments, the air is thick with smoke from grilled fish, beef and chicken kabobs, and the kettles of oil used to fry codfish and crab fritters. When the giant orange Caribbean sun starts to fall behind the San Juan skyline, salsa and merengue—not to mention reggae and Latin pop—start to blare out from the jukeboxes and sound systems of the dozens of ramshackle establishments dotting Route 187, the sector's main road. Traffic on the two-lane road into and out of the area is daunting on Friday and Saturday nights, when many of these open-air bars host merengue combos, Brazilian-jazz trios, or reggae bands.