Once infamous for seedy salsa bars, La Macarena has been transfigured into one of the city’s smartest entertainment districts. Weekends and evenings the streets are packed with neighborhood residents as well as people from all over the city, who come to visit art galleries, bookshops-cum-concert-venues, and other lively outlets; or to take their pick of among scores of intimate dining rooms (including El Patio and El Panóptico) and coffeehouses (like Ázimos), all nestled within roughly a five-square-block area.
