All about La Negrita Cantina in Mérida, Mexico

In Mérida, traditional cantinas are a big part of the culture. La Negrita Cantina has existed since 1917 and is therefore probably the oldest cantina in Mérida.

It is a bar on the corner of 62 x 49 in the Santa Ana neighborhood in the historic center. Actually, La Negrita is a little bit of everything: a bar, a restaurant, a cantina, a dance club mit Cuban live music and kind of a dive.

Even if it doesn't look like it from the outside, La Negrita offers a large interior courtyard and space for several hundred people. You get draft beer, Yucatecan and craft beer, snacks, lunch at noon, a good drink in the afternoon, or an early dinner.

But La Negrita is also known for its good live music (usually between 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm) and a lot of fun. In addition to Facebook you can also find La Negrita Cantina on Instagram.

More recommendations?

Other recommendations are Dzalbay Cantina and El Lucero del Alba Cantina. But there is a large selection. Another very famous and over 100 years old cantina in Mérida is "El Cardenal Cantina" (Calle 63, No. 527, near Parque de Santiago, 2.5km from Casa Loltún, open daily from 12:00 pm to 10:00 pm).

Or you can go to a cantina of Eladio's, which exists several times in Mérida (the closest one from Casa Loltún is at Calle 59, No. 425, corner of Calle 44 and 59, near Parque de la Mejorada, 1.5km from Casa Loltún, open daily from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm).

And after 10:00 pm ?

Cantinas are traditionally only open between about 1:00 pm and 10:00 pm. Cantina La Negrita also closes at 10:00 pm, so it's not necessarily a place for night owls.

For the later evening hours, when the cantinas close, it's the hour of the classic bars that stay open longer. Head to Pipiripau (a few metres from Parque de Santa Lucia at Calle 62, No. 461, open daily until 2:30 am and about 1.5km from Casa Loltún).

Image Source (main image): ©travel4brews, flickr, CC BY 2.0, Link

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