Club Mystique

Twenty-one years of salsa on our stage

Named after Club Mystique in Miami, our club grew up in the Spaarndammerstraat and moved to the Smaksteeg in the city centre in 2016. For more than twenty years the biggest names in salsa played there. Club Mystique Fridays carry the name on in Noord.

  • 2002 to 2023Spaarndammerstraat and Smaksteeg
  • Every Fridaynow in Amsterdam-Noord
See the concerts

From Miami to Noord

A name borrowed from Miami, two homes in Amsterdam and a long list of artists. This is how Club Mystique got here.

The Spaarndammerstraat in photosBuilding the Smaksteeg club in photos

  • 1990s

    The name

    Club Mystique in the Hilton at Miami Airport is where the Miami salsa scene began. Our club is named after it, out of respect.

  • 2002

    Salsa4Fun and the club

    Jay Kersten and Marian Bakker start Salsa4Fun in the Spaarndammerstraat: a salsa club with classes five days a week.

  • 2004

    Salsa Club Mystique

    After a big renovation the club gets its own name. Dancers from other schools did not walk into a rival dance school, but they did go out to a club. Concerts, club nights and Salsa Café follow.

  • 2010to 2014

    The big names

    La Excelencia, Issac Delgado, Jimmy Bosch and Herman Olivera, Tromboranga, Frankie Vazquez, La India and many more.

  • 2016

    Smaksteeg

    After almost 15 years in the Spaarndammerstraat, the club moves to Smaksteeg 19 in the city centre.

  • 2023

    Farewell

    Two farewell parties, on 6 and 13 January, close the doors in the Smaksteeg.

  • Now

    Club Mystique Fridays

    Every Friday in Amsterdam-Noord, in the venue of dance school Salsa4Fun.

Concerts and special nights

Newest first. Posters, photos and videos are added as we find them. The archive starts in 2010; from the first years we have few dates and photos.

How the concerts happened

Club Mystique never had a promoter or a subsidy. Jay Kersten and Marian Bakker did everything themselves, from the contract to flying in whole bands and booking their hotel. They picked the artists up from the airport, often together with a student of the dance school.

The production was home-made too. At all but a few concerts Jay ran the sound and the lights, and when a band brought its own engineer, he usually left the desk to the club. On concert nights Marian cooked a full meal for the band, the crew and the team, mostly Latin American, with dessert, so the artists ate well instead of fast food. Jay's parents, known to everyone as mama and papa salsa, always helped, and after the show papa salsa made the artists a real Surinamese bal gehakt on a white bun.

The risk was the club's own: only a sold-out room made it possible to pay the artist. Even so, names who normally play big stages, such as Jimmy Bosch and La India, chose this small venue in Amsterdam, and many played far longer than agreed. Several of them are still in touch with the club, and a new series of concerts is not ruled out.

Highlights

After the Smaksteeg

Club nights elsewhere in Amsterdam. Since 2023 Club Mystique Fridays take place every Friday in Amsterdam-Noord.

Smaksteeg 19, city centre

From 2016 until the two farewell parties of January 2023.

Spaarndammerstraat, Amsterdam-West

The club opened here in 2002; this archive starts in 2010.

Show

Regular nights

Besides the concerts the club ran theme nights for years. These are all the dates we know of; the ones in bold have their own page with photos or a poster.

  • Salsa Café

    The Friday salsa and bachata night, with guest DJs, workshops and shows.

    10 Jan 2014 · 14 Feb 2014 · 1 May 2015 · 23 Dec 2016 · 30 Dec 2016 · 17 Mar 2017 · 24 Mar 2017 · 7 Apr 2017 · 5 Jul 2019 · 1 Nov 2019 · 9 Sep 2022 · 16 Sep 2022 · 23 Sep 2022

  • Bemba Colorá

    The Cuban party night: salsa, timba and cubaton.

    1 Apr 2017 · 1 Jul 2017 · 5 Aug 2017 · 7 Oct 2017 · 2 Dec 2017 · 17 Mar 2018 · 21 Jul 2018 · 18 Aug 2018 · 17 Nov 2018 · 15 Dec 2018 · 16 Feb 2019 · 16 Mar 2019 · 18 May 2019 · 15 Jun 2019 · 21 Sep 2019 · 2 Apr 2022

  • Química

    The bachata night: Dominican, sensual, romantica and urban bachata.

    10 Jun 2017 · 11 Nov 2017 · 9 Dec 2017 · 4 Aug 2018 · 1 Sep 2018 · 15 Sep 2018 · 3 Nov 2018 · 2 Mar 2019 · 6 Apr 2019 · 4 May 2019 · 1 Jun 2019 · 6 Jul 2019 · 7 Sep 2019 · 5 Oct 2019 · 2 Nov 2019 · 16 Apr 2022

  • Kizomba Bass

    The first kizomba party in Amsterdam, on Sundays in 2014.

    9 Feb 2014 · 23 Feb 2014 · 9 Mar 2014 · 30 Mar 2014 · 28 Dec 2014

  • Los Misticos salsa parties

    The resident band Los Misticos live, with DJs around the sets.

    7 Jun 2013 · 12 Jul 2013 · 26 Oct 2013

  • Recordboxx

    Soul, funk, disco and hip hop, in the spirit of Flora Palace and Bebop.

    21 Sep 2013 · 16 Nov 2013 · 15 Feb 2014

  • Strictly Vinyl

    Salsa and mambo from records only.

    23 Sep 2017 · 27 Jan 2018

  • MSTQ XXL

    Club Mystique back for an afternoon and evening at IJland in Amsterdam-Noord.

    30 Mar 2025 · 27 Apr 2025 · 25 May 2025

Were you there?

Photos, flyers, videos or a story from a night at Club Mystique? Send them to us and help complete the archive.

Mail info@salsa4fun.com

The floor is still open

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