Tuxtla’s nightclub scene is very much a locals one, where people dress to impress. Thursday to Saturday are the best nights, with things getting started around 10 p.m. and really boiling over after midnight.

Spanish for Holy Devil, Santa Diabla (Blvd. Belisario Domínguez, one block east of Hotel Camino Real, tel. 961/602-6862, 8 p.m.–2 a.m. Wed.–Sat.) has two distinct parts: the mellow Santa side where you can sip drinks and chat with friends, and the red-lit Diabla part, with live music and dancing.

Right next door, Boludo (Blvd. Belisario Domínguez, one block east of Hotel Camino Real, 9 p.m.–3 a.m. Thurs.–Sat.) is pretty much all diabla, a raucous club where dancing on the bar is a foregone conclusion most nights.

For a Freddie Mercury fix, head to es-3 (Blvd. Belisario Domínguez, opposite Plaza Crystal, 8 p.m.–3 a.m. Wed.–Sat.), ground zero for classic rock in Tuxtla. It’s a smallish 2nd-floor bar, with a sunken main floor and black walls scrawled with the names of the gods of ’70s rock: Pink Floyd, Led Zep, and of course, Queen. If you’re wondering, the name is a play on the Spanish pronunciation of “stress,” though why you’d name a bar that remains a mystery.

Ice (Blvd. Belisario Domínguez at Plaza Crystal, 8 p.m.–3 a.m. Tues.–Sat.) exudes a hip lounge vibe, with dim lighting, mood music, and every drink under the sun. Ice is located across from es-3, next to the entrance to the mall parking garage.