eyond Hip and Unhip, there's good old Latino Drag. If ever John Waters should decide to forsake Baltimore for Toronto, he'd no doubt frequently be seen camping out at El Convento Rico. The retro-glitzy College West Latin club is no stranger to delightful diversions, like the kick ass midnight drag queen show.

Who needs techno when you've got meringue? That's the frenzied, 150-beats-per-minute dance music you hear blasting out of the speakers at this genuine Latino, Drag Queen fest. Expecting the unexpected seems a reasonable way for one to approach this one, which just happens to sit in the heart of Cool College Street, where the very hip stand rooted. You’ll get a grand dose of Cuba in downtown Toronto. Maudlin muscle boys! Drag-Queen Witches! Junior junkies! After a night of partying in Toronto’s most caffeinated club, you'd look like this too.

Though its light-speed tempo and insane arrangements can be daunting to first-timers, there's no denying its sex appeal. Salsa, Latin house, hip-hop and reggae are also played here, and most nights are a mix of gay and straight. The place looks shabby these days, but the main dance floor is just as conducive to disco epiphanies as it is to the rumba, and the crowd is not even remotely mainstream. It's such a wild space that it deserves at least one visit.

On any given Saturday, an ensemble of the gay and not so gay elite assemble for a night of high sexual tensions and oh so sweaty dancing.