By Vanessa Lantos Daly (Spicy Melon)
June 16, 2025 – If you don’t know what you are doing this upcoming Sunday, June 22nd, the hottest party of the year is happening at Savoy Society. From 3pm to close.
And if you already know what you are doing that day, cancel that, come to this. Everything is happening at 102 East Liberty Street.
I don’t know if it was providence, or just fantastical chance.
Last year, on an inconsequential afternoon, I was strolling past Savoy Society and there was this amazing celebration happening: Brightly decorated, energy bouncing off the walls. It was packed — way more than on a busy Saturday night — and most importantly, people were dancing.
The DJ was this amazing woman who played primarily Hispanic beats, and people were having fun in a very familiar way.
Let me explain: While I was born in Miami, I spent half of my life in Lima-Peru and the party culture is very different to classic American cities.
There is always dancing, it is rare to just go to bars and sit and drink all night until you can’t sit or drink anymore and a friend or an Uber ride hauls you home.
While it is entirely possible to just go sit at a bar all night, and there are many places to do it, it is not the norm.
It is difficult to get completely drunk because there is always dancing involved: movement is encouraged by the venues and the music. Most people don’t care if they dance well or not, there is no performance pressure, everybody dances.
Seriously, nobody cares. They just dance, and by getting comfortable and happy with it, eventually people become better dancers and teach each other. It is just a fun thing to do, people always connect thru dance.
In high school, the parties and get togethers would always involve music, food and dancing. This happens in many Latin American countries, so the rhythms of their music often inspire the movement. It doesn’t matter where you go: Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Puerto Rico, etc… you know people dance.
All these countries, we connect and we dance.
Full disclosure: I’m not a great dancer. I don’t know how to properly salsa or dance bachata. I was never properly trained, but I love to do it. I love it and always do it and don’t give a F… therefore I always hear “you are a great dancer.”
Is that the secret of life? Just do something terribly all the time and be super happy doing it with complete confidence until you somehow become good? Maybe…
It was a happy accident to attend the event last year, I didn’t know these people.
I didn’t know this was a collective of artists of all ages (from teens to 50s) and everyone connects and supports each other and develop wonderful friendships. The Savannah based art collective is called SoyxSoy. SoyxSoy translates to “I am as I am” in Spanish and currently has nearly 30 members of Latin and Native American artists.
This is one of their most anticipated yearly events. Not just because of the dancing, but also the art they bring to it and the color. They celebrate the mix of cultures and throw one big event every year…. If we are lucky, sometimes two events. This event displays art and crafts by members, has a specialized food and cocktail menu, and amazing DJs.
Every year, the collective gets together to set up and decorate Savoy Society and injects their life and energy to it.
This is the third year of the event: This year, we celebrate “Noche de San Juan.”
Noche de San Juan, or Saint John’s Night, is a centuries-old tradition that takes place yearly on the evening of June 23rd in Puerto Rico. This enchanting celebration is a fusion of cultural heritage, religious customs, and festive revelry.
Many members of the art collective were interviewed to paint a picture of the event to come.
Adriana Iris Boatwright, a founding member of the collective, and someone who traditionally spends these days celebrating Noche de San Juan in Puerto Rico, shares “Bringing Noche de San Juan to Savannah is a way of honoring ancestral rhythms and keeping Caribbean traditions alive, even far from home. A night when we gather by the sea to dance, cleanse, and welcome renewal under the stars. Noche de San Juan is more than a party — it’s a spiritual homecoming. Bringing it to Savannah is our way of creating space for that joy, memory, and collective healing, right here in our southern city.”
Alexis Javier, also well known locally as AJ, and another founding member of SoyxSoy, shares “A wonderful aspect of this series of events with Savoy Society has been their trust in supporting our vision to essentially ‘take over’ their space and co-create an electric atmosphere fueled by a curated drink and food menu, and driven by great music by our DJs all day and into the night. I expect that this year’s event will be just as good if not better than the last two.”
Upon asking about expectations, he shares “I’m most excited about the drink menu! Jomar has created some delightfully complex cocktails (and mocktails) using ingredients based in Latin America and the Caribbean that you won’t get anywhere else.”
Jomar Santos, current mixologist at Savoy Society and part of the collective, was instrumental in designing the cocktail menu and collaborating with the chef regarding the food offered for the night. He also worked the past years events. He shares “I have been working and curating the Cocktails selection for the event. I’ll be bringing a mix of the previous Cocktails from the past two years into this year’s selection. Also, I’ll be taking to Josh (Savoy’s Chef and Savoy’s business partner) to start curating the food menu.”
Local crafts and jewelry maker Jessica Salaverria shares “Last year’s parties were on fire — La Jungla and Carnaval brought all the sabor, ritmo, and alegría! But this year, La Noche de San Juan is THE must-go event of 2025, with fresh new tunes, special drinks, delicious food, and so much more.”
She shares her involvement too: “Catch me early with my bold, funky jewelry and neon-bright accessories from Elektro Kandi — made to move, shine, and dance all night long. Let’s light up Savoy with color, culture, and pure party energy!”
Local painter and member Nico Moscosa shares his past experience and current excitement: “I joined SoyxSoy in November 2023, but became more active around March of 2024. I was truly excited to finally be a part of an art community that shares a similar Latino background. I attended Carnival at Savoy Society last year, it was my first event I volunteered for SoyxSoy. It was amazing because that night was truly the best thing in the weirdest way. It was an experience where I gained new friends and partied with strangers like no other. Everything from the atmosphere to the food and drinks were fantastic!”
He also considers the significance of this year’s event: “The upcoming event at Savoy Society this year, is a day of spiritual cleansing and celebration. I have never experienced or celebrated this day, but I expect it will be an unforgettable night, which will inspire new friends and beginnings.”
There will be 2 amazing DJs who are also part of the collective. Maria Cecilia Weinkauf, well known as DJ Precisa, and Jose Ray.
Jose is not only a DJ but an amazing local painter. He shares: “I always look forward to our events at Savoy Society because they exude creativity and passion! We transform the space and it really does feel like you’re transported to another realm — which in this case will be an evening in San Juan! The Art, the Music, the Dancing, the Style and Energy — they’re all flowing together, and they create a very unique experience.”
Maria was the DJ at the last 2 Savoy events for the collective. She shares “Those were the most beautiful events that I have done in Savannah — full of love and people from everywhere getting contagious with our energy.”
Here is a glance at her djing last year’s event.
Experiencing this event first as an unsuspecting delighted attendee, and now from the inside as a part of the collective, I can tell you it is a must if you haven’t experienced it.
See you this coming Sunday and let’s bring Noche de San Juan to life together.
AJ shares finally: “If you enjoy Latin & Caribbean Culture, from the food, drinks and/or music, and you want to leave with your belly, heart, and spirit filled with the abundance of joy and satisfaction, ¡Vamonos!”
Come to the party, have a drink, take it all in, and dance with us.
Love always,
Vanessa
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