Customized cars, SUVs take parties on the road in Venezuela

DOZENS of people dance rhythmically, almost shoulder to shoulder, in a neighborhood in the outskirts of Venezuela’s capital, transforming a narrow street into a mini dance festival. It’s near midnight, and when “Do It To It” of TikTok fame starts playing, gradually getting louder, adolescents, adults and a few children crowd the sloping street, blocking it to traffic and ignoring the stench from an abandoned dump truck nearby.

The heart of this party — music so loud it can make the body vibrate — comes from speakers installed in the trunks of cars and sport utility vehicles lined up to battle for the most powerful sound system. The mobile party, which includes electronic, vallenato, bachata and other rhythms, allows young and old to have fun in areas where nightclubs are long gone or cost prohibitive.

“You have to feel it, you have to experience it… With car audio, you close