The reggaetón is loud, the dance floor is moving and a DJ is keeping the party going.
But instead of bottles and cocktails, people are walking around with coffee and matcha.
And instead of heading home at 2 a.m., some of them started their morning with a run.
Coffee & Perreo is a Houston event taking the music and dancing often associated with Latino nightlife and moving it into the daytime.
The concept started nearly two years ago with Noel Velasquez, known as DJ Noel, Jesmine Minero and Elias Torres. All three have Salvadoran roots and wanted to create something centered around the Latin music they grew up with.
But as the event has grown, so has a larger question surrounding events like it.
Are younger adults changing the way they go out?
Federal data shows alcohol use and binge drinking among young adults have declined. At the same time, alcohol-related crashes continue to kill hundreds of people across the Houston area.
For Hispanic Heritage Month, KPRC 2 spent the day with the people behind Coffee & Perreo to see why they believe daytime parties are finding an audience in Houston.
How Coffee & Perreo started
The idea was relatively simple.
Torres said they were watching daytime events built around other genres of music gain popularity and wondered why Houston did not have something similar centered around reggaetón.
“Why not, you know, perreo, reggaeton, you know, something for this kind of community,” Torres said.
They decided to try it.
The organizers said they did not know how many people would show up in the beginning.
“We weren’t expecting much, we just wanted to grow as a community,” Minero said.
Nearly two years later, she said the crowds continue getting bigger.
Some events now combine two growing social trends in Houston: run clubs and daytime parties.
Attendees run first, then stick around for coffee, matcha, music and dancing.
“You wake up early on a Saturday, you come, you run, and then you do party with us,” Velasquez said. “We try to bring that nightlife to the daytime.”
What exactly is ‘perreo?’
For someone unfamiliar with the term, Velasquez describes perreo as a style of dancing closely connected to reggaetón.
And the music is central to the event.
Newer reggaetón is mixed with songs from artists many attendees grew up listening to, including Daddy Yankee and Don Omar.
Velasquez said the worldwide popularity of artists such as Bad Bunny has also introduced more people to the genre.
But Coffee & Perreo is not trying to recreate a nightclub at 11 a.m.
There is a noticeable difference in what people are holding.
Coffee. Matcha. Water.
Alcohol does not have to be the center of the party.
Young adults are drinking less
That part of the experience comes as federal numbers show drinking habits among younger Americans have been changing.
Data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration shows 50.9% of adults ages 18 to 25 reported drinking alcohol within the previous month in 2021.
By 2025, that dropped to 46.2%.
Binge drinking among the same age group also declined, from 30% in 2021 to 26.7% in 2025.
Velasquez has a unique view of the shift because Coffee & Perreo is not the only place he DJs. He also works Houston’s traditional nightlife.
He said he has started noticing a different crowd at the daytime events.
“A lot of people that I wouldn’t expect to be out this early, they’re out here,” Velasquez said.
That does not mean everyone is choosing one over the other.
Velasquez said some people attend Coffee & Perreo, head home around 3 p.m., rest and then go back out at night.
Others have made a different choice.
“I’ve also seen people that were in the nightlife that prefer this instead,” he said.
What about drinking and driving?
Drinking less is one part of the conversation.
Getting home after drinking is another.
TxDOT reported 4,665 DUI-alcohol-related crashes in its six-county Houston District in 2023.
Those crashes killed 223 people and seriously injured 345 others.
Coffee & Perreo was not created as an impaired-driving prevention program, and the organizers are not claiming their events are responsible for changes in drinking habits.
They do see their event as another choice.
“There’s another way to have fun,” Torres said. “There’s another option, there is another lane, there’s another alternative where you can still have fun.”
Torres also pointed to the financial cost of drinking and the potential consequences of getting behind the wheel afterward.
For Minero, the difference starts even earlier.
She said some attendees stay home the night before because they know they want to wake up early for the run and the party.
They arrive without a hangover, get their coffee or matcha and still get the social experience of going out.
“It’s a day party where you don’t have to drink,” Minero said.
A Houston party with Salvadoran roots
For Velasquez, Minero and Torres, the event is also tied to their own Hispanic heritage.
All three said their families are from El Salvador.
“I think for us three, because all three of our families are from El Salvador, so we come from the Salvador community,” Velasquez said.
That connection influenced the music and identity they wanted Coffee & Perreo to have.
Reggaetón drives much of the party, but the organizers said the music stretches across Latin genres.
Minero said some of the most meaningful feedback has come from people who tell her they feel comfortable celebrating their culture there.
She also sees people outside the Hispanic community coming to experience the music.
For the organizers, Hispanic Heritage Month gives them another opportunity to share where the idea came from and why preserving the Latin identity of the event matters as it grows.
Is nightlife moving into the daytime?
The organizers believe what they are seeing extends beyond Coffee & Perreo.
Velasquez pointed to daytime salsa and bachata socials as other examples of Latin music and dancing moving into hours once dominated by traditional nightlife.
He said the group has also heard from people in other cities interested in bringing Coffee & Perreo to their communities.
The team now wants to take the concept nationwide.
Torres has another goal: growing the running portion into an official 5K.
When KPRC 2 asked whether going out during the day might eventually become as common as going out at night, Torres said the shift is already underway.
“I think it’s happening now,” Torres said. “I think the change is happening right in front of us.”
Would you trade a late night of drinking for coffee, reggaetón and perreo during the day? Tell us what you think.
