The walls on all sides which enclose it as a terrace are for sitting and playing on. Here, where the square edges onto the street, young people most like to meet whilst the main area is dominated by the younger children, nowhere else in Los Llanos being better for skating, cycling, chasing and tumbling. It was here during last year's carnival that I danced into the small hours to the rhythms of a Cuban female band. The plaza inclines gently upwards, and the far end, shaded by tall laurel trees, is dominated by open-air bars. The Camareros of the plaza's busiest bar, the kiosko, know what their customers have come for and from behind the tiny encounter serve up almost miraculously the quintessential of urban live - us cafe solo, una cerveza, un zumo de naranja, una copa.
Orders flow in and the coins jingle, leaving behind a mountain of monedas in the kiosko.
When afternoon comes and the shops close, the square becomes still, but not silent, and the gentle sweeping of the palm-leaf broom across its surface sounds the hour of idleness and enjoyment. Now is the time to peruse the newspapers. When the bells chime for mass, the predominantly female congregation gathers in front of the church. In the evening, the plaza becomes a promenade. Tourists meet in larger groups for an aperitif.