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Reporting by Katie Bain, Rob Simas and John Ochoa

Mexico City is famous for its size (with 21.2 million inhabitants, it is the largest metropolitan area in the Western Hemisphere). It’s famous for its urban density. It’s famous for its rich history, its art, and its almost perpetually hellacious traffic.

We experienced all of these cultural elements and more this past weekend when we trekked south of the border for EDC Mexico. We got up early, stayed out late, and ate thousands of tacos, at least. In all of this, we found Mexico City to be a dazzling, dizzying, fantastically disorienting place full of great food, excellent music and top-notch people.

Over the course of two days, hundreds of thousands of these people descended upon the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez for the second annual EDC Mexico. Here, Los Headliners were treated to dynamic activations (totem spray-painting, anyone?), stomach-flipping carnival rides, appearances by costumed performers, and dozens of local and internationally revered musical acts spread across four stages.

Here is a comprehensive review of our experienca Mexicana.

Saturday, February 28

11:00 am, Hotel Lobby at Camino Real, Polanco

We learned early on in this trip that traffic in Mexico City is bad. Really bad. We’re told to allow ourselves at least an hour to travel the nine miles from our home base at our hotel—Camino Real in the Polanco neighborhood—to the festival grounds at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.

It’s on the crowded freeway and busy streets that we get our first real experience of the city’s traffic and highly intense road rules. Motorists here are fast and aggressive. It’s a driver’s world, and you’d better be on your toes or you’ll be sorry. Car horns constantly honk at full blast. Police sirens are the soundtrack of the alleys, as the incessant blues and reds of the cop lights paint the streets a unique hue. It’s a beautiful and chaotic ballet between man and machine, and nothing like we’ve ever encountered.

2:00 pm, Main Entrance

Doors open. Eyes open. Hearts open. Welcome to EDC Mexico!

2:36 pm, kineticFIELD

There it is, in all its rave glory. kineticFIELD, the epicenter of EDC Mexico, where memories will be made, where friends will meet to create forever-lasting bonds, and where the world’s top DJs will spin their hearts out. We take in the Cathedral vibes, as do our fellow Headliners from ground zero. It’s an unbelievable sight, and we realize we’re all part of something bigger—this thing called EDM.

3:12 pm, Mayan Warrior Art Car

Making our way to neonGARDEN, we stop at the Mayan Warrior art car. Situated at the center of the festival grounds, the Mayan Warrior art car is truly the heart of EDC Mexico. Following a historical Mayan theme, it towers over Headliners with neon colors with the stone-cold face of the titular warrior and a sound system so boss its bass subs reached the deepest depths of our souls. A cast of Mexico’s most promising up-and-comers takes over the art car throughout the weekend, displaying the sabor y sonido of the country. We find ourselves entranced by the hometown pride.

3:26 pm, Knight Owl

The handsome Knight Owl serves as a meeting point for Headliners throughout the weekend. Its flamethrowers light the night as brightly as the bigger-than-life stage lights from kineticFIELD and circuitGROUNDS. Standing tall, all metallic and majestic, it is our knight in shining armor.

3:30 pm, Backstage

A huge transport van pulls up, and the guys from GTA get out. They look so, so tired. As it turns out, they have been dealing with a canceled flight and other assorted headaches all day. They have just touched down in Mexico City and are running on no sleep. Regardless, less than three hours later, they are onstage revving the crowd up like champions.

4:15 pm, Claro Musica

Diego Loza’s hands are covered in a rainbow of spray paint, with flecks of green and red latching onto his beard. He’s zoned in on the live graffiti owl mural he’s painting; it’s the size of a mini billboard, and it takes him about six hours to complete. A burgeoning artist from Mexico City, he’s developed his style for over 12 years, making street murals for almost a decade. “I really enjoy the unity between the people who are dedicated to the art,” says Loza about the art community in Mexico City. “We’re very unified, and we really support each other.”

Though he’s new to the electronic scene, he enjoys the culture and says music is a major influence on his art. “Often times, a song’s lyrics will stay stuck in my subconscious until that same idea from a song becomes an image, which I then use in my work.” Outside of music, Loza is inspired by everyday life in Mexico City. “All the stimulus that people experience every day are part of their work. For me, my life is my work, so everything that I experience and everything that happens to me affects my work directly. One will always find madness and inspiration in Mexico City.”

4:46 pm, Spider

The line for the Spider carnival ride is starting to get long, so that must mean something awesome lies this way. We hop on, strap in, and close our eyes for a minute. As we twist, twirl and flip, screams of panic become fits of laughter and smiles. Upside-down and downside-up, our heads spin faster than the BPMs blasting from the Mayan Warrior art car directly across. Local talent Zaa is going HAM on the decks as he drops Major Lazer’s “Watch Out For This (Bumaye)” into Calvin Harris heater “Open Wide.” Minutes later, the crowd fervently waves their hands left and right in synch to the beat of Armin van Buuren’s “Ping Pong.”

5:02 pm, Claro Musica

Is this Jurassic Park or EDC? Someone has let loose a full-size dinosaur. Good thing he’s friendly and only here for photo-ops. Decked out in a colorful Viking helmet and a giant kandi bracelet around his neck, this dude was one of the most popular attractions all weekend. We’ve cutely dubbed thee Electric Dinosaur Carnival.

5:23 pm, circuitGROUNDS

First things first: Mexico loves bass music. We witness it firsthand at circuitGROUNDS, which is hosted by Bassrush Saturday. From the rapid-fire beats of Noisia, the wicked drum & bass thunder from masters Dieselboy and Andy C, and the intense dubstep wubs of Excision and Datsik, we find ourselves lost in the face-melting bass world. Bassrush has brought the big guns to EDC Mexico, and fans lucky enough to witness the onslaught are on a journey through the full bass spectrum.

5:38 pm, Kandi Station

According to locals, kandi culture in Mexico City is still growing. We see some bracelets and full kandi arms throughout the grounds, but it definitely is not as prevalent as we see at EDC Las Vegas. Though neon kandi is a bit sparse, there’s a nifty kandi-making station right on the festival grounds. As fans gather to create unique works of kandi art, we see some truly special kandi, particularly the ones with Latin flavor, like this one:

5:45 pm, Coone @ kineticFIELD

Back at kineticFIELD, Coone is giving the crowd a taste of the harder side of electronic music. Looking across the massive field, we see Headliners going full rage-mode. We realize hardstyle is a global language. The genre’s heavy kicks and hyper BPMs know no borders. It’s Coone’s first time playing Mexico, and the crowd is beyond welcoming. “It’s getting worldwide,” says Coone about hardstyle’s invasion into Latin America. “Once it hits you, it doesn’t let you go. You’re getting really addicted to it, and that’s what it does from the moment it’s in your heart.”

6:28 pm, Infinitum Lounge

We’ve been on our feet nonstop for over six hours now, and we’re starting to feel the burn. We make a quick stop at the Infinitum Lounge, sponsored by leading Mexican internet provider Infinitum, to charge our batteries—figuratively and literally.

 

6:54 pm, kineticFIELD

Fireworks light up the darkening sky for the first time this weekend. We’re all now united Under the Electric Sky.

8:01 pm, Backstage at the Mayan Warrior Art Car

We truly fall in love with the Mayan Warrior art car—so much so, that we keep returning over and over again to its beauty and brightness. We can’t get enough and need to learn more about the breathtaking structure, so we seek answers. According to creator Pablo Gonzalez Vargas, the art car was inspired by the creativity and free spirit of Burning Man, and its design is influenced by a mixture of Mayan culture, crop circles, ayahuasca visions and sacred geometry. While Vargas identifies Burning Man as a major influence on the Mayan Warrior and himself personally, he also draws correlations between the desert gathering and EDC. “This is Disneyland for teenagers,” he says of EDC Mexico. “The feeling of a playground—it has that same spirit. You feel like you can run and just be free.”

Beyond looking cool, the Mayan Warrior art car serves as center stage for local talent this weekend and is the nucleus for Mexico’s rising stars. “In the case of the Mayan Warrior, it actually encapsulates a lot of Mexican talent. If you go to the Mayan Warrior, you’ll hear something for four hours that you have never seen before.” In essence, the Mayan Warrior provides the voice of Mexico, one that will ring in our ears forever.

11:02 pm, Dillon Francis at kineticFIELD

Wait, did that just happen? Did Dillon Francis just open his set with “Un Poco Mas” from José José? Yes. Yes, he did. Dillon must have done his homework. José José is a world-famous singer from Mexico City, and “Un Poco Mas” is a fan favorite. The Grammy-nominated balladeer has sold millions of albums and has a stack of international hits, not to mention his sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall in NYC. While he may not be a household name back in the States, José José is a pretty big deal here in Mexico City, and for Dillon to pay tribute in such a way is something special.

11:38 pm, neonGARDEN

With MK in the background, playing a gnarly remix of Ten Walls’ “Walking With Elephants,” we discover that #FREELIFE exists in Mexico. It’s crazy to think that the Bixel Boys have reached international status.

11:45 pm, Backstage

We’re sitting on our golf cart awaiting Annie Mac, who is going to jump on after her set for a ride back to her trailer. While we wait, a call comes across our walkie-talkie: “We need that bag of eyelashes over here, ASAP!” This really is a job like no other.

12:30 am, Jack Ü @ kineticFIELD

Just when we think we’re down for the count, Jack Ü storms the stage with an energy we didn’t know we needed. Of course, they open with their calling-card anthem “Take Ü There,” featuring Kiesza. The rest is party vibes and extreme turn-ups.

1:43 am, Claude VonStroke at neonGARDEN

We catch our second, third, fourth and fifth wind after Jack Ü (yeah, it’s that good) and head back toward neonGARDEN for some booty-shaking beats from dirtybird leader Claude VonStroke. We reach a new low—as in, we drop our asses so low we give twerking new meaning. Claude always knows what makes us move and shake; it’s like dude’s a mind-reader. A booty-clapping mind-reader.

3:01 am, in Our Beds at Our Hotel

Snuggled up deep in our sheets back at our hotel, we’re ready to fall into a slumber after 14 hours of nonstop raving. Alas, we make the mistake of flipping on the TV and falling into an intense Seinfeld marathon. It’s the episode “The Caddy,” where Kramer and Jerry wreck George’s car after being distracted by a woman wearing a bra as a top. Welp, so much for sleep.

 

Sunday, March 1

2:00 pm, kineticFIELD

We’ve been in Mexico four days now, and we’re starting to get a tad bit homesick. So when L.A. boys Goshfather & Jinco take the stage, we’re taken back to La La Land for just a few moments. These dudes are coming up quick on the festival circuit, and their mix of house, bass, trap, and everything in between is a sure bet they’ll soon reach stardom. Keep your eyes peeled and ears tuned in.

2:12 pm, Torre

Yesterday, we loaded up on all the musical magic. Today, we want to focus on the rides. Our first stop: the clouds. For the best view of EDC, we hop high atop the Torre, Spanish for “tower.” We’re not gonna lie: Our boots are shaking as we stand in line. But we know those few seconds of stomach-turning terror are absolutely worth it for the view from the top of the ride. As we wait and wait high up in the clouds, we can only wonder how fast we’re going to speed back down to earth. You thought Excision had a heavy drop? Check out the Torre.

2:45 pm, neonGARDEN

We’re huge fans of Climbers here, so we rush to catch the last few minutes of their set as they open neonGARDEN. With support from Art Department and Miguel Campbell, and with releases on formidable labels Get Physical and Turbo, the Mexicali-based deep house duo is one of the fastest-rising acts from across the border. Obviously, we couldn’t miss their set. As we groove to their low-end and hypnotic hi-hats and handclaps, our minds open up to the sun and sky.

3:25 pm, circuitGROUNDS

We’re a bit thrown off walking around circuitGROUNDS. Is that a violin we’re hearing? Sure enough, it’s Mariana BO, the local DJ/producer who mixes modern electronic tunes with classical music by way of her trusty violin. Decked out in a flamboyant gold jumper, she jumps atop the stage and starts jamming away ferociously on her violin as friend and fellow producer Jorge Nava strategically builds the upcoming epic drop. This is the debut performance of Nava & BO as a duo—Nava performed last year on the Mayan Warrior art car—and it goes off without a hitch.

“My biggest lesson this time is that no matter what your time slot is, or if your name is big or not, people will always follow you if you do things by the heart and passionately,” says Nava. “I’m totally amazed to see how much EDC Mexico grew in a year. It now felt as a festival in full force, and people were all about the good vibe on this one. Also, I think it has been proven that Mexico is a paradise for electronic music, crowd-wise and talentwise. I’d invite anyone in the world to give it a shot and come here to feel the bliss of the Mexican people.”

4:12 pm, circuitGROUNDS

Hey, Headliners! We’re YOUR #1 fan!

4:44 pm, Swings and Seesaw

EDC has always been a huge playground for grownups, but this year, EDC Mexico is a literal playground with a full set of swings and gigantic seesaws. We let our inner child run free as we sway high and low on the swings and teeter-totter up and down on the seesaws. We have flashbacks of our kindergarten days, sans the required nap time, which we wish still existed just about now.

5:12 pm, kineticFIELD

These two guys here are the hosts of kineticCATHEDRAL, keeping the energy going strong between sets. Dressed in full fantasy regalia, they tell the story of kineticFIELD in a fashionable and dramatic manner. The spectacle just isn’t the same without these guys.

5:25 pm, Metro Puebla Skatepark

We make our way around the huge venue in our nifty golf cart and stumble upon the hidden Metro Puebla skatepark. Here, we meet a cast of young skater kids and freestyle BMXers who live the street lifestyle to the core and exude punk-rock badassery. The skate lifestyle varies depending on where you live, according to 18-year-old Brandon Hernandez Rodriguez. Here in Metro Puebla, he says, it’s “very ghetto,” full of graffiti, cracked floors and chipped banks on which the skaters bust their grinds—with EDC in the background as the soundtrack.

Still, the skatepark is full of hungry youth looking to perfect that 360 flip. “It depends how you look at it,” says Rodriguez about skate culture in Mexico. “I look at it as a way of life. It’s an addiction, more than anything. All you do is concentrate on your trick. You don’t think about school or if something bad happened. You just concentrate on your board and the trick you’re trying to land, and that’s it. You forget everything else.”

 

5:52 pm, Clown Girls at circuitGROUNDS

The clowns of EDC are the pulse of the festival. They specialize in making smiles, spreading joy, and creating memories. As prime jokesters of EDC, they carry a lot of pressure on their shoulders, but you’d never know it through their always-smiling, painted faces. We follow the all-female clown troupe as they happily gallop across circuitGROUNDS. Many high-fives are given. Many pictures are taken.

6:01 pm, Bumper Cars

The road frenzy of Mexico City is intense and real; it even bleeds into the bumper cars. We see some drivers going haywire on the bumper car track, hitting their fellow Headliners head-on with full force. But it’s all fun and games cuz #PLUR. We’ve never seen such a happy car wreck happen in front of us.

6:10 pm, kineticFIELD

Oliver Heldens is playing for tens of thousands of people as the sun sets over EDC. Swear to god, this kid gets more endearing every time we see him. To wit, when he plays his massive, monster hit “Overdrive,” he comes down from behind the decks, stands at the front of the stage, and does a dance (which we are officially calling the Oliver Heldens Shuffle) with a big grin on his face. It’s the very best.

6:27 pm, Mayan Warrior Art Car

Magic is in the air at the Mayan Warrior art car, and local DJ/producer Lemarroy is the wizard at task. Though he’s a budding artist in Mexico City, he carries the confidence and performance skills of a legend. His energy onstage is unparalleled. He’s mastered the build-and-drop formula and adds in his own stylistic approach. You’d never know this is his first time performing at EDC. He’s just a natural. “I learned that no matter how much time you spend planning your set, everything changes once you’re up there,” he says. “It’s all about feel and how your crowd responds.”

Lemarroy sees the growth of EDC Mexico as a positive development, one that echoes the growth of the Mexican electronic scene overall. “This year’s edition had a lot more crowd and was also more energetic,” he says. “In general, the whole electronic scene in Mexico is bigger, and that is a good thing for us musicians. There is an amazing crowd for electronic music, as well as very talented producers. I guarantee you that Mexico is going to be one of the biggest countries when talking about the electronic music scene, and I hope everyone around the world gets to experience it when it happens.”

6:49 pm, kineticFIELD

The pre-festival buzz among the Insomniac crew was that the crowd in Mexico City is particularly spirited, and that rumor is being proven true currently at kineticFIELD, where Headliners are tossing each other up in the air (and catching each other when they land back in the crowd), small children are standing atop their parents’ shoulders and dancing (this is like, our favorite thing), and after the spectacle of dancing, confetti and owls that happens during the between-set stage production, a crowd-wide singalong of a traditional Mexican folk song spontaneously occurs.

7:00 pm, Backstage Artist Area

We run into Tommy Trash, who has just arrived at the festival, and tell him that we loved the dating column he did for us this past Valentine’s Day. He smiles and agrees that he put together some very good advice. Then he’s whisked away to his dressing room, as his set starts in less than an hour. Let’s also use this moment to acknowledge that the dude has the best hair in the game.

7:20 pm, kineticFIELD

Arty is busy destroying kineticFIELD when suddenly, he drops a remix of trance makeout anthem “Sun & Moon” from Above & Beyond. And just as we expected, everyone—and we mean literally everyone—is making out on the dancefloor. It is beautiful and weird at the same time.

9:17 pm, Galactica

Sadly, Star Trek legend Leonard Nimoy passes away while we’re in Mexico. We feel it to be a perfect remembrance to ride the Galactica. Not to be confused with fellow sci-fi franchise Battlestar Galactica, the space-themed Ferris wheel is the ideal setting between our endless stage-hopping. We turn down at the top of the Galactica as the sun sets, with the sounds of laughter and the sight of smooching couples in love as our backdrop. Below us, loads of Headliners sprawl across the ground in rest-mode. It has indeed been a long weekend, but it’s not over yet! Live long and prosper, indeed.

10:55 pm, Backstage Artist Area

Tiësto is very famous in a lot of places, but he is especially famous in Mexico. This is why he has a security guard traveling with him at this festival. It is also why, when he gets into the black Suburban with tinted windows that’s going to drive him from his dressing room to the stage, all of the locals who are working the event backstage assemble to watch the car go by. Dozens and dozens of them stand gazing toward the stage for the entirety of Tiësto’s set, even though the view from here isn’t that great.

 

11:00 pm, circuitGROUNDS

Last night it was all about bass in your face at circuitGROUNDS. Today, trance takes center-stage. On the lineup is the trance trifecta of Orjan Nilsen, Andrew Rayel and MaRLo. The crowd is pumping, the energy is high, and we’re lost in the beautiful melodies of trance. By the end of the night, we realize that just like bass music, trance is a universal language. After tonight, no matter where you’re from, we’re all citizens under the nation of trance.

11:17 pm, Mayan Warrior Art Car

 

We met local DJ/producer Silver Light earlier in the week in the Coyoacán neighborhood. At lunch, he told us he was a big fan of Tiga and the whole Turbo Recordings crew. Anyone who’s down with Tiga and co. is down with us. We catch Silver Light’s set because we need a little techno and tech house in our lives. He goes deep, and together we share an aural journey of strange sounds, slugging bass and dark techno. “I had one of my best experiences of my life,” says Silver Light of his first time performing at EDC Mexico. “The festival goes beyond the music. All the people make it a very surreal experience. I’m sure EDC Mexico is the best electronic dance music festival in the country.” Give us a second while we blush.

11:23 pm, kineticFIELD

Remember the squid squad from EDC Orlando last year? We’re back at it again! We make our way into the belly of the beast with our octopus brethren. Holding those tentacle poles isn’t an easy feat (they’re heavier than they look), and the giant octopus requires 10 people to operate. So we share the love and let our fellow Headliners help carry the creature. The looks on their faces are priceless, and just like that, our squid squad family grows.

11:42 pm, Mayan Warrior Art Car

As we take a breather backstage at the Mayan Warrior art car, a security guard next to us is doing push-ups to keep warm and kick up some much-needed energy. We feel totally out of shape eating our churros as this guy flexes in front of us. Whatever, this churro is bomb.com.

12:05 am, kineticFIELD

“Are you ready for some old-school?” Tiësto yells into the mic. “Are you ready to go loco?” As the roars from the crowd intensify, he launches into his classic remix of “He’s a Pirate.” Headliners eat up Tiësto’s every word and move as he initiates never-ending olé soccer chants from the front of the stage all the way through the back of the crowd. We can all agree that Tiësto is the king of his castle.

12:12 am, Backstage Artist Area

We’re all for an open bar, but we just discovered the open taco bar in the artist area. Where have you been all my life, taco guy? We stuff our face with a mix of tacos de bistec and tacos al pastor topped with some salsa and cilantro and wash it down it a nice cup of horchata. This is by far our favorite set of the night.

12:43 am, kineticFIELD

It’s the moment EDC Mexico has been waiting for: David Guetta in full effect at kineticFIELD. Immediately, we recognize the nostalgic chords of Alice Deejay’s “Better off Alone.” The ‘90s never sounded better—or louder. Guetta then gives us a taste of “Truffle Butter,” the Maya Jane Coles-sampling Nicki Minaj trip, a little bit of “Blame” from Calvin Harris, and “Fancy” from Iggy Azalea.

1:40 am, Torre (Again!)

We’re back! The view from the top of the Torre has been our highlight all day, so we had to come back for a nighttime view from above. What better way to see EDC than while suspended 30 feet off the ground? From up here, we can see the legion of people who have assembled in front of the stage to watch Tiësto, who drops Clean Bandit’s “Rather Be” (seriously, this song is not getting old). As we hover high above the festival, we’re lost in the lights of Mexico City in the distance as they extend on and on and above. The waxing moon is high and bright; it is a good moment. In our eyes, Mexico City never looked so beautiful. Then we are dropped back to earth with the full force of gravity. What a rush!

It’s time to go home. Adios, Mexico.


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