I went to my first Massive in Mexico City last week and WOW! What a difference! It was extremely well organized. According to newspaper stories, there were 70,000 people on Friday at Vive Latino, the Mexican version of Coachella, where Fatboy Slim closed off the main stage on Sunday. Other artists included Foster The People, TV On The Radio, Zoe, Bunbury and Cafe Tacuba.
Music wise, the festival featured multiple stages with different genres ranging from electronic to rock, ska, and everything in between. Most of the electronic acts were Mexican artists, with the exception of Fatboy Slim, but the rock bands were from all over the world.
The moment we got dropped off a mile away, I knew this would be an awesome event. You could feel the excitement on the air as multitudes of people walked excitedly towards the event. Once we walked through the first gates towards the stadium, police presence was everywhere! Literally, hundreds of police officers lined up on the walkway so you couldn't deviate away from it. Halfway towards the entrance, there was the first group of staff making sure every one had their individual tickets out and on hand.
A little after, there were others doing the same. Finally, we arrived to the entrance and this is where there was a HUGE difference between US Massives and Mexican Massives. In just one entrance, there must've been easily 30 lines/turnstiles to get in. In each line there was staff asking everyone to keep their tickets on their hand, 2 people scanning tickets, at least 3-5 people searching and someone directing traffic. Again, tons of police were at the ticket lines to keep order. Once they scanned your ticket and got searched you walked in.
Immediately after walking in, there were tons of porta potties lined up against the walls. That's always a good sign.
As you kept walking toward the first stage, you walked through the Vendor Village. I don't think I've seen so many vendors at a massive before. They had everything from beer stations, carne asada, hamburgers, to magazine booths, newspaper booths, hippy stores, and a lot more.
The festival also had everything marked extremely well. There were light posts with HUGE signs that said different things from MEETING POINT SPONSORED BY COCA COLA, to big bathroom signs. They reminded me of the parking signs at Disneyland.
We had VIP, so we went straight to the VIP Area. I got to say, WELL WORTH IT!!!! VIP had an entire bleachers section facing the stage. In the VIP area we had our own food & alcohol stands so there was no need to go out. The food was extremely good too. The carne asada, hamburgers and hot dogs were grilled over charcoal! YUM!!! The Al Pastor was legit too; they had that thing that spins with it.
VIP also had their own bathrooms with staff constantly cleaning them up. Bathroom lines moved quickly on the VIP. Not sure on the general admission.
Once we sat down and were enjoying the concert, vendors would walk up and down the isles selling everything from beer, donuts, hot coffee, hot chocolate, Maruchans, corn on the cob, Mexican treats and more.
The sound was pretty good, it wasn't super loud, but it wasn't low either. I think it was just about right. Our ears thanked the sound engineer for doing an excellent job.
Another thing I noticed, they had ambulances spread out and several first aid stations.
Overall, organization wise the event takes the cake over USA massives. However, production wise, Insomniac is king! If you could combine them both, you'll have a killer event!
:toothless :toothless :toothless :toothless
fantasyexctasy
It has to be asked, but how was the drugs situation?
DjWoody
quote:
Originally posted by fantasyexctasy
It has to be asked, but how was the drugs situation?
Honestly. I didn't see any. No puddles at all. The only place I saw people sitting down was at the Meeting points. Either they can handle their drugs extremely well, or they prefer beer over them. Again, Police presence was HUGE, so I think that has a lot to do with it as well. I mean, there were cops literally everywhere, some in full riot geat with botons and shields. They even had mobile command stations, police buses, and cameras set up where they were keeping an eye on everything. I wouldn't wanna with Mexican police, they're the worse cuz they don't give a . They'll beat the out of you.
fantasyexctasy
If they implement this style of security at a massive, it'll definitely draw a lot of people back. It's sad when the music nowadays is the second reason people attend the festivals.
mar46017
What I love about other countries, is the fact that people are there for the music and the party. Here I feel like no one knows who the DJ, they can care less, and everyone is just trying to look cooler than one another.
DaveT
The cost of working with unions in the US, especially California, is what really kills a lot of the other areas since they are so costly and you are forced to use them at just about any decent location.
fantasyexctasy
quote:
Originally posted by DaveT
The cost of working with unions in the US, especially California, is what really kills a lot of the other areas since they are so costly and you are forced to use them at just about any decent location.
Well have you seen how expensive it is to live in California? If it wasn't for unions, nobody would be getting paid fairly. These companies try to nickel and dime hard working Americans into poverty
DjWoody
quote:
Originally posted by fantasyexctasy
Well have you seen how expensive it is to live in California? If it wasn't for unions, nobody would be getting paid fairly. These companies try to nickel and dime hard working Americans into poverty
That right there! Labor in Mexico is way too cheap compared to labor in SoCal. That's why they're able to pull in more staff, more police, and ticket prices end up being about half the price of a US massive. Don't get me wrong, they also have unions and they're always striking, but even with them, it's still cheaper than it is here.
During my week long stay, I saw unions strike every day about different things ranging from electricians wanting more pay, to unions wanting some politicians out of office. The hotel staff told us that unions strikes are a way of life there. They strike every day in the Zocalo. No joke. They do it so much, that the government has set up daily schedules. Each union gets about an hour or two each day. The worse are the teachers, cuz those mofos are hardcore! They close off all the major streets and traffic isn't moving at all! That's the one that makes it to the news.
