Mexico City’s Zona Rosa nightlife zone has been sadly quiet since the Covid crisis started. But this weekend, at least, we can pretend its giant, gummy-decked micheladas are still flowing. Rico Club, one of the neighborhood’s largest and most popular perreo institutions, will be streaming sets by the all-stars of its DJs and drag talent Thursday the 14th through Sunday the 17th.
Mexico’s social distancing initiatives started March 23rd. On Tuesday, the country’s health council reaffirmed that starting June 1st, the government would begin to open certain industries on a state-by-state basis.
Times are tough right now for nearly every nightclub on earth. Rico, which expanded into a second Zona Rosa location this year, is struggling to support its out-of-work staff during the mandatory closures of Covid crisis.
In the meantime, Rico Fest isn’t the only fundraising tactic that the notorious club has used during its coronavirus closure. The club has also experimented with home deliveries of party-sized mojitos and other cocktails, as well as selling monthly memberships that allow attendees to skip the signature and interminable Rico line.
This week’s online festival provides a chance for global reggaetón fans to check out how Mexico City parties. Rico has built a thriving queer perreo scene, and is well-known for its lineup of talented drag queens like residents Debra Men and Yolanda. During Rico Fest, each DJ will be paired with a drag host. For the crowd-shy, this might be an opportune time to check out the club’s talent compared to IRL hours, given that Rico is known for its at-capacity dance floors.
Rico Fest kicks off Thursday night, which is traditionally reserved for the venue’s well-curated, rotating lineup of Mexico City and Estado de México reggaetón DJs. The evening’s headliner is a historic B2B set with Pablito Mix and DJ Bekman, two veterans whose late-aughts rival collectives Under Style and Flow Music Crew helped to define the local subgenre cumbiatón. Other stand-outs on the weekend’s DJ lineup include Loojan, DJ Cachorra, La Matta, Baby Fat, Alan Rosales, DJ Sueño Dream Lion and DJ Krizis.
Rico Fest will be streaming live from Thursday to Sunday. You can see the nightly lineup here, and buy your passes here.