The sun finally came out! We tried Mezcal that is packaged in plastic pouches! Our WiFi still didn’t work! Here is our staff round up of the day’s winners and losers:
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Joel Moya
Sales & Partnerships
Winners
1. Bumping into Bosnian Rainbows member Nicci Kasper in the hotel lobby and noticing that he was rocking a Remezcla MX t-shirt. Can’t blame him, they’re pretty fresh.2. The revelation that I wasn’t the only person secretly grappling with what the gringos like to call “Montezuma’s revenge.” Nothing equals group bonding like a round of Pass-the-Pepto…
3. Receiving this handy iPhone case/excuse to flip people off:
Losers
1. The mezcal-and-lime combo I bought from a Vive snack vendor. The fact that it came packaged in plastic pouches should have been a sign this was going to be a rough experience.2. Having to leave Mexico City 🙁
City Editor
Winners
1. Gepe, for creating the most incredible chair pose Vine of all time. Every time I watch it I start uncontrollably laughing and I’m pretty sure Vine was invented just so this six second video could be brought into the world.2. Seeing 100k Mexicans sing/dance along to “Matador.” I have to admit, I’m not a huge Los Fabulosos Cadillacs fan, but a) this song is an undeniable classic, and b) the hive-mind-collective-ecstasy of the audience during the song was one of the craziest things I’ve witnessed.
3. The entire OCESA staff, for being the friendliest, most helpful people ever. Special shout out to our Sunday van chauffer who pulled a Mexicanada and drove over a concrete road-divider to get us to the Bomba Estereo set on time, all while the entire van chanted “SI SE PUEDE.”
Losers
1. The scheduling of set times. So many bands I wanted to see were performing at the same time. This was kind of inevitable given how many bands were on the line-up, but was a bummer nonetheless. I missed Gepe because I was too far on the other side of Foro Sol catching the beginning of Natalia LaFourcade‘s overlapping set, and by the time I got to Carpa Danup it was over. Staring at his Vine is my only consolation – next time I’m bringing rollerblades or a segway to avoid such conundrums.
2. This guy. I applaud the enthusiasm that led him to remove his shirt and spin it like a helicopter during Bomba Estereo’s “Fuego,” I really do. But dude.
Freelance Writer and Former Editor
Winners:
1. All things Gepe related: People yelling Pepe instead of Gepe in anticipation of his set. Gepe spreading his legs for us. Gepe’s Andean folkloric spirit dancers; were they real or imagined? 2. All of the puns that surfaced after Li Saumet‘s nip slip. 3. Meeting Protistas singer Alvaro Solar. Protistas are my spirit animal.Honorary mention: Our driver for his “Sí se puede” mexicanada after jamming out with us to some “Rhythm Nation.”
Losers:
1. The moment you acknowledge you’re not 20 anymore and a three-day festival brings to light your bad knees, bad back, and, you know, your mortality. 2. Mezcal pouches, or just, any liquor in a plastic pouch. ———————————————- And that’s a wrap. Bye Vive. We’re exhausted but we miss you already.