The word mixtape has plenty of different interpretations. It used to be that mixtapes were actually DJ sets recorded on cassette tapes, but with the coming of the digital music age, the name remained the same, but the definition expanded. Nowadays, people call mixtapes many different things, some of which are not necessarily mixed and most of which were never taped. Here we try to cover them all. In this column, Juan Data gives you a worthy one every week.
DJ: DJ Santi
MIXTAPE: August Mix
Of all the DJ’s out there putting out mix tapes of Latin music, most of them either lean toward the tropical traditional side of the spectrum or the modern electronic beats and remixes… or somewhere in between those two. And then you have, of course, the unimaginative ones playing the urban/pop Top 40 del día (but we don’t care about those). But there’s another more elusive sub-species of DJ in the Latin music ecosystem that’s pretty much at risk of complete extinction and can only survive in rare micro-climates such as Souther California. We’re talking about the good ol’ rock en español DJ. Remember those?
If finding a rock en español DJ is a difficult task nowadays, an even harder one is to find one who doesn’t exclusively play the same old classics from at least 15 years ago (because as you may know, for many partygoers and club promoters, rock en español here in the US is, sadly, synonym with ’80s night).
But let’s imagine you actually found one who matches those two criteria, next question is: does he know how to mix? Because, in my experience at least, none of the few so-called rock DJs I’ve ran into knew even the basics of beat matching, they were just push-play type of DJs.
And then, voilá! I discovered Anaheim’s DJ Santi. Probably one of the last survivors of his kind. Just listen to this excellent mix tape of his, he never plays any “Persiana Americana” or (god forbid) “Oye mi Amor.” Instead, he spins current tracks by the likes of El Columpio Asesino, Banda De Turistas, Los Punsetes, She’s A Tease, Napoleón Solo, Zenttric, and his transitions are perfectly smooth. Who knew?!