Today we’d like to introduce you to Juan Garcia.
Hi Juan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was living in the Mexican Caribbean (the state of Quintana Roo) in the city of Playa del Carmen, where I worked on the production staff for several national and international music festivals, including Corona Sunsets and the BPM. My work was primarily building the scenarios and decor for the events since 2013. This work gave me the opportunity to be introduced to and work alongside local DJs and music producers from the area.
I met my wife in 2015 and we connected over our love for beach life and the style of electronica from the eastern region. In fact, our first date together was at the 2016 BPM festival, where we danced through the night on the beach to one of our favorite acts – the Art Department. My wife was visiting from San Diego, where she lived and was going to graduate school. Not long after our time together at the BPM, she moved south of the border, and I relocated to the west coast so we could be together. We lived in Tijuana for a few months but found we missed the energy of the beach. We moved out of the mountains of TJ and down to Rosarito Beach – this is where Sassypachanga began.
In Playa del Carmen, friends dubbed me Juan ‘Pachanga’ (slang for a party) and my wife Cassandra has often been called ‘Sassy’ by her friends and family. Thus Sassypachanga represents a fusion of the music and lifestyle that my wife and I sought to cultivate on the west coast.
We began looking for the local music scene in the area. We started attending and covering events of the underground scene. We got to know the local DJs and began supporting them by posting their events to our social media pages. The goal was to share the goings-on of the local scene in Baja with DJ/producers from other states and eventually merge the two. In August of 2018, we created our very first events in Tijuana at Cervecería Mexica with local artists Girls All Around and invited some of our friends from the east of Mexico – specifically Evil Ev (Playa del Carmen) and Dario Diaz (Tulum). We brought the parties home to Rosarito with weekly themed events at Mulata Gastro Bar. ‘House Music Nights’ spanned an entire year with some 40 events and over 50 artists representing Tijuana, Mexicali, Ensenada, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Cholula Puebla and San Diego. Our one-year anniversary featured Ivan Henaíe (Nomad) and Alex Montañez (Alex Movi) – both artists from the Mexican Caribbean.
Our other long-term project was a quarterly media production event called ‘Sunsets,’ which were sponsored by local breweries. These events were advertised with minimal information – locations were announced the day of – to purposely keep them small and exclusive. For all of our events, we emphasize quality over quantity and stay true to the genre of electronic music (techno, house, minimal tech, deep house). Although the pandemic put our events on a temporary hold, we continued producing content, promoting our artists and collaborating with DJ/producers on recordings.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
There have been ups and downs. The most difficult part is finding and working with the right venues. First, finding venues who are interested in electronic music and not just looking for the typical party music, which often devolves to reggaeton or other mainstream pop genres. From the beginning, we decided to stay true to our brand and not change the type of music we present to please mainstream tastes. Next, negotiating contracts to ensure payments is always difficult – holding people to an agreed-upon contract is within our own interest but also that of the artists we present. Unlike some producers, whether an event is successful or not, we have never not compensated our artists.
The difficulty is sometimes a unique problem to Baja in that once a price is established for the work, there is always someone new (or who wants a chance) who will be willing to do the work for less. Venues along the coast are particularly difficult to work with because there are many ex-pats living in the area who will entertain crowds for little to nothing since they are here enjoying their retirement. While this is nice, it puts a unique strain on the entertainment economy in the region. Why would a business owner pay a local entertainer a decent rate in Mexican pesos when they could have someone play for free?
We have found the key to overcoming these difficulties lies in representing our brand and those who work with us clearly and communicating our esthetic and style upfront.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
Artistically, Sassypachanga stands apart from others in our commitment to our design esthetic, our genre and our ability to feature local artists as well as those from other regions.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
By training, I am an Industrial Engineer focused on government sales. I have technical drawing skills, and since I was young, it has been one of my interests. This developed into my active engagement with the design and aesthetic for our networks. My background in sales has also played a part in my ability to conceptualize, build and manage events.
Pricing:
- Small session (5 hours, full production & 2 artists) = $500
Contact Info:
- Email: sassypachanga@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sassypachanga/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sassypachanga/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/sassypachanga
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLxj-ncuExlJytKwMvoz_sg
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/sassypachanga
