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Hey! Spring Break is here! And if you are reading this, it means you made the right decision because you are here in Los Cabos for some great partying. We all know how popular Cabo San Lucas is for partying and about its reputation worldwide with legendary clubs like Cabo Wabo and so many more. But in this issue, I would like to share a different side of Cabo and tell you all I know about the electronic music scene here.
I’ve been DJing since I was young and like most everyone, music has always been magic and medicine for me. I immediately fell in love with electronic beats when I heard them in ’80s pop songs and from groups like Depeche Mode, New Order, and Kraftwerk, and even by Queen’s Another One Bites the Dust’s kick drum. And then when I went to Europe with my cousin in the ’90s I got captivated by the electronic music scene and music, especially in London and Barcelona, and Greece’s Super Paradise Beach in Mykonos.
When I came back it was all I wanted to listen and dance to. And then in 1996 on a wild trip to Miami Beach, I bought some vinyl records at Uncle Sam’s Musicafe, came back to Mexico City, and played them on my ’80s Technics 1200s turntables. The electronic music scene back then in Mexico City had some awesome bars and clubs and they were always a savior in my search for underground music like house and techno.
Then I arrived to live in Cabo in 1999 and my search for beats began here. I was lucky to find some great places like Blue Room and Aqua Lounge where I had my first residency. Then through the years, many wonderful electronic music parties happened in Cabo at many spots like Nikki Beach, Passion Club, Bodyshot, Red Bar, Skyline, El Moro, Mayan Lounge, Freeboard, and numerous others. We have had many great festivals, parties, and events like Apparitions, AWOL, Cabo Music Fest, Electro Fest, Playa Magica, Desierto Magico, Luna Fest, the memorable Mandarina Fest, and many more too. Also, for many years, very fun outdoor parties like Magik’s famous Full Moon parties and other open-air parties like Elevation and Resonance, which I am proud to have produced, have taken place in the amazing beaches, arroyos, and mountains of Cabo.
We have been lucky to host innumerable top DJs like Paul Oakenfold, Derrick May, Stacey Pullen, Claptone, Lee Foss, Sharam, Roger Sanchez, Phil Weeks, Audiofly, Sharam Jey, Steve Aoki and many many more. And I hope many other great DJs that have never been here come someday.
Today, Cabos’s electronic music is still growing, and the options are fantastic. Let me tell you about it. There are great spots and parties going on both in San José del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas, as well as La Paz and the Todos Santos area. In Cabo, the go-to places for great electronic music are Cachet Beach Club, especially for their Sunday Funkday, Cock’s Cantina for their Deep Fridays, Mayan Monkey Hostel for their hot weekend pool parties, the newly opened Molly VIP club in the heart of the party strip, the sunny pool parties at Blue Marlin Ibiza, and other new spots are popping up regularly.
In San José, you can’t go home without checking out the lovely Mixology Fusion Bar on Fridays and Saturdays where I had my last residency and will be playing on March 8th. Dalton Gin Baralso has fun house music (except Saturdays), and of course, OMNIA is also a cool place to check out where they will have Kaskade for their 1st anniversary. If you are in La Paz, inquire about the Warehouse parties and KraxyBaja Collective.
Cabo has great local DJs and DJane’s too many to list, but any party you hear about from local DJs will surely have good times and music. As well as any event with the top national Mexican DJs you don’t want to miss, as we have amazing DJs in Mexico, and many are regularly passing by on their tours. Some collective’s events to check out if happening are anything from Mandarina Records, T3CHNOTIKA, Dance Like Nobody’s Watching, Beatness, Intellichildren, Salt & Pepper, MasBeat and We Are Here Music. If you are into more psy trance and progressive, check the events from Acid Tool. As you can see, we have a healthy electronic music scene that is growing, and we feel very blessed because combined with Cabo’s beautiful weather and nature, it makes it very magical.
I wish you a great Spring Break, take care, and have a wonderful vacation with lots of grooving and dancing!
Alex Navarro is a regular Destino Magazine contributor and a long-time Los Cabos resident. Check out his mixes at Soundcloud.com/alexgrooveaudio or follow him on Instagram @navarrogrooves and Facebook @alexnavarrogrooves.
