Transcription
It is the 10-year anniversary of one of the best music festivals in the world happening in Mexico City. Let's go!
I'm going to explain exactly what this amazing 3-day event is in a hot second, but first, let's kick things off with a little preview of what's coming up. Like these outfits! Bam, bam, bam! Super fun people from all over the world, delicious food. Oh, I can't tell you how much I miss Mexican food already. Trading bracelets, cute and creative totems, dancing, so much dancing. The mind-bending festival setup with impossibly elaborate stages and so many Shenanigans in between.
Sidebar: I definitely don't dress like this normally, but as I mentioned in my 2023 EDC video, I look at these festivals like Halloween, where it's a chance to get creative with clothing and makeup I can't usually wear elsewhere. And I love that people have the creative freedom to do that, whether it's wearing a blow-up unicorn costume or matching dinosaur onesies or my little raver girl outfits. And there's no judgment at all.
Also, throughout this video, I'll be sharing exactly how much this trip cost me, starting with the round-trip flight with Delta for $454. For this trip, I had to take two flights: one from Phoenix to Salt Lake City, Utah, where I got to see this strange, really cold white stuff all over the place, and the second to one of the greatest cities in the world. Yay! Made it to Mexico City.
From the airport, I took a 25-minute Uber to my hotel, which cost 157 pesos, which immediately makes me miss the cost of living here all that much more because, by comparison, the 15-minute Uber I took from my house in Phoenix to the airport at o'dark30 cost $25. Oh! I've seen so many roof dogs in my time, but never roof cats. Oh!
[Music]
Hey, I thought he was talking to me. You talking to me? Was talking to me.
So, I'm staying at the Selina Hostel once again. This room is a little smaller than the last time and definitely more expensive. I think it came out to 70-something a night instead of the last time it was 50-something. I'll put it on the screen exactly what it was. Still a pretty great view, and honestly, I don't think I needed as much room as I had the last time. But what I am missing is a mirror, a full-length mirror. Wait, I have to... No, just went downstairs and asked if they could bring another one, and they did, in fact, bring a full-length mirror because we got to see the outfits, right?
All right, the madness is starting. So, these are some of the outfits, some of the outfit options that I brought because I genuinely could not decide. Like, even between two yellow tops. This one I'm saving for Alan Walker night. But here's what I look like so far. I don't know if this is going to be my final outfit. Like, shiny raver top. I don't have my bracelets on yet, but I did bring my entire bag of candy bracelets. Basically, like, I made all these. How cute! This is why this is like Halloween to me, and so much fun to just get to dress up in my little raver girl outfit. And I got all my candy on now.
Getting close to the final touch is these face gems. So, I think, I think they match mostly. I have a lot of them, actually. Here, let me show you. I have quite a few options. This is one I was considering, but it's not really that pink. And I was thinking maybe just like silver, but those will go better with my outfit for tomorrow. It's blue. What I... So, I think this is going to be the best vibe. Let's see how it works. This is basically the final look, minus my shoes, minus the jacket that I'm bringing because last year I froze my ass off, and I'm not doing that again. Um, but I don't know if you can tell all the sparkly glitterin' going on, including my face. Lot of sparkles. I got these stuck on. I am quite pleased with this outfit, and got my candy too, to trade with people. Shenanigans! I love it. I'm so stoked. EDC Night Number One is about to begin.
Oh my gosh, are you alive? Oh, good. Okay. So, Fel, an awesome friend of mine in Mexico City, always sets up a party shuttle to and from the event. Since this is now my second EDC Mexico, I can confirm that this is both the most budget-friendly way to go. It cost me $600, 50 pesos for 3 days round trip, and also the perfect way to get all hyped up, singing and dancing before the event. Plus, cherry on top, it's a perfect setting to make new friends if you came solo, like I and other travelers did. That's another reason I love making these pony bead bracelets to give to people. I'll explain what Ryan and I are doing here later on.
[Music]
Up! I'm not an alcoholic. Bring... Let's [ __ ] go!
[Music]
So, we just got off the shuttle to EDC and we're here in this, I don't know, like auto parts shop, I think, with the most adorable dog. You're getting too much attention. It's kind of bother a little bit. Go! Direction now. That's good. Oh, don't say that. There. They also have a bathroom here, which we're each going to pay five pesos for. In the most random circumstance of all time, probably, that I've ever used a bathroom, but this is so Mexico. This is so Mexico. Never a baby. Oh my gosh, these are the moments that I live for. I live for. Oh, he just wants love. Give me pets. Give me pets.
Okay, we got to get a quick bite before going in because the food is quite expensive in there. This taco with chorizo, 35 pesos each. I miss Mexican food. Oh, so good.
As we're making the 40-ish minute walk into the motor speedway, that's where this event is, by the way. Let me explain totems because this is one of my favorite parts of festivals. Once you're inside the event, it's so big and can get so packed with people that there's a two-part problem: it's both really easy to get separated from your group, and the cell towers get so jammed up, texts won't go through for hours at a time, sometimes not at all. So, the best way to keep your group together is to create these totems, essentially some type of creative sign attached to a pole that sticks up above the crowd. And I am very much looking forward to seeing what people come up with this year.
One thing to note about EDC is, especially on the busiest nights, whenever you're sending texts to people or you're trying to find people, good idea is to put a time stamp on it because sometimes the messages won't go through for like an hour or something. So, you're you're telling your people, "Hey, I'm going to meet you by this tree," or like, "that's oo we at this stage," and then they're waiting there, and you're not there because the messages don't go through.
So, of course, I do love going with a group, but here's part of the experience. Is now we've stopped for like, I don't know, the fifth, sixth, seventh time because here's bathrooms, and we're not even close to the entrance. This is kind of like corralling drunk toddlers. Word to the wise, there are very specific rules for permitted versus prohibited items at EDC. I suggest checking their website, especially since the rules are quite different in Mexico compared to the US. Two examples: in Mexico, you can't bring in sealed deodorant, which really surprises me, given the length of the event. And you also can't bring in vapes or cigarettes because of a new law passed in Mexico that says no smoking in public places. Even though they touched me a whole lot more, there were two, actually three, points checkpoints. Um, we got a free little like pack bag thing. Um, and you said you got some extra treats. Hi there. I've got a little bag, which is amazing. So tough. You said you got extra treats? I got extra treats. Yeah. Can I say this is like a PG YouTube video? Or it should be PG, PG-13 at most. I've got some really loving. When I went into the festival, it's amazing. I need you to get, get a photo of me. Actually, yeah, for sure.
Before I get even more carried away with candy, totems, dancing, music, and Shenanigans, let me explain what this event actually is. EDC, or Electric Daisy Carnival, is the largest electronic music festival in the world, and it's been happening for over 25 years. As I mentioned in the beginning, this is the 10-year anniversary of EDC in Mexico, but EDC happens all over the globe, including the largest EDC, which goes down in Las Vegas. I'll actually be going to EDC Vegas this year, and I decided I'd host my first-ever meetup. So, so click the link in my description or go to www.maddy.gold to get tickets, and I'll tell you the meetup deets. But anyway, the EDC experience centers around electronic music, which has been my jam for as long as I can remember. This year, the lineup includes big names such as Alan Walker. His music gives me life, and he is the literal reason I came in the first place. This time around, also Tiësto, Steve Aoki, Zedd, Armin van Buuren, Skrillex, Showtek, and so many more. The extras I'll be showing in this video are just icing on the cake that make this entire experience unforgettable.
So, in order to get anything at this event, in order to buy water, drinks, food, anything like that, you have to get a [Music] bracelet. Now, I'm gushing with excitement to give you the deets on the rave festival tradition of exchanging candy bracelets with the PLUR handshake. So, PLUR stands for Peace, where you touch your peace fingers together; Love, each person makes half a heart; Unity, you put your palms together; and Respect, you interlace your fingers. Once you do all four gestures, you transfer a bracelet to the other person, and they give you one from their collection. Not everyone ends with a hug, but I like [Music] to. I've been doing this since I was a little baby raver when I was about 18, and it brings me so much joy for so many reasons. I also find it so cool to teach other festival-goers how to do it to encourage more peace, love, unity, and respect in the world.
[Music]
Recording a video? They're recording a video. We're all recording videos. EDC! Woah! This is so comical to me. This is an entire VIP area sponsored by SEO, which is to Mexico what Trojan is to the US, if you catch my drift. Given that this is Electric Daisy Carnival, you also have carnival rides. Plus, they have tons of art installations set up for photo ops. And my, can I just say, the people watching is absolutely tops at festivals. Your senses will never be bored.
Going to continue pointing out the fun totems like this one that says PLURhub, playing off a different logo, hint, hint. Angelic Taylor Swift also made an appearance. And this one, I love the totem, La La. Oh my gosh, I love it. And damn, look at that sunset. So pretty. Oh my gosh, what a treat. But when the sun goes down, the vibe definitely shifts to being more focused on the music. Unfortunately, I can't include original audio because all of this amazing music is behind ironclad copyright bars. However, what I can say is that in this particular night, I enjoyed a new-to-me DJ called Bob Moses, which was super vibey, and some classic DJs that I've heard before but enjoyed seeing again, Alesso for one, and Zedd, who played my favorite set of the night and takes the cake for the most alternate reality-looking lights I saw the whole festival. I think when all was said and done, after the extremely long walk out of there, we didn't get back to the hotel until 4:00 a.m. Out. Wish me luck getting some good sleep so we can continue shenanigating for two more days.
All right, so it is EDC Night Two that I'm getting ready for now. This is the look. I've got these shiny pants, this chainy belt. Again, these pants, by the way, which have like a bazillion pockets in them, but I will not be putting a single thing in them because that would be the fastest way to get stuff stolen. Last night, I had this big coat, which I will be bringing again because it did get cold enough to need it. It's like really thick, I don't know, woolish lined, or I don't know what you call this. Anyway, I was putting my backpack on the inside of that. I mean, I did look like Quasimodo, but nothing got stolen. So, anyway, I'm very pleased with this.
I also have my candy, although far less than what I started out with, because it seems like here, either people don't understand the concept of trading it and they think that people who have it just give it away, or they just want to partake in the peace, love, unity, respect ritual and get a cool thing. So, I'm happy to be generous and give them out to people because I make them for that exact purpose. Although, I'm going to have to ration them a little bit more because otherwise, I'm not going to have any by Sunday, by tomorrow.
So, also super digging the makeup gems look that I did. I tried to match this black with like, um, you know, the bra I have underneath that, and then the belt, and everything. And then the, of course, like sparkly to go with the top. Okay, wait. From here, I think you can actually tell because now you can see this is far lighter than it is darker. So, it just depends on the lighting, and especially at night, and if there's flash. So, well, hopefully, I'll be able to show you later. What else? What else? Oh, yeah. I'm running on 3 hours of sleep because our shuttle did not get back until 4:30, and then the process of taking all of this off took quite a while. Um, and then I couldn't fall asleep because, well, it was like trying to be mourning at that going. So, wish me luck. I'm going to grab some coffee, kick this party into gear, and let's do [Music] [Applause] [Music] this. [Music]
Back at our auto parts bathroom stop, and here is the precious little baby that we met yesterday. Or that... so freaking cute. So lovable. So, I got, uh, that means it does have cheese because I had to ask for it. Which cheese? And some... you know him. Have some good Mexico street food. Love it.
And so begins the long walk from the shuttle, which has to drop us off a little bit far away, to the entrance of the fairgrounds, at which point we walk another like 35 minutes to get in. Now that I've sort of mentioned the foot miles twice, in case you're not picking up what I'm putting down, you will be doing a lot of walking during events like these. I got between 20,000 and 45,000 steps. Yes, 45,000 steps every day. So, word to the wise, don't wear the cute shoes, wear the comfy shoes. You can thank me by subscribing to my channel and then dinging that bell to get notified when I release new videos.
So, this time they actually directed everybody to the other entrance, but now it is a cluster F. Like, nobody's moving anywhere. Glad we got here early when there were fewer people. Yeah, fewer people. Less because I found out later that since they inexplicably closed the main entrance and the event was likely oversold on Saturday night, the crowds got unruly and violent and rushed the gates out of frustration for waiting so long to get in. Wow.
So, I actually think this might be the best time of the festival, like right after the sun goes down. There's a little bit of light. Uh, people aren't too crazy yet. Uh, you know what I mean? And you can still see a lot of stuff. You can still see people's [Music] outfits. One of the things I love the most, people watching here, and just having a good [Music] time.
Okay, so I had actually bought my tickets for EDC before I decided to move back to the US. So, then once I moved back back to the US, I was like, uh, do I really want to buy a hotel, like book a hotel and buy flights and all of that? And then the lineup came out, and in the lineup was Alan Walker. Alan Walker is one of my top favorite DJs ever. [ __ ] with DJ. So, he is playing tonight. That is the thing I care the most about in this entire festival, and I'm so excited to have an absolute blast there. Which, by the way, hi friend Fernando, that's you. Hello. How's it going? Who we met in a when I lived there, and you were letting go to the H. So, we're just going to have such a great time. I'm excited. Are you excited? What said? I'm excited. Are you excited? I'm definitely excited. Definitely. I'll be honest, I typically stick to mainstage, AKA Kinetic Field, which is considered the most mainstream music, but I do try and venture out to hear other artists and see whatever happenings are happening at the festival all throughout the night.
Wow, they're on. How cool. These guys are on. Are these? They're like, oh, I love it. That's really [Music] cool. I wish the camera could capture how, how so pretty this fella is while listening to Benny the Nassi. Woo! Everybody! M! Go! Everybody! Right! [Music] Now! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! [Music] [Applause] Hey! I [ __ ] love you!
The oomph of the lighting effects at these stages is insanity, which is why I wear my suits at night so I can, so I can continue being there dancing. Mostly because these bulbs burn with the intensity of 1,000 watts, and the flashing, and the colors, and the lasers, and all the effects. Goodness, grape juice. See what your hands? Your hands up. Go! Okay, so maybe it sounds a bit dramatic, but I feel like Alan Walker has legitimately changed my life for the better since hearing one of his songs for the first time 8 years ago. There's just something about the sound of his music and the wildly special local artists he collaborates with that create a full-body, goosebump-provoking fusion of his unique musical style of electro-house and lyrics that resonate in a way that make you feel like you're not alone in this world, even in the rough moments. I found myself blasting his music and singing my lungs out when frankly, life sucked, and it got me through. In case you're new to his music, I'll recommend a few of my favorite songs: Heading Home, Play, Alone, Alone Part Two, Lost Control, Lonely World, and his latest release, Who I Am, which I had desperately hoped he'd play live here at EDC Mexico, but he didn't. So, well, twist my arm, I'm traveling to see him this month in Vegas. Wow.
Closing out the night at Kinetic Field is the one, the only, David Guetta. I want some energy! I want some energy! Who was deservedly crowned World's Number One DJ for the fourth time last year. He's been releasing absolute bangers for over 20 years now, and I find it particularly impressive that he has stayed so relevant for all that time. And what I mean is, he stayed true to his style, but also evolved with the times. Although, more realistically, he has evolved music this entire time, and the times are just trying to keep up with David Guetta. He put on an even better show than I was expecting, and I couldn't believe how many memories his songs brought back. And you know what else I couldn't believe? How many people had their phones up during his set. Wow, that just goes to show that his music surpassed his borders and has won over the masses. Thank you so much for the energy. Thank you for the love. This is going to be my last record. I want to see your [Music] energy. Let's go! EDC! I think everyone was riding a high when the night came to a close, which did make the painfully long walk back to the shuttle a bit more bearable.
All right, so it is the final day of EDC, and I am the most dead. I might have a combination of like 7 hours between Friday and Saturday night because each night we've been getting back like, like 4:30, 5:00 a.m. Uh, I definitely did lose my voice, but here's the final outfit. I decided to go with a popping yellow top, uh, and these black pants with a super shimmery, shiny belt. And of course, whatever is left of my candy bracelets. Here again, I don't understand it, but everybody just wants to take. So, I'm going to have to make up a new stockpile for the next festival. But really digging the gems that I have for steaks. It's got some speckling of yellow in there and some extra color. But, um, yeah, I'm pretty much digging it. And again, I'll be taking wherever it is over there, my green coat, because even though I end up carrying it around the entire time, essentially, which is a huge pain in the butt, by the end of the night, it's freezing, freezing, freezing, and I'm thankful for it every time. All right, wish me luck. Let's go.
So, given that it is the last night of EDC, these are the resilient few, slash, mostly new people that I haven't seen on the shuttle before. Here we go. Are our amigos today? And over [Music] here. I carried you all the way only to hear you say, "Here is home for you." I don't know what to do. Guard you all the way only to let you say, "Here is for you." I carried. I carried you. And we start the grand entrance once again.
[Music] [Applause]
Hey, turns out they are checking the tickets two times this time. And with our totem here, feel that was really good about making sure it fit the specifications. But there were a lot of police officers trying to check, and then they, they like, do like this, like hit it down to make sure there's no drugs or something inside of it. I think I, I get it. But there was like a swarm. I don't know. Crazy compared to the first two nights, right? Yes, crazy. A lot of SCS. Jacks. Yesterday was chaotic here. Yeah, really chaotic. At least they have both the points open again. Third time. We're some of the last four, not the only, only four, but we made it in. Pass all the weird security. This night, and we're about to have a good time, right? Oh, yeah. We're going to have a good time.
The vibe of Sunday may have actually been my favorite of the three nights. It was a nice finale after kind of some weirdness Saturday night. There were a bunch of people who got their phones stolen. From my group alone, there was higher than normal crowd aggressiveness. These things do happen at festivals. I don't need to dwell on the negativity of it all. Sunday was filled with even more fun totems. I do always wonder if these are legit memes I don't know about, or inside jokes, or people's random creativity, or what. Big shout out, though, to whoever made the EDC album with actual moving wings because it takes the gold medal for my favorite totem I saw at EDC 2024. And there were also more fun outfits, lots of blow-ups this night. Pikachu!
[Music] [Applause] [Music] Pikachu! How do people who wear these blow-up outfits survive the whole night in there? Also, huge difference between the first two nights is that we got fire effects and pyrotechnics tonight, which is the normal. However, apparently, the pollution in Mexico City was so bad this weekend, EDC was forbidden from doing them prior to now, which honestly was a huge letdown, and the DJs on the previous nights got absolutely robbed of the oomph these extra effects add to their sets. I think that's possibly why we got a little more fancy-dancy than other nights, and I basically decided, lost voice be damned, I'm singing my vocal cords off. I really enjoyed Shlump and Eli Brown. Then Steve Aoki surprised me by both throwing out a kind of bizarre mix-match jumble of music, but also bringing in some live [Music] artists like the famous Ángela Aguilar, who truly has such a stunningly beautiful voice. She is a prodigy. I was so intrigued and delighted when Inna came out in the first place because their styles of music are so different, yet what an amazing fusion. Then closing out the night was the ever-elusive Skrillex on one stage, and a longtime favorite of mine, Armin van Buuren, on the other. Left and right, put those. He is such lyrically timeless music. It gives me goosebumps.
Now, I really hope you stuck around because this was one of the most epic moments. You know how I said they couldn't have pyrotechnics prior to tonight? Well, they always close out the festival with the fireworks show, but I'm not sure if I've ever seen one so long and insane. And I don't think anyone knew where to turn or where to look because it was such a wild 360 show. Wow. They trying to make up for the lack of pyrotechnics in the rest of the festival? We got to shoot them all. Well, everything that got left got shot off. Okay. No, really. Wow. I could be wrong, but it sure as heck seemed like they decided to use every single unused rocket, glitter bomb, and firework effect that they were unable to throw out in the previous nights, but from every single one of the stages at the same time. And it just kept getting more and more and more intense until they had used them all.
[Music] [Applause]
Well, that's a wrap for EDC Mexico 2024. Please subscribe to my channel to see more Mexico lifestyle and travel vlogs. On the screen is the EDC Mexico video I made last year, so you can continue watching until I see you in the next video. Bye for now.