Currently, Mexico is listed has having the third worst Covid death rate, yet festivals like Art With Me were still allowed to go-ahead, and were rumoured to have over 1,200 people in attendance.
Viral videos from the event hosted in November showed unmasked attendees dancing close to one another. After Covid-19 case numbers rose, this caused a backlash that caused Quintana Roo’s governor to issue a state-wide mask mandate, yet the parties were allowed to continue.
Tulum is based in Quintana Roo has one of the lowest death rates when compared to other Mexican states, yet the government has been forced to do a u-turn in the wake of all the press coverage, to show they are taking the pandemic seriously.
Controversy in the DJ community has been rife, leading to questions of ethics relating to anyone who played in Mexico. The same questions were asked of those who played the so called “plague raves” across Europe during the summer of 2020.
Bicep recently shared their opinion about this as part of an interview in The Independent calling the behaviour of any “big DJs” playing raves during the pandemic “absolutely disgusting.”
Various videos have been circulated online of DJs including Solomun, Father & Son, Marco Carola and Solardo, playing to packed crowds in Tulum during the pandemic.
Many of those DJ’s refused to give comment on the videos, with Solardo’s manager reportedly denying they he played one of the events.
In an interview with RA, DJ Snakeman (one half of Father & Son) said: “We were in Ibiza, and as everywhere was closed down, we decided to come to Tulum.” He went on to say, “It was the only place in the world that parties were happening and everything was open.”
Snakeman said he felt safe to perform, because he and his DJ partner both caught the virus in August, so at that point felt they were immune from getting it again. Recent research suggests catching the virus could make you immune for around five months, but it might still be possible to infect others if you become a carrier after getting exposed to the virus again.
Snakeman’s opinion is that those who hadn’t caught the virus should stay home, but doesn’t think it’s a problem for people to attending parties if they considered themselves immune. In the Resident Advisor interview he said, “If the people didn’t have it yet, of course, they have to be careful because the virus can be dangerous, but for my part, I don’t know if it’s necessary to shut down the whole economy.”
DJing is one of the professions hit hardest by the COVID pandemic, and some feel their loss of income helps justify their decision to play at such events. This doesn’t stop it from being controversial and a topic that’s divided the music industry.
H/T: Resident Advisor
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