Photo Credit: Katarina Cvetko
The world’s premier electronic music event has made its way around the globe across 20 countries in 6 continents and ended its journey in Mexico City last weekend. The second annual edition of Ultra Mexico officially concluded the Ultra Worldwide tour for 2018 and brought the biggest names in the world to celebrate. Ultra Mexico marked my fourth festival in Mexico this year and it’s no wonder the country keeps drawing back an international crowd. Although the weather caused some delays and schedule changes, Mexico knows how to keep a party going and this weekend definitely lived up to its expectations. Here are my favourite moments from Ultra Mexico 2018.
SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA CONFIRMED
All eyes were on the headlining acts Steve Angello and Axwell /\ Ingrosso this weekend as the suspense for a Swedish House Mafia show continues to build. Although Ingrosso was unable to attend, both Steve Angello and Axwell played incredibly powerful solo sets on the Ultra main stage. Both artists also confirmed multiple times throughout their sets that Swedish House Mafia will be “returning to Mexico City in 2019 to Save The World!”.
THE INTERMISSION
One of my favourite things about the Mexican crowd is their ability to make even the most awkward of silences entertaining. The brief set changes on the main stage made for the perfect opportunity for the crowd to chant anything and everything. My favourite moment, in particular, was the classic ‘Puto Chant’ as the crowd waited for Armin van Buuren to take to the stage.
ARMIN VAN BUUREN
Having seen Armin van Buuren perform in Mexico earlier this year, I was anticipating one of the most insane sets of the entire weekend and he definitely delivered! The Mexican crowd has a strong admiration for the king of trance, with the entire rail lined with fans and hand held signs. Armin van Buuren closed out the main stage on day one of the festival with one of the most energetic sets I have ever seen! The entire crowd went absolutely wild and continued to chant his name as he exited the stage.
GUD VIBRATIONS
I kicked off day two with Nghtmre and Slander’s Gud Vibrations set on the main stage. The trio came together to bring their Gud Vibes down to Mexico City and gave the crowd a taste of their North American style. Their set filled with their unique sound and iconic tracks left the Mexican crowd feeling ‘gud’ all round.
THE END SHOW
No festival is complete without an end show and Ultra Mexico definitely delivered! Both Armin van Buuren and Axwell closed out the festival on Saturday and Sunday respectively and went out with a bang (literally). Fireworks filled the entire sky during the final minutes of the closing sets, ending the second annual edition of Ultra Mexico perfectly.
Overall, Mexico remains as one of my favourite festival destinations in the world and Ultra Mexico definitely lived up to the hype. The combination of great music and good vibes made for the perfect weekend getaway and I can’t wait to see the Mexican edition of Ultra Worldwide continue to grow.