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Final thoughts on Pachanga Fest
“I’m tickled with the turnout,” Pachanga Latin Music Festival organizer Rich Garza said Monday. “So is Alex.” Alex is Alex Vallejo, Garza’s partner for the festival, which drew about 3,600 fans to Fiesta Gardens on Saturday. The festival, marking its second year, kicked off at noon, and plenty of parents with kids could be seen noshing on Brazilian barbecue or hanging out at the “Niños” tent.
Garza was especially pleased with the location’s layout — a footbridge divides the park in half and prevented sound bleed from one end to the other. This worked brilliantly for the headliners. “The fact that we had Mexican Institute of Sound and Michael Salgado at the same time and that there were so many people walking back and forth between the two was really trippy and fun,” Garza said. “… I was kind of thrilled with the way that sort of completed the circle, balancing the traditional with the alternative.”
The biggest concern was parking; no large lots were available and everyone parked on the street. Parking would have become a problem if turnout had been much higher. “There was a lot of concern about parking and quite honestly I haven’t heard complaints, from either patrons or the neighborhood,” Garza said. “It seemed to work out OK, but we will be talking to the parks department about how to do things next year.”
There are definite plans for the festival to return; Garza said he hopes to Fiesta Gardens: “If they have us, we’d love to do it. But I think we definitely turned the corner this year.”
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Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Pachanga Fest
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By The Dude
June 2, 2009 2:59 PM | Link to this
VIVA LA GARZA!!!