This weekend ASUNM Student Special Events (SSE) will be hosting its annual Fiestas, an all-day outdoor concert on Saturday starting at 1 p.m.
ASUNM puts on an event every year to celebrate the home stretch of the semester and give students a chance to relax before heading into finals.
Throughout the year, SSE has been asking students what they want at Fiestas this year. With student input, SSE decided to bring in Brother Ali for this year's headliner, with special appearances by Louis Futon, The Bright Light Social Hour, Jared & The Mill, Red Light Cameras, Luna Aura, The Riddims, Baracutanga, MountainHead and Akelli and Orion.
“We booked a more socially conscious headliner. Brother Ali raps about positive politics, he provides a more positive environment,” said SSE Executive Director Marshall Broyles.
Promotions Director Chance Hoover said the agency sought to bring variety to Fiestas, in an effort to make the entire day as fun as the headliner.
“I wanted to switch it up. It is a diverse community, a diverse artist and diverse sets. Not only do we have rap but we have world music in general, Latin, rock, reggae. Fiestas, in my eyes is all about diversity, it's not just one fiesta it's the Fiestas,” Hoover said.
Broyles said this year SSE got many requests from students asking for something other than an EDM headliner.
"So we brought Brother Ali, a hip-hop artist,” said Broyles
With last year’s Fiestas attracting more than 10,000 people, the largest turnout at the event since it began in the '60s, SSE is preparing for a large crowd and guaranteeing safety for everyone attending.
To that effort, security will be doubled to ensure safety for everyone attending the event, Broyles said. Upon entry, there will be bag checks and breathalyzers.
There will also be a six-foot tall fence around Johnson Field, with security in parking lots as well as throughout the festival, he said.
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“We want to have fun, but we want to have fun in a safe way,” Hoover said.
Fiestas will be free for UNM students, as funding is provided via student fees.
“The Fiestas are for the students by the students. When students pay for their student fees, part of that money goes to ASUNM agencies and so part of that goes to SSE,” Broyles said.
He said he hopes the event keeps students in good spirits with the end of the semester looming.
“Basically we organize Fiestas to allow an opportunity for students to kick back and take a break from all their schoolwork,” Broyles said. “What better way to do that than with great and diverse music, a rock wall, mechanical bull, human hamster balls along with food trucks and student organization booths?”
Denicia Aragon is a staff reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com on Twitter @DailyLobo.
