Students have blast at Fiestas

It’s unclear how many people attended this year’s Fiestas. But whatever the headcount was, the place was packed. 

On Saturday, Johnson Field played host to the annual Fiestas music festival. Eight performers took the stage from one o'clock to just after 9 p.m. The headliner was Ookay aka Abraham Laguna, a Los Angeles based DJ. The event is partially funded by the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico, who allocate a portion of student fees to student organizations.  

ASUNM dolled out about $83,000 to SSE for Fiestas this year, according to the Student Governing Accountant Office. That is down from last year’s total of about $99,000. 

The eight acts at this year's Fiestas were Sex on TV, Basic Vertigo, Red Light Cameras, The Millennial Club, DJ Gemini, Jandro, Boogie and Ookay. Rapper, Jandro and hard rock band Red Light Cameras are both local acts from Albuquerque. 

The event is put on by the Student Special Events, a student service agency of the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico. 

During at least two sets, members of the crowd began moshing. During Jandro’s set, which began at 5:30 p.m., several members of the crowd began shoving and pushing each other in the middle of the crowd. Eventually, members of Jandro’s entourage, after encouraging the mosh, asked the crowd to stop. His set was also cut short for unspecified reasons. 

The final act of the night, Ookay, drew the largest crowd. Thousands of bodies crowded the stage and the area around it. The energy the Los Angeles DJ brought with his tracks kept the energy of the crowd extremely high, even though many had been there the entire time. 

He ended his set by inviting the crowd to sing the famous Queen song "We Are The Champions." Afterwards, the thousands in attendance slowly dispersed, some just as energized as the moment they walked in while others trudged with exhausted faces.

Justin Garcia is a staff reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers student government. He can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Just516garc.