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It's New York and it's winter; there's
snow on the ground and it's three am on
Monday morning. Question: who in their
right mind is going out in this weather?
Answer: every member of the Alegria
Tribe.
The Sunday night of the holiday weekend
was Alegria Tribal, and as soon as we
walked into Pacha, we saw majordomo
Nestor smiling wide. "You look happy,"
we said, to which he replied, "Alegria
always makes me happy."
There it was: the sentiment of the
evening. Alegria Tribal is Ric Sena's
annual tribute to all things tribal, and
this year, Sena had the King of Tribal,
Paulo, serving righteous beats, followed
by Eddie Elias, New York's latest
after-hours king. All night long, tribal
boys packed the floor, working their
moneymakers, their hands in the air,
while following the lead of a quartet of
bodacious Zulu go-go boys pounding the
stage.
Paulo was on a tribal tear, in a "New
York tribal state of mind," as he said,
laying down personalized mixes like
"Vogue in the Dark" and his "Possessed
in Your Possession" mash-up that had the
boys bouncing off the walls and on the
couches. "Werk us, goddamit," shouted
one of the Paulo Tribal Heads, which had
convened around and in the booth,
generating good love from which Paulo
fed.
While generally considered the Lord of
the Drums, Paulo has also pointed out
that it is "vocals which are the
backbone" of his every set - and there
was no question that Paulo's music on
Monday morning was as lyrically
provocative as it was pelvic and
propulsive, as evinced with his "I Have
a Dream" mash-up, in honor of Martin
Luther King, Jr. "U are turning it,"
texted one tribe member. "I live."
There's always something so wonderful
about seeing so many boys having so much
fun. Recently, we spoke with the mother
of an adolescent son who's being
bullied, and we told her about the "It
Gets Better Project" - but maybe we also
should have told her about Alegria. For
there are moments during Alegria when
you look around - and upon witnessing so
many happy boys, you realize that, yes,
life does get better. It gets better
when you learn how to live and love
yourself and be happy.
And what's not to love about such
contagious, infectious music? With
lights by Stephen Wyker and a stellar
sound system, the legendary Alegria
sound is recognizable - and yet always
mutating. One of the more fascinating
qualities behind Alegria's longevity is
how each deejay comes to the party and
shapes the well-known Alegria sound into
something personally unique and yet
still recognizable.
Nurse Chris was there, cavorting with
the O-vahness Clan, including Brian,
Sergio, and Jenna, as was Beth Sara, and
Betto and Jonathan, and Andrew, and Tres
Ness, and Nicky, and Tod and Gorm, and
Adam K, and Adam W. with Russell Roybal,
and Guillermo, and Gerald Equality
Taylor, and a beaming VIP bartender,
Trevor, and a surfeit of supportive
deejays, including Escape, and Eddie
Martinez, and Philip Kimball. "Do you
think I look tribal?" asked one smiling
boy. Nearly naked with an ivory tusk and
a bouncing booty, that spells tribal for
us.
And when Eddie Elias took over at six
am, laying down a rhythmically complex
and soulful set that sustained and built
upon what Paulo had created, Alegria
proved yet again that this party is all
about the music. "Give me the music and
a floor, and I'm in heaven," said one
boy.
How fitting then that Alegria Tribal was
in the very room where Alegria first
found its home as a tribe: the erstwhile
Sound Factory, now Pacha. For as much as
this party was Tribal, it was also
Alegria doing what it does best: serving
up the sexy, dirty tribal house music
for the people who love and feel it.
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