Tropicaza bringing the underground house scene to Santa Ana
By day, Oscar Osorio is a process server who works in attorney services, but by night, he is a DJ and cofounder of Tropicaza, a house music day party that occurs once a month in Santa Ana. He and his team curated a safe space and good vibes for all the attendees.
Tropicaza is an open-air house music event. Osorio and his team pride themselves on being able to create a safe space where they don’t tolerate any drama. In a previous Instagram story, it was made clear by the Tropicaza team that you should “Come correct or don’t come at all.”
“There have been times when there have been fools who don’t know where the fuck they’re at; it’s not your typical party where you can act or talk to people a certain way,” Osorio says. “When you go to other events, people will entertain that, and they’ll get rowdy, and people start pushing, but we’re not gonna tolerate that; you’re just gonna get kicked out; like, what’s the point?”
Osorio and the other Tropicaza co-founders started Tropicaza back in 2020 on the balcony of Mission Control on Fifth Street in DTSA. The first event took place on what was supposed to be a slow night for the barcade that eventually turned into a packed night with the manager behind the bar helping serve drinks.
“I remember he had told his staff it’s gonna be a slow night, don’t worry about it, it’s gonna be chill, then by the end of the night, it got pretty packed, and he was behind the bar serving drinks and shit it was funny,” said Osorio.
After that night, they continued to host events on the balcony. They eventually moved downstairs to the patio and now to 701 Restaurant and Bar, where they began hosting the event early this year.
Although they seem to have found a rhythm that works for them, the Tropicaza team is not afraid to try different things or to mix things up a bit. This mindset led them to move Tropicaza to 701 and to create Sin Luz, Tropicaza’s sister event.
Osorio says, “After two years, we wanted to do something new, something different; we owe it to our attendees to change it up because, after a while, the same thing gets boring. So it’s good to try new things and not just be dependent on just one venue.”
Sin Luz is a night event that also occurs in DTSA that brings a different vibe to the Tropicaza crowd. They wanted to keep both events separate because they didn’t want to confuse the attendees.
“Sin Luz is a faster tempo, and you can play whatever you want, as long as it fits the vibe of the party,” said Osorio
The upcoming Tropicaza event is a collaboration with Schadeifornia, a party in LA hosted by DJ Schade.
“The upcoming event is a collab with Schade and his brand, Schadeifornia. He’s been doing his event in LA, and he’s been killing it… He’s been coming to our events for the past couple of months; we eventually got to talking, then he asked if I would be down to have Schadeifornia here, and I was like, ‘Fuck Yeah,’ that’s gonna happen on the 25th. I’m super excited for that,” says Osorio
The Tropicaza team also takes pride in how they curate their lineup. They do not try to book only the most popular DJs; they only book DJs they think would be worth playing at their events.
“We have to like your music to book you; it’s not even being snobby; we’re not just gonna book anybody…I would prefer to know who you are and have a conversation with you rather than hit up a random just because you have a shitload of followers and a poppin’ social media. I just feel like it’s more genuine that way,” said Osorio
Although performing at Tropicaza is a great opportunity for up-and-coming DJs, it might be everyone’s cup of tea.
“Some people might think we don’t fuck with them just because we don’t book them, but it all comes with time…The advice I would give to anybody is to get to know the people at the parties you want to play at, if it’s even your vibe,” says Osorio
- Tropicaza bringing the underground house scene to Santa Ana - November 24, 2023
- More than a record label: Happy Daps is building a community - October 18, 2023
- Soulja Boy tell ‘em how the show went - October 3, 2023