This weekend Kid Sister and I went to Puebla, Mexico for the MX Beat Festival. We were joined by the one and only Kid Brother, Young Josh (as seen in the “Beeper” video). Josh actually played at the same festival a week prior in Guadalajara with my brother. Confused yet? Good.

This time Josh joined us not only to perform hypeman duties in Melisa’s set but also because it was his birthday! We were sharing the bill with our French homies Yuksek and Brodinski. Yuksek already has some Kid Sister collabos in the works, and FG mainstays Jokers of the Scene have remixed the aforementioned -ski, so the “family affair” angle of this trip couldn’t be more complex.

I flew down a day early, Friday morning. A bad snow storm hit Nueva York in the wee hours and many flights were cancelled, but luckily for me mine was merely delayed. I was asleep at my seat before we took off anyway, so I didn’t mind waiting on the tarmac. Then I had a little scare when I landed in Mexico City and the customs officers told me you’re only allowed to bring in one laptop and I travel with 2. I don’t know what that’s all about but we worked it out and I went to eat some fajitas while waiting for the Young siblings, who were landing a bit after me. I was greeted by our fabulous host Diego and the culinary theme of the weekend started. By a strange twist of fate we also ran into Fool’s Gold soldier Daniel LeDisko (of LA Riots) at the airport.

After Josh & Kid Sis got their fajita fix we got in the van and headed towards Puebla. We got a little dose of Mexico City’s infamous traffic and got to our destination an hour after sound check was supposed to start. That’s OK, apparently that’s how things run in Mexico anyway. We checked the set up in this huge tent plastered in Marlboro ads and their corresponding “Fumar Es Causa De Cancer” signs. Then we went to dinner and that was probably the highlight of the weekend. My brother had given me some very specific instructions, having just been there a few days prior. “You have to try the beef from the North!” “Order lots of queso fundito” etc. Our hosts were happy to help us get our feast on, after which the onslaught of itis was inevitable.

The next day we got some lunch by the pool, where we met our French comrades. They marveled at our pina coladas while we observed their meticulous bangs. We saw a giant grasshopper on the bottom of the pool floor. A volcano-looking mountain in the distance seemed to be emitting a whole lot of smoke. But it didn’t affect us. It was a lovely afternoon. Before long it was time to head over to the festival. Unfortunately the food that awaited us was a bit gnarly. We did a few interviews and we hit the stage. It was a big tent, we must have played for at least 3,000 people. Maybe 5. I don’t know. I played a few tunes to warm the crowd up and Kid Sister came on to show these hombres and chicas how Chicago gets down. After that I did my DJ thang for almost an hour and a half. And then when the clock hit midnight we made a toast for Young Josh! They had cake but no candles. This being a Marlboro-sponsored event, a replacement was soon found.

We spent the rest of the night hanging out with a jet-lagged Yuksek and a surprisingly agile Brodisnki. This kid could be in the circus!

Then they went on and rocked it. We had a ball with those two and the Mexican posse. Cashews were thrown, shots were shared, sartorial tips were exchanged, techno was debated, pizza boxes were frisbee’d and language barriers were broken down.

After an event-filled night, we packed it up and in the morning, headed back to the cold North. Get well soon, Josh. His tummy has seen better days.