Reporting by Bryan Fragoso. Above a photo of Reno local Moreno Loco getting a crowd going.
For those who enjoy high energy, lively dancing with a dembow beat, with the DJ blending bachata, salsa and merengue into electronic beats, a reggaeton party is scheduled for December 27th at LEX Nightclub, while The Alpine is having its own reggaeton special on December 20th.
How did this vibrant mix blending Jamaican dancehall, electronica, hip-hop and Caribbean rhythms gain a foothold across the world including here in Reno?
Alan Garcia, or Alan Geezy, is a born and raised reggaeton artist from Reno, who always admired the genre, ever since he was a kid.
Growing up in a Hispanic household helped Garcia get a fast liking for the genre. As time went by reggaeton started becoming a part of his identity.
Listening to artists from Colombia like Kevin Roldan, Gaviria, and Golpe a Golpe is what Garcia says helped him get inspired and start his own career as a reggaeton artist.
Alan Geezy and Gaviria are now collaborators.
He started his career by recording sample songs and sending them to artists from Colombia, which eventually landed him a collaboration with one of his favorites reggaetoneros– Gaviria. This involved him going to Colombia with no guarantees it would lead to anything else substantial.
Since then, though, he has collaborated with other artists and is working towards consolidating himself as a well-known reggaeton artist.
“I sent them some music samples showing them what I could do, and it was Gaviria who gave me a chance to collaborate,” he remembers. “Yes, I took a risk to fly out to Colombia; I took that challenge and yes– it was scary but I am blessed for having that opportunity to work with someone that I look up to and someone that has worked with other artist that I look up to as well, it was a life changing experience that I recommend other artists to do.”
Reggaeton wasn’t as popular as it was today when Garcia was growing up– yet he was able to identify a rhythm that resonated with his own DNA. “When I was growing up, EDM and hip-hop is what resonated with other people, not much reggaeton, but it's everywhere now. It's crazy to know that I am now part of the industry, and I just want to continue to grow, I want to put Reno on the map.”
Gaviria who helped with his ascension is a reggaeton artist from one the music’s main hubs, Colombia’s second largest city Medellin, with over 125k monthly listeners on Spotify.
Ever since he signed his first contract with ‘Kapital Music’, he knew that reggaeton would be his profession, and since then he has worked with numerous artists that have shaped his own identity in his reggaeton career. “If I like the vibe or tone of the beat, I can flow easily. When I started working with other artists like Dayme y El High or Jowell y Randy, my vision of music changed. I couldn't believe it; I was working with some of my biggest inspirations,” he said of his own growth.
Gaviria believes that reggaeton will keep expanding because of mainstream platforms now pushing this type of music. “I think reggaeton will continue to globalize. There will definitely be different interpretations (of the reggaeton genre) and it might take out some identity, but I think that's a good thing–everyone will come out with their own thing, making it impossible for the genre to die,” he said.
Although Gaviria didn't know of Reno, he was surprised to see how much reach his music has had. “Of course, it’ll be awesome to perform my first USA concert in Reno,” Gaviria said when asked if he’d ever like to perform here.
Another local reggaeton artist Jason Núñez is known as ‘Moreno Loco.’ After moving from Las Vegas just over a year ago, Núñez was drawn by Reno’s rapid, grassroots embrace of reggaeton. He’s had three shows already locally, he says, with the next one coming up in February at The Alpine.
“I know how to move people,” he said. “What I like the most about reggaeton is the rhythm. I like to move the crowd. I like to give attention to the crowd. You have to know the audience that is in front of you, and by bringing my own Caribbean culture, I want people to identify with my music.”
He says Reno is becoming its own hotbed of the genre. “Jefe’s and Jupiter Red are some of the clubs where reggaeton can go on for the whole night. Reno is a small place but with a lot of people,” he said. “Everyone knows what reggaeton is now. Everyone knows who Bad Bunny is. They might not know the lyrics, but they know it’s reggaeton.”
He says he’s eager to finding a new style which synchs up perfectly with the energy of the Biggest Little City. From Medellín to Reno, the rhythm doesn't just arrive; it adapts and reshapes every new city that dares to claim it.
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