Bands, vendors, student organizations, students, staff, faculty and community members gathered on Feb. 21 in the Ballroom on the Edinburg campus for Pulse Magazine’s first-ever festival. The Årti Festival featured four local bands, “Honey Flowers,” “Wist,” “Yruama,” and “TV Flesh,” and included an eco-friendly fashion show. A total of 26 models walked the runway wearing thrifted clothing and items from two local shops, Ragz Revenge in McAllen and Lazarus Vintage in Brownsville. It was a full house, marking the event as a total success for the student magazine. I attempted to capture the behind-the-scene moments as well as the events happening publicly.
Paolo Santiago, also known by his stage name Paolo Honey, and his band “Honey Flowers” perform during Pulse Festival Feb. 21 in the Ballroom on the Edinburg campus. “Honey Flowers” was the first band to play during the festival and its setlist included five original songs and one cover. Santiago said the band came together around April or May 2019 but didn’t officially become a band until December 2019. Apart from singing during the event, Santiago also modeled for the 2020+ era in the fashion show. “Being a model in the show was amazing enough, as I had never done that before,” Santiago said. “Lovette’s belief in us and her choosing our fashion over our looks was an amazing statement to make. I was already excited to model but then, being able to play was so exciting ’cause the show became a platform for me to showcase the music I wrote.”
Lovette Mai Sañez (left) and Amaury Lopez play during “Yruama’s” set at Pulse Festival 2020 Feb. 21 in the Ballroom on the Edinburg campus. Sañez, social media/online editor for Pulse Magazine, organized the festival and fashion show. She said the event felt like a dream. “It’s weird how you can think of something in your head and make it come to life,” Sañez said. “I love that. It definitely encouraged me to throw another one next spring. … It’s, just, a beautiful, addicting feeling and I’m so happy I got to see a lot of people come out and enjoy it themselves. Whether it was the models, bands or audience members.” If she had to describe the event in one word, Sañez said it was between, “hopeful” or “dreamy.”
Samantha Garza hesitantly sits on the restroom floor while taking a break from getting ready for the show to conduct an interview for her news story Feb. 21. Garza is the Vaquero Radio news director and put together a story on the San Diego Marine Corps Band which played in the PlainsCapital Bank Student Union Theatre. She said her interview was a little rocky because many distractions occurred that led her to lose her train of thought.
Caleb Villalobos plays the drums during Pulse Festival 2020 on Feb. 21 in the Ballroom on the Edinburg campus. Villalobos, who has been a drummer for six years, plays drums for the three-man band “Wist,” which also goes by the name of “Bison Boys.” “Wist” was the second band to take the stage and played six original songs. The songs it played are titled, “Dia,” “Sick Song,” “Ode to Emo,” “How the Cuckoo Came to Be,” Narcikiss,” and “Goona Goona.” The drummer said he thought the fashion show was great and that “it’s always a nice thing to see groups of people express themselves.”
Tex Jimenez sets up his booth during Pulse Fest 2020 Feb. 21 in the Ballroom on the Edinburg campus. Jimenez is the owner of “Lazarus Vintage,” a shop that focuses on reviving, reworking and selling vintage clothing items in Brownsville. The models borrowed clothes to wear for their first look from the shop and used the items to portray their designated era. “I was a ball of nerves, for sure,” Jimenez said. “This was my first time bringing complete outfits to share. But since a portion of my inventory, as a vintage seller, consists of items I’ve reworked and redyed, it felt like a necessary step to fill them out with layers and have people see them worn.”
Gaby Gonzalez browses through a rack of thrifted clothing the Environmental Awareness Club’s booth offered during Pulse Festival 2020 on Feb. 21 in the Ballroom on the Edinburg campus. Gonzalez is a writer at Pulse Magazine who also participated by modeling clothing inspired by the 1990s. “The event was really neat and I’m glad to see how everything turned out,” Gonzalez said. “There was good feedback about the uniqueness of the show and I was glad to be a part of it and hope Pulse can continue hosting events like this in the future.” She said her favorite part was seeing how empowering everyone in the show was toward one another and how she discovered an interest for clothes and fashion.
Pulse Editor-in-Chief Patricia Ramon helps model Neida Alcantar safety pin her pants before the show starts. Alcantar said she did not expect her pants to fit so big and that she should have tried them on before the day she walked the runway. Alcantar was one of eight models who showcased the 2000/2010s fashion. Her favorite look was inspired by punk-rock singer Avril Lavigne’s music video for the 2002 hit song “Sk8er Boi.” “I felt really confident in it and I felt hot,” Alcantar said with a smile.
2000s model Valerie Jackson helps 2020+ model Grecia Alvarez curl her hair. Jackson said the cool thing about curling hair that’s already naturally curly is the volume it adds. For her first look, Jackson rocked an Ed Hardy shirt and olive green pants. However, she said her favorite look was “the Clueless one for sure.” Jackson wore a baby blue cardigan, green, black and grey plaid skirt and accessorized with a black Juicy Couture velour purse.
Models Stephanie Manzanares (left) and Karla Cavazos apply the finishing touches to their makeup before moving on to their hair in the restrooms inside the Ballroom on the Edinburg campus. The two walked the runway wearing clothing inspired by the fads during the 1960s and 1970s. Manzanares’ outfits consisted of earthy tones such as yellow, brown and orange while Cavazos took a different approach and chose outfits with white, lime green and bright red.
Model Hania Rocio takes a peek from backstage to count the number of people in attendance moments before the first model walked the runway. Rocio modeled for the 2000s era and styled multiple statement pieces. Some of those pieces included streaks of blue hair, bedazzled chunky sneakers, colorful faux-fur coat and pink makeup. “I was really nervous at first and I didn’t expect a lot of people to come,” Rocio said. “However, seeing so many people gather together made me happy. I hope we can make another fashion show soon so we can spread the art of fashion to UTRGV students.”
Jacqueline Peraza 