Latin America. Located in the heart of Cancun's hotel zone, The City opened in 2004 and is now well established as one of the most popular nightclubs. For the past eight years, it has been managed by Grupo AntroMex, Mexico's largest nightly entertainment company, which operates around 80 nightclubs, bars and restaurants across the country.
Alejandro Vázquez is the Production Director of Grupo AntroMex and has overall responsibility for the production of audio, video and lighting at all locations in the company. Their job is to stay on top of the latest trends in equipment, evaluate new products, and ensure that all Grupo AntroMex venues, especially its flagship nightclub, the City of Cancun, stay at the forefront of entertainment technology.
The light show at The City Cancun is built around a vast structure of armor that Alejandro describes as a "spider," because it has eight legs that extend from a central pair of circles with all the ability to descend like a spider descending on its web. This was on-site when Grupo AntroMex took over the operation of the club and, although it describes it as "old and rusty looking", Alejandro liked the concept and considered it worthy of preservation. They decided to revamp the structure and add LED video panels and new moving head beam accessories.
After evaluating a variety of options, ADJ's Vizi Beam 5RX was selected by Grupo AntroMex for the club. 90 of the fixtures are installed on the ceiling, predominantly on the "spider" platform, with an additional 40 units located in static armor structures running along the sides of the venue and around the stage. Powered by the revolutionary Philips Platinum 5R 189W lamp, which offers performance comparable to that of a standard 575W discharge lamp, the device generates an intense beam with an angle of 5 degrees, ideal for generating incredible effects in the air when deployed in such large quantities. .
Due to Mexico's tropical climate, the club has previously experienced problems with accessory failures due to high humidity and therefore the reliability of the Vizi Beam 5RX was as important to Alejandro as its impressive performance. "It has a very powerful beam and has also worked very well despite the humidity," he explains. "Here in Cancun, we have a lot of humidity and that can be a big problem, but the ADJ team is very good. Their quality control is high and the accessories are performing well withstanding the most adverse operating conditions in the market. We have conducted comparison tests with other brands and ADJ has proven to be the best choice for this type of climate, in addition to the great effects and quality of the product. Maintaining this monstrosity of a lighting platform is a logistical challenge in the service area, but we received excellent support from ADJ Mexico and have had absolutely no problems with inventory."
Eight Vizi Beam 5RX are molded to the central circular armor, with 16 additional units separated around the outer circle. This creates a focal point in the center of the huge space, directly above the main dance floor, and allows for impressive circular sweeping movements. In addition, five more accessories are hung from each of the eight "leg" frames, and even more units are rigged to separate triangular frame structures at each corner of the ceiling. This translates into a ceiling full of beams that project from all angles, which, when combined with the additional fixtures on the side of the room and around the stage, makes it a truly fascinating light show.
This is something that Alejandro feels is immensely important to the success of the whole place. "The light show is the most important thing at the club," he says. "I think that although it pains me to say it, it's more important than music! The atmosphere you create with lighting, you can't create with any other effect. People come to witness the spectacle that is this place and the spectacle that is the lighting, which is programmed by one of the best lighting programmers in Mexico, Gerardo 'Jerry' Rodríguez, who works for us in the house."
As a Resident of Lighting Programmer, Gerardo's job is to use the club's immense lighting and video platform to create a world-class light show; the reason why many tourists pack the place every time it opens. He takes this responsibility very seriously, constantly working to maintain the program when creating new programs. During the day he works from home, using a visualizer, dreaming of new effects. Their nights are spent in the club activating the most appropriate programs to match the music played by resident DJs and visiting artists.
Having worked at The City Cancun since its opening, Gerardo has seen the evolution of the club's music policy. "I've been here through many stages... Tiesto and Paul van at the height of their popularity, but also Akon, Snoop Dogg, Black Eyed Peas, Natalie Cole... the list is endless. MTV and TeleHit also used to host music festivals every year, it's an amazing place to work! "
With over 25 years of experience in the industry, working in Puerto Vallarta and Mexico City before coming to Cancun for the opening of The City, Gerardo has a wealth of experience in using a wide variety of lighting fixtures from all leading manufacturers. This means you know exactly what you want from a moving head and are extremely satisfied with the performance of the Vizi Beam 5RX.
