It was just after noon on a Sunday in Los Angeles, and inside Oaxacan restaurant Guelaguetza a crowd of nearly 50 people were dancing to El Alfa\u2019s \u201c4K,\u201d coffees in hand, under an outdoor canopy draped with colorful papel picado. They crouched down to perrear in their friend groups and swayed their hands to the Caribbean rhythms. As people continued to trickle in, the DJ continued to spin essential reggaet\u00f3n and dembow songs such as \u201cPa\u2019 Que Retozen,\u201d \u201cRompe,\u201d \u201cDe Carolina,\u201d \u201cNuevaYol,\u201d \u201cTu Sicaria\u201d and more.<\/p>\n
At the front of the space was Allie Ramirez, a.k.a. Allierockk: DJ and host of a day party called \u201cCaf\u00e9 con Allie,\u201d which takes place two Sundays per month. There, dozens of people gather to start their day by sipping coffee while dancing to reggaeton and hip-hop.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s so much going on in the world that I want to create a safe space where we can have fun and obviously not forget about everything, but just be here, be present and have a good time,\u201d Ramirez said. \u201cI just want everyone to leave feeling good.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
John Loza has a toast with friends.<\/p>\n
(Jill Connelly \/ For De Los)<\/p>\n
Caf\u00e9 con Allie is one of many coffee shop day parties that have emerged this summer to support local coffee shops, give people a fun way to start their day and provide a sober experience for participants. Similar events have also taken place across California, New York, Arizona, Florida and more. These events typically happen in the morning or afternoon, involve a DJ, dancing and lots of coffee.<\/p>\n
Ramirez said that Caf\u00e9 con Allie originally started last April at La Chula Cafe in Pasadena, but as regular attendance swelled beyond the space\u2019s capacity, she had to move the event to Guelaguetza, a family-owned restaurant in Koreatown. She said that the event has fostered community among many people who regularly attend \u2014 although some people may come alone, they\u2019re bound to find friends within the crowd.<\/p>\n
In addition to giving people a fun way to start their day, Ramirez said that she was motivated to start Caf\u00e9 con Allie because she wanted people to feel comfortable dancing while being sober, as she herself doesn\u2019t drink much. While alcohol was an option at the event, most people opted for a curated menu of coffee with homemade horchata, churro or matcha flavors by La Chula Caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people are yearning for community, and I want to provide a community where it\u2019s like, \u2018Hey, you don\u2019t really need alcohol,\u2019\u201d Ramirez said. \u201cWe wanted to create a sober experience and let them know you could still have fun and you can still make friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Left to right: Monica Robertson, David Chavez and Crystal Nunez dance and drink coffee at Caf\u00e9 con Allie.<\/p>\n
(Jill Connelly \/ For De Los)<\/p>\n
Cindy Alvarado, who owns La Chula Cafe with her family, said that the parties have helped her coffee business grow. She also said the events motivate and uplift the Latino community by bringing people together through common experiences, like enjoying a cafecito with their elders and dancing to vibrant music.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s on a Sunday so you start off your week a little bit more motivated, having a little bit more fun, especially because people get caffeinated, it\u2019s like a burst of energy without having any alcohol,\u201d Alvarado said.<\/p>\n
Sarah Bustillo and Rebecca Ballesteros, who attended the latest Caf\u00e9 con Allie together, found the event when searching for reggaet\u00f3n dance parties \u2014 more specifically, to celebrate the last day of summer. They both said they felt ready to take on the Monday after.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d be hella awake if I went to work after this,\u201d Ballesteros said. \u201cI\u2019d be like, \u2018I already danced my heart out and had some coffee. Let\u2019s start the day!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn Navarro found out about Caf\u00e9 con Allie because she and her sister are coffee connoisseurs. Ramirez also happens to be one of her sister\u2019s favorite DJs, so she felt like there was no better way to merge their two interests. The latest Caf\u00e9 con Allie was her third time attending; Navarro said she keeps coming back because she likes Allie\u2019s friendly and welcoming vibe, as well as the delicious coffee.<\/p>\n
Navarro also said she feels this event is uplifting Latino culture \u2014 especially during a time when, especially here in Los Angeles, masked ICE agents are threatening our communities with arrests.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Daisy Nunez is served a latte courtesy of La Chula Caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n
(Jill Connelly \/ For De Los)<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a lot of stuff happening in the courts,\u201d Navarro said. \u201cThis creates a safe space for everyone to come together, and not forget about what\u2019s happening, but get away from it and just enjoy each other\u2019s company with coffee. Dancing, music and food [are] universal languages.\u201d<\/p>\n
As \u201cLa Botella\u201d played, Ramirez encouraged everyone to raise their coffees. By the end, members of the audience formed a circle and danced around Ramirez as the Caf\u00e9 con Allie concluded. Some people left knowing they would be back at the next one.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome people go to church on Sundays, other people come to dance and have coffee here with us,\u201d Ramirez added. \u201cI think how it uplifts Latino culture in general is that if people look at us, they see us, and they are inspired.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was just after noon on a Sunday in Los Angeles, and inside Oaxacan restaurant Guelaguetza a crowd…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":253752,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,133970,276,15713,718,27488,133971,29832,133972,11660,2961,133973,224,5337,7088,3546,6566,117173,133969,783],"class_list":{"0":"post-253751","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-cafe-con-allie","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-coffee","12":"tag-community","13":"tag-dancing","14":"tag-day-party","15":"tag-dj","16":"tag-evelyn-navarro","17":"tag-fun","18":"tag-la","19":"tag-la-chula-cafe","20":"tag-los-angeles","21":"tag-losangeles","22":"tag-lot","23":"tag-people","24":"tag-place","25":"tag-ramirez","26":"tag-similar-event","27":"tag-space"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115265333547733441","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253751","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253751"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253751\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253751"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}