Welcome to the weirdest, coolest, yet most gringo thing to ever happen to Miami.
Daybreakers started in New York with a pretty cool concept – instead of going to the gym, why not go to a party before going to work to pump you up for the rest of the day. It got so popular, now they go around the country.
They’ve landed here in Miami and well, things got weird.
By 7:30 a.m. on a Saturday… yes, on a Saturday, I was up and getting ready to drive my Kendall ass all the way to Wynwood’s 1-800-LUCKY for this event. The theme of the day was “Blossoms and Bass” a.k.a. florals. I’m a sucker for theme and don’t really care when or where I look like a dweeb (which is most of the time).
1-800-LUCKY doesn't have that big of a space and at $40 a ticket, about 30 something people showed up and it felt crowded. Right at 9 a.m., como los gringos, they started the one hour session of yoga. Although I am not well-versed in the world of yoga, I felt intimidated by the people around me doing headstands as easily as I squat at the gym. The lady in charge was soothing, kind, and even went around giving everyone a 10 second neck massage when we were laying on the ground.
After the yoga session, it was time to dance. Literally, no alcohol or nighttime, just a dance party at 10 a.m.
It was a little awkward not going to lie when the music started. I mean it was that gringo kind of music, the tiki tiki kind. Where you can really only two step for so long. Like at one point, the DJ kept yelling “Miami are you ready?!” like if he was in Ultra and when the beat would drop it was still the same exact song that had been playing all morning long. After a while, I just kind of numbed it out.
Ironically though, the music was also the best part.
Because the beat stayed the same the whole time, it made way for the live instruments. Alexander Coombs (@c00mbs_) and Anthony Armas (@tony_trombone) played their life away on the trumpets – and on no sleep, I later learned. Franda Fuentes (@frandafuentes) played the Doumbek, think of a cooler version of a bongo.
Without the three of them, Daybreaker wouldn’t have been the same.
For the most part, the rest of the event was just one weird dance session. Some dude dressed up in a fat suit, a panda head kept going around, some girl had butterfly wings attached to her outfit and someone brought their Chihuahua. Their freaking dog!
Since Miami has been unbearably hot and humid again, this made for a very sweaty dance party. Again, because the music didn’t really stray from the EDM beat, it’s not like people were bumping and grinding either. You were sweaty on your own accord.
The morning finished off with a meditation session. They gave each of us a card that read:
"In the end, just three things matter: How well we have lived. How well we have loved. How well we have learned to let go. - Jack Kornfield"
I got a ticket at my car, but because I didn’t pay for parking. Other than that, it really was the strangest and most spectacular thing I’ve ever seen! Very different from usual Miami culture and proof that Wynwood can hold all kinds of events (El Patio was patiently waiting next door, but we’ll leave that for Sundays).