We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jimena Nacht a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jimena, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Back in the day when I started working and promoting festivals and parties it was heartbreaking to see the amount of waste this industry can make. Also I was noticing a lot of unsafeness specially being a women. So, I was like: I need to make a difference.

My mission is to co-create safe event/party environments where people can embrace their own authentic selves while leaving zero trace behind. Also, to keep on growing our community of rainbow warriors and change makers. We are all dual beings, we all have dark and light within us, feminine and masculine energies, so I feel like The Gathering is a perfect example and a safe place where we can embrace all that.

For me it is also truly important to educate people about bringing their own water bottle or cup when they’re out at a festival or a party. You can always find free water at our gatherings.

Jimena, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was born up north in México, in Ensenada, but I grew up most of my life in Cancún, then my family and I moved to Puerto Vallarta when I was 17. Since I have memory, I was always the one in my group of friends who would organize little gatherings or trips or happenings in my school or outside of it.

Back in 2016 I worked at BPM for the first time (came back in 2017) and I remember since day one, I was like: this is my dream, I want to create my own music festival.
That year I travelled to Vancouver, I fell in love with the city and I decided to stay and live there. It was not until 2018 where I got my first job in the music industry in the city. I was production manager and community/social media manager for Leave Us Lost, one of the most noticeable parties in Vancouver. I learned a lot and made a lot of connections. That was also the year where I went to the Bass Coast festival for the first time, that’s a breaking point for me. I have never experienced such a magical time with like minded people in my life! I knew that I needed to create something like that in Mexico. Something unique and very authentic, a safe place where we can all be ourselves.

So now that I think about it, 2018 was one of the most important years of my career and I didn’t even know!
Later that year I started putting all the ideas together, our ethos and values, all the where’s, what’s and how’s. I know I wanted to create something way more than just a rave, I wanted healing, workshops, consciousness, being as sustainable as possible and a lot of magickkk.

So there’s this magical town near PV called Yelapa and I envisioned it all there.

After having a presentation ready, I shared the idea with my friend Talulah (Yelapa native) and she loved the idea but wasn’t very keen about it. And it was after a month or so where Tatiana (Talulah’s sister) called me and said that she’s been wanting to do a festival too, so that’s where we started to execute the project.

January 2020 was the first Yelapa gathering edition. It was like a dream! Gathering consciously in paradise.
In 2021 a sister project was born: The Gathering Co.Op where I started putting on noticeable gatherings around Mexico and Canada. A collective created for you; by you. Same values, same vibes, different locations.
It was not until 2022 when I started DJing.

For me, it is not only about us (the creators, staff, artists, etc) it’s about all of us. We’re all co-creating this community full of love, laughter and magical happenings. My goal is to take this to every single corner in the world. To keep spreading the good vibes and love for the scene and doing it consciously and safely.

On the side note I also freelance and help other folks, collectives and festivals to produce and curate their own events.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

So when I was living in Vancouver I was pretty sure I wanted to stay forever there. I wasn’t planning on coming back to live in Mexico. I came back to Mexico late 2019 to host my first festival in early 2020 and then, covid happened. I was living my best jungle life in Yelapa, planting food, working on our recycling center, working with the locals and teaching the children. So, when I started seeing what was really happening in the “real world” I did not see myself living that kind of lifestyle. So I decided to stay in Mexico because I was perceiving I was creating the life of my dreams.
So I changed my life into another whole different direction from living in a big city to a tiny little town where cars don’t even exist.
I became very attached to the idea of living in Yelapa but later on that year I almost lost my left eye. I got an ulcer because a bacteria entered into my eyeball and my cornea was completely gone. So I had to leave Yelapa and had to go to CDMX where I had my surgery and all the treatment I needed. I know it was a sign I had to leave to create/do something else. After a couple months of completely pausing, reflecting and working on myself, my eye was more stable and I moved back to PV.

This was such a blessing in disguise, even tho I’m not based in Yelapa anymore, it’s still and forever will be home to me. Same with Vancouver. I decided: summers in Canada, winters in Mexico. Best decision ever.

The following year is when The Gathering Co.Op was born and I started feeling alive again.

My eye situation is way better, it is still healing and everyday I can see a little better.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.yelapagathering.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegolden.pineapple/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegathering.coop/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yelapa.gathering/

Image Credits
photos by: joncarod, humanatierra, taniapicazod + paf_fotografia