We recently connected with Marina and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Marina thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you tell us about a time that your work has been misunderstood? Why do you think it happened and did any interesting insights emerge from the experience?
One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced is helping people understand that I actually run two very different businesses—each with its own identity, rhythm, and purpose.
Monte Vista Events is the structured, service-oriented business. We provide white-labeled venue management to property owners—handling bookings, client communications, contracting & invoicing, and everything needed to make a venue run smoothly. It’s clean, professional, behind-the-scenes work that’s all about efficiency and service. A lot of people see that side of me and think that’s the whole picture.
But then there’s Sandala Experiences—which is pure soul. It’s where I get to create from scratch. Each event is a fully immersive experience, intentionally designed to stir something emotional and memorable. Whether it’s a floating music gathering like AquaFête or a hidden garden dinner, SANDALA is rooted in storytelling, sensory detail, and a deep sense of place. It’s art in the form of experience.
What’s often misunderstood is that these two businesses serve completely different purposes—but both are essential to me. I’m not just a logistics person or just an artist. I live at the intersection of both: structure and fluidity, operations and imagination.
It took time (and a few misaligned projects) for me to learn how important it is to define those differences clearly—for my clients, collaborators, and even for myself. Now, I make space for both roles and let them inform each other. Sandala brings soul to the structure, and Monte Vista brings stability to the creative. That balance is what keeps me inspired.
Marina, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Marina Anahita, and I’m a hospitality entrepreneur, experience curator, and music artist based in Santa Barbara, California. My work lives at the intersection of hospitality, art, and sound.
I operate two businesses that reflect the duality of my practice. Monte Vista Management is a white-labeled venue management company where we partner with property owners to deliver seamless, professional event operations. From sales and client communications to admin tasks, and on-site execution, we create the kind of structure that allows a venue to run effortlessly while elevating the guest experience.
On the more artistic side, Sandala Experiences is my creative studio and playground. Through SANDALA, I produce immersive gatherings that blend ritual, design, music, and community. One of our signature experiences is AquaFête, a series of “ethereal boat celebrations” with curated DJ sets. Every event at SANDALA is designed to make your feel your inner power.
Music has always been one of my deepest forms of expression. I use DJing as a storytelling medium. My sets often include live vocals, ambient layers, and a careful emotional arc. I’m currently producing my debut EP under the name ANAHITA, blending melodic house, organic house, and downtempo into a collection of tracks that feel nostalgic and ethereal.
Growing up between the West Coast, East Coast, the UK, and France—and rooted in both Persian and French-American heritage—shaped how I see the world. I never fully fit into any one culture, but that in-between space gave me my creative voice. My work draws from that layered identity: it’s organic, earthy, and emotional, yet refined and intentional.
I think what makes my work unique is that I live in both worlds. I’m a business owner who understands systems and structure, and I’m an artist who leads with intuition and emotion. Whether curating a brand activation, designing a wedding, or crafting a musical set, I bring a holistic, heartfelt approach to every experience.
I am so grateful that clients come to me for more than just logistics or design—they come for energy, for vision, for something they can’t always name but know they want to feel. My goal is to create beautiful experiences that linger, that resonate on a deeper level, and that invite people to connect—with themselves, with each other, and with something greater than the moment itself.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
A thriving creative ecosystem is about collaboration and outward support for me. I used to be quiet about liking an artist—watching their work, feeling moved by it, but not liking a post, for example, not buying the merch, not wanting to seem over-eager, or a “fan girl”. That mindset has completely shifted. Now, when something resonates, I try to let the artist know. I share it, I comment, I reach out. If their work has impacted me, I want to support them, even if we’ve never met.
If I do know them, I try to go a step further—offering opportunities, making introductions, sharing resources. With SANDALA, we’ve been working with a rising artist and good friend, TVLI, who’s become a resident artist. His music is incredibly ethereal and aligned so naturally with our vibe that I wanted to uplift his work however we could. When the opportunity came up to film one of his music videos in Joshua Tree, I offered to produce and shoot it. It just felt right and for me, it was action behind the admiration.
Connection is the currency in creative work. If you know someone who could help an artist get closer to their goal—introduce them. Facilitate the opportunity. That single gesture could shift the course of their path.
On the private event side, the landscape can feel more guarded. It was tough to break in at first. Some event planners were hesitant to collaborate, worried we might take work from them since Monte Vista manages venues directly. But the truth is, we love working with event planners! When we see each other as creative allies rather than competitors, we all elevate.
That’s the kind of ecosystem I want to help build: one where generosity replaces gatekeeping, where we lead with abundance, and where collaboration is the norm—not the exception.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I now know that people open the most doors for others—not platforms, not algorithms, not luck. The most underutilized resource is often the community right around you: friends of friends, collaborators, mentors, even acquaintances who might know someone that could help move things forward.
In the beginning, I didn’t fully realize how powerful a single introduction could be. I thought I had to figure everything out on my own, to prove myself before asking for anything. Personally, I’m still working on this—it’s hard for me to ask for help. There’s a vulnerability to it, especially in creative work where everything feels so personal. But the more I lean into community, the more I see that people want to help. You just have to give them the opportunity.
Looking back, I wish I’d known earlier that mentorship doesn’t always have to be formal, that building relationships is just as valuable as building skills, and that generosity often comes full circle. Whether it’s someone offering advice, sharing a contact, or showing up to your event—those moments create momentum. The real resource is connection, and cultivating that has become just as important as any tool or platform I’ve ever used.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: marinahita
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marina-anahita
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/manahita
Image Credits
Evokra Visuals, Justin Jay