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"Out Late" is Time Out’s nightlife and party column by DJ, Whorechata founder, and Staff Writer Ian Kumamoto, which publishes every other Tuesday. The previous edition was about the reinvention of MoMA PS1’s Warm Up party.
If I told you that there's a bodega in the South Bronx where, every once in a blue moon, you can find sweaty girls in tank tops singing at the top of their lungs and men gyrating to Brazilian funk at 3 in the morning, you'd probably think I was describing an early 2000s J.Lo music video. That's kind of what MUNDO parties are giving, except the orange drinks here are spiked, and you have to know exactly when and where to look—or, as one alleged Bronx native would say, if you know, you know.
If you haven't heard of this bodega rave, you will soon. That's because, despite the fact that they just had their third party a week ago, the word is getting out. A lot of it has to do with who created the party: The legendary Bronx DJ duo Dos Flakos and their friend DJ Guari, who started throwing raves this year under a collective called MUNDO. Their mission? To put the Bronx back on the nightlife map.
Dos Flakos, which is made up of brothers Chris and Rich, are Bronx music legends who helped pioneer an eclectic sound they call Global Dance Music, which has become ubiquitous in nightlife across Manhattan and Brooklyn. They mix club beats with melodies and basses from sound system cultures that originated in the Caribbean and Latin America, with a New York twist. In 2018, the duo met Emilio, known as DJ Guari, another Bronx native who was experimenting with a similar sound.
“The Bronx has a lot to teach the rest of us New York nightlife girls.”
If you know anything about New York's bustling Latin club scene, then you just know that many of the most relevant DJs come from the Bronx. Yet, Bronx DJs often find themselves spinning parties in Manhattan and Brooklyn, mostly because that's where venues actually allow them to mix genres. "In the Bronx, there’s a lot of bottle service clubs and they have a very rigid formula for how they do business, how they make money," Guari tells Time Out New York. "They don't like to experiment and they want to hear the top hits every weekend." Rich intervenes. "And when we say 'them' we mean the venues," he says. "Because, in fact, the people of the Bronx are interested in hearing these sounds."
As someone who goes out a lot, it's hard to find something that feels fresh, and MUNDO's bodega rave definitely did it for me. Part of the fun is the challenge of even finding the party: You have to go on a link on MUNDO's Instagram bio and then you have to be admitted into a chat on the encrypted messaging app Signal. They tend to announce the party three-four weeks before and the location and address of the party the day of. "The way we announce things is very much surprise, and I think that is an element that people enjoy," Dos Flakos tells me. "They love the underground feel."
An hour-by-hour account of an evening at MUNDO's secret bodega rave
12:52am
My friend Roman Sensation and I pull up in an Uber and we're in the middle of an industrial warehouse area that could be anywhere in Bushwick, except we're in the Bronx. There's an unassuming deli in the corner that we would've totally missed it if it weren't for the long line coming out of it and the dozen or so people smoking outside. We skip the line—I work for Time Out, baby!—and Roman and I go in.
1am
Immediately, there's a sense that we've stepped into another era of New York nightlife. It's very crowded, people are sweaty and absolutely everybody is moving their bodies. There are flags from all over Latin America and the Caribbean strewn across the space. We walk to where the DJ is playing, and I'm instantly hooked by the details: The coffee machines, the menus, rolls just sitting there waiting to meet their fate as bacon-egg-and-cheeses in the morning. Screens display trippy videos of cascading burgers, and the DJ is under a sign that says "Order Here." Roman and I dance.
1:28am
A circle forms around a person twerking. I make my way through and realize the twerker is Dada Cozmic, a DJ friend who is also a Bronx native. "I can't believe you're here!" she tells me. I'm not seen often in the Bronx very often, apparently.
Dos Flakos tells me this party was inspired by Bronx functions they went to growing up. These events happened in houses, basements and actual boiler rooms, before there was Boiler Room.
2:02am
Embarrassingly, I don't realize there's an actual bar attached to the deli until 2am. When they were first going to throw the party, Dos Flakos says they were just looking at the bar, but when they saw the deli next to it they asked the owner if they could throw the party there instead. "It’s a working deli during the day, and workers from the neighborhood buy sandwiches," Guari tells me. The owner was down to let them have the dance floor inside the deli.
Among the details that makes the party feel extra Bronx is a drink that's packaged like a nutcracker, which was a crowd favorite.
2:30am
Dos Flakos gets on the decks, and the energy is at a high. This rivals any party in Brooklyn, hands down. "Bronx has always had an amazing party scene," Dos Flakos tells me after the party. "In the 80s and 90s the Bronx had amazing clubs. Louie Vaga would DJ in the Bronx all the time, people would come from Queens and Brooklyn to party in the Bronx." They imagine a near future where world-class DJs will visit the Bronx again.
“The Bronx has a certain New York rawness that you can’t find anywhere else.”
3am
I have a long journey home to Brooklyn, so I say goodbye. On my way back, I wonder if this is the start of a Bronx nightlife renaissance. I hope so because it's clear to me that the Bronx has a lot to teach the rest of us New York nightlife girls.
A few days later, I ask Rich why he thinks the party feels so different from anything that exists in Brooklyn, Manhattan or even Queens. "No offense to other boroughs, but the Bronx has a certain New York rawness that you can’t find anywhere else," he tells me. "Let’s be for real."
How to catch the next Bodega Rave
Where: Secret location in the South Bronx
When: They announce each party three-four weeks in advance.
Cost: $20
How to get in: Follow MUNDO on Instagram and fill out this form to get admitted onto their Singal channel. They'll give you all the details there.
The vibe: Block party meets house party meets the club.
What to wear: As little clothes as you feel comfortable wearing—it gets hot, sticky and crowded.