South by Southwest (SXSW) sounds a double vibe — the frightening and the fantastic

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AUSTIN – The smell of booze, sweat and vomit grow stronger as I get closer to 6th street, which is the city’s urban core located downtown that is historical and filled with entertainment in Austin, Texas.Nonetheless, the different types of people, the friends that surround me, the free shows and certain films that I want to see outweighs the repulsiveness of it. South by Southwest or as it is commonly known as SXSW is a set of film, interactive, and music festivals and conferences that take place early every year during March in Austin. I’ve gone every year since 2011 and I noticed that each year after that, the people have become more obnoxious because of the free alcohol that’s available practically in each venue. RSVPing is important in this festival, for example Fader Fort is an invite-only installation at SXSW that is a four-day party event that is sponsored by Levi’s and is, by far, the most popular because of the amount of famous people it brings. This year it brought Lady Gaga, Kanye West, Gorillaz and many more.

(Diana Carrillo/Borderzine.com)

The rave is all about music, but some seek Ecstacy to enhance the dance

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EL PASO – The dancing crowd rides a wave of lights surging to electronic rhythms while neon colors waft the wall and the crowd becomes one with the massive electro-beats as the wave becomes tsunami, flooding the hall up to eight hours at a time. The ecstasy that drives hours of nonstop dancing, typical at music festivals and raves, is sometimes fed by Ecstasy – the illicit drug. “I wouldn’t have lasted dancing, or even standing for the whole seven hours that I was there. I rolled for seven hours straight,” said Robert, 21. For many years, people have combined the music scene with drug use to increase the energy and enhance euphoria.