Baja Beach Fest Founders Talk Success Of Post-Lockdown Return & Operating As A Family Unit

Baja Beach founders
Koury Angelo – Baja Beach founders
Aaron Ampudia and Chris Den Uijl

The heart of what drives Baja Beach Fest founders and promoters Chris Den Uijl and Aaron Ampudia is their passion for the reggaetón and Latin music market, as well as their philosophy to operate as a family unit.


Following the 2020 live shutdown, Baja Beach Fest successfully returned for its third edition with not one but two back-to-back weekends on the beach in Rosarito, Mexico, Aug. 13-15 and Aug. 20-22. The 35,000-capacity party featured performances from Ozuna, Anuel AA, J Balvin, Farruko, Becky G, Sech, Karol G and more, along with experiential installations, a variety of food options and bars. 

As independent promoters, Den Uijl and Ampudia put their life savings into year one and then took pay cuts during the pandemic to keep everyone they could on the payroll,“especially the core staff.” 

To ensure the festival was as safe as possible, the duo worked in close collaboration with local authorities to comply with COVID regulations. 
“During weekend one, it was probably the most challenging thing we’ve done. I was telling Chris, like “Yo, there’s no way we’re ever going to do two weekends again.” [laughs] By the end of weekend two I was like, “You know, there’s no way we’re not doing two weekends again,” [laughs] Ampudia says.  

Ampudia and Den Uijl, who is a co-founder of North American promoter Collectiv Presents, have even bigger plans in mind.
Pollstar: What did it mean to you to bring back the event after the shutdown? 
Aaron Ampudia: It was a year when we were expecting to level it up even more and really prove that this is the real deal. Tons and tons of challenges were thrown at us, so being able to figure that out … means the world.   
Chris Den Uijl: We left 2019 with the mission of, like Aaron said, taking it up a level from every touchpoint – the fans’ experience, but also the artist experience. As COVID happened we made the collective decision that we weren’t going to cut any corners and we were going to stick with that vision. We got hit with so many different variables when it came to COVID … and working with the local government to create a plan that really hadn’t been put in place. For me [it was] the most meaningful event. It took every ounce of our hard-earned dedication to really make this thing come together. It comes back to our team and our mission – we operate as a family unit. It was a special yet very challenging two weekends. 
What was the energy like at the event?   
Den Uijl: It was pretty evident that  a lot of people’s first event back was this weekend. So, the vibes were just incredible. 
We had to institute a mask mandate pretty last minute and it was just testament to how amazing the community is that we were able to adopt that, which, as we all know hasn’t been the easiest thing to do even in our daily lives now that we haven’t had to wear one very much.  
Besides requiring masks, what were the other COVID protocols? 
Den Uijl: We created a strategic partnership with a COVID testing center that had hundreds of locations around the United States. The fans were able to go to those locations on a discount if they just mentioned they were [attending] Baja Beach Fest. The vendor was able to look at your confirmation number, get your name, take your test, and then it automatically pings you through the app. We were able to eliminate a lot of counterfeit [vaccination cards]. We didn’t do any visual checks for people’s vaccine cards. They had all been uploaded in the app with their confirmation number. And once they were verified, then you were able to put your code that’s attached to your RFID band to get it activated. I think we ended up at 95%, 96% percent vaccinated.  
What else was new at Baja Beach? 
Ampudia: We added a Ferris wheel … It was on the south side so you could see the whole festival once you were up there. We added a glam station where girls could go touch up their makeup. We also had local ladies that braid hair, which is a cultural thing when you go to Baja. It was free. All you had to do was tip the ladies if you wanted to. We added a hammock village, an ICEE station … better bathrooms, better bars and everything that was a little hiccup or an issue in 2019 was perfected in 2021.   
Any favorite moments from the festival?
Ampudia: My favorite moment had to be when Becky G brought out Banda MS because it was a cultural moment for Mexican Americans, Latin Americans. It’s a reggaetón urban festival … and 90% of the fans that are there are probably Mexican or have Mexican roots so that was pretty special. People were crying, you know, felt goosebumps everywhere.     
And then also having [boxer] Canelo [Álvarez] show up. He just hit us up the day before, like, “Hey, I think I’m going to come.” It was like, “Oh damn. OK.” He went out on stage and people freaked out – the biggest superstar in Mexico.   
Den Uijl: Baja Beach Fest kind of symbolizes the true inclusive festival for Latinos, especially the reggaetón kind of Latin urban genre and the camaraderie of all the artists bringing each other out and supporting each other. Everything that we’ve been trying to do with the festival is creating an inclusive environment for Latinos to celebrate music. It’s been our story since day one. We’ve always felt like this group of individuals has always been really underserved. And it’s just been amazing to see the camaraderie from all touch points. That’s what makes us work so hard.  
Since Baja Beach launched, have you seen the market and the fans being better served?
Den Uijl: Over the last two years the genre has exploded on a global level. And so in the United States, I think that the major promoters are starting to book more tours and starting investing in not only the top 1%, but also the genre as a whole, which is super exciting to see. I think that it’s obviously ever growing with us going from one weekend to two weekends – that’s big stuff. There’s not a lot of festivals in the world that are doing two weekends. And we see opportunity beyond the beach in Rosarito. We’re working pretty hard on putting that plan together and introducing some other festivals in some other locations as well.   
When it comes to spreading our wings beyond Rosarito, we’ve been actively pursuing a festival or two in the United States. And when the timing is right, we’ll announce it. I think with the ever-changing COVID atmosphere, we’re just trying to make sure that when we introduce a new product that we introduce it with purpose, and we do it our way. When we’re ready I think it’s going to make a big splash.