As a first-generation American raised in the Bronx by parents from the Dominican Republic, DJ SuperNova became very familiar with the Latin records that graced the family turntable. “They would play their classic merengue, salsa, bachata, and Mexican music,” SuperNova says. “My parents don’t speak English, so Latin music was the way.”
While attending Penn State, SuperNova embraced DJing as a way to stay connected to his childhood in New York, where he was a breakdancer and dabbled in graffiti art. The music he gravitated to was also informed by his upbringing, with Latin hip-hop, dancehall, and Caribbean music featured prominently in his sets.
A chance meeting at a club in South Africa put SuperNova on the path to further connecting with his Afro-Latino heritage, giving him the opportunity to submit mixes to a national radio station in the African country. For seven years, SuperNova would travel to South Africa annually for up to six weeks at a time, experiencing the music scenes in cities like Cape Town and Johannesburg first-hand.
“I started noticing the similarities between the music in Africa and Latino music in terms of the drums or the percussion,” SuperNova says. “It was a great experience to connect the two worlds, because in Latin America there’s not a lot of representation of the Afro-Latino side.”
SuperNova’s global approach to music shines through in the sets he performs as part of the Pangea Sound DJ collective, which formed in his adopted hometown of Los Angeles shortly before the pandemic. Now comprised of DJs Falcons, Joaqu.n, and Sleepy Joe, Pangea Sound celebrates the ties between music from around the world, with a focus on genres originating in the Caribbean, Africa, and Latin America.
Pangea Sound began hosting regular day parties around two years ago, turning to Eventbrite to quickly promote their events and sell tickets to their fans. “I think the best thing about it is how user-friendly it is,” SuperNova says. “As DJs on the go all the time, it’s easy to check in on [Eventbrite] without having to babysit each event.”
Drawing on his experience DJing in Africa and at events thrown by Pangea Sound, SuperNova assembled a playlist for Eventbrite in honor of Latinx Heritage Month — also known as Hispanic Heritage Month — as a vessel to sonically take listeners to “different places, times, and spaces.” From the buoyant merengue of “La Dueña del Swing” by Los Hermanos Rosario to the contemporary reggaeton rhythms of Myke Towers’ “Lala,” SuperNova’s playlist attempts to replicate the diversity of the music that he heard at house parties in his youth.
Reflecting on the rise of Latin and Afro-Latino music in contemporary popular culture, SuperNova is quick to credit the connectivity provided by the internet coupled with a more inclusive worldview that encourages Latinx artists to “find our own identity.” Whether he’s DJing a Pangea Sound party or spinning at a club, SuperNova turns to melodies from across the globe to gain the attention of his audiences.
“The amazing thing about music is its ability to connect with people,” SuperNova says. “It’s about sharing a moment and being there for each other — even if it’s just an hourlong DJ set.”
Check out DJ SuperNova’s Latin Heritage Month playlist curated specially for Eventbrite.
