Today we’d like to introduce you to Fabrizio Marchioretto.
Hi Fabrizio, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
After every successful beach day during summer, I would go to the rooftop in the Townhouse Hotel to watch the sunset, a magical but lifeless place; always empty and it felt like such a waste of space. The evening sunsets from there are so beautiful that I would feel compelled to end my days there. One of those days, the idea came to me, and it was that this place was so special that I could envision throwing a party here, but I had no idea how to start. I brainstormed and decided to contact my friend, Miguel Leon, who is a local DJ, promoter, and photographer, on top of already having experience in the matter.
Shortly afterwards, I met with Miguel, and I suggested the idea of having a party in this rooftop venue. Miguel had doubts at first, seeing how at that moment, he was organizing another event. Some time had passed, and I insisted again and again until we met again to discuss the idea more in-depth. We went to meet the manager of the Townhouse Hotel and mentioned to him the idea of having a party on the rooftop. Mainly, we wanted to do something different, something that was not available in Miami for the LGBTQ+ community, and we wanted a place where, in addition to people going to dance, they could also socialize, meet new people, and have a good time.
We started by brainstorming different ways we could approach this type of party, all whilst staying true to our unique vision, making sure that it was not the same curated environment that already existed in LGBTQ+ community. Miguel soon afterwards came up with the great idea of making a “Playlist” where people could add their own music related to the party. That music would then be played at the same time of the event, just before the first DJ was set to come on, hence the name of the event, “The Playlist.”
We kept researching and finding the genres of music and kept only what we thought would be the best. After visiting several places in the city, we decided that the party was going to be only Disco and House music, and that’s what we would start to promote, market, and advertise. For the very first pilot launch party, my sister, who is a graphic designer, helped us with the flyers and the visual information, and soon after, we decided to launch our very first party!
At that time, the year was 2019, and we set the date for our very first “The Playlist” for the night of October 25th. We only had a month to prep and organize our sound, the drink menu, and pricing. Needless to say, we wanted everything to go off without a hitch. We began promoting and asked each and every one of our friends if they would help us publish our flyer on their social media accounts, and gratefully they did so! The night of the event arrived and something magical happened, something we did not expect at all, and that was a full house, a beautiful atmosphere full of good energy, and it was all we initially wanted out of “The Playlist, which was an environment where people, not only go to dance if that’s what they chose to do so but also to have a good time where they could socialize, meet new people and feel like it’s their party! A quick anecdote from that unforgettable night was that in the middle of the party, it started to rain for about 5 minutes, as it does at some point or another during your typical Miami day, and then, a super heavy rain shower. Shortly afterwards, the rain stopped, the people went back outside, and the party lived on.
The first edition was a total success that filled us with so much emotion and the will to continue to fight for this space, doing a second edition the following month. We then decided to make it a monthly gathering and so we continued for the months of November, December, January 2020, and February, and for each of the events, we wanted to add something different to make each party a unique experience. We could not believe the success of the event, we would see lines of groups of people in the hotel lobby just to go up to the rooftop and be able to enjoy the event, every day we received messages asking us to continue doing it, messages from couples who had met at the party and were then in a relationship because of their meeting, there were several like that, and for us, it was an immense emotion and feeling to have created a place where, in addition to being able to dance and enjoy the best drinks, you could also meet an endless number of people for any purpose.
That is how those transpired until March 2020. The pandemic arrived and the hotel closed. At first, we thought it was going to be temporary, but then the whole year passed by in the blink of an eye, so we decided to hold an online event where our most loyal followers connected and enjoyed the music from our Resident Dj Discofuturo, that’s pretty much how 2020 went by, hoping the entire year to be able to host The Playlist again, but we couldn’t do anything at all. The rooftop permanently closed, and now we were stuck looking for new places, but that was the problem, we didn’t want any other place. We wanted something where people could live that same experience that they had at the rooftop of the Townhouse Hotel again. The year 2021 arrived and we were able to do two more events, one at Wynwood Pride and the other at Time-Out Market. We had no intention of giving up, we wanted to do this event again with everything we had. When Miguel and I would go out in the town, our friends would ask us when the event would come back, but we did not have it easy, and we kept striking out sending proposals to various venues, and in some cases, we were rejected for being an LGBTQ+ event, but even still, we did not give up. 2022 came, a friend, Jose Luis Yepez, tells us that he possibly found a place to hold the event and immediately, Miguel and I went to meet with the owners of the place, we reached an agreement, and we started the return of The Playlist! We began promoting again, and the two events that we held at that venue were both a success! After that, they began to invite us to new places so that we could hold our event there. It was crazy!! We’d receive invitations and messages, some good, others not so good. We then began the search for another venue since this place had become too small for us due to the fact that we were receiving and hosting anywhere between 300 and 400 guests along with waiting list at the door. In the end, we found the location that is our current venue where we host our event in Wynwood. We had to learn from each and every one of our mistakes, big or small because not everything is perfect, but we can do everything in our power to avoid the same mistakes, such as the lines at the Bar, lines for the restrooms as well as at the door. We had to find a solution from each party, and we took the best from each one and put it all in one. We now currently have 5 events this year and each one has been even more of a success than the last. We try to improve every day, as well as continue to create this environment that was so lacking in Miami for the LGBTQ+ community, and we are proud to mention that as of our return in 2022, we decided to add a new partner Jose Luis Yepez AKA “Yepito,” an important part of our advancement and progress, contributing new and helpful ideas to the team!
This is a different atmosphere, the last 4 parties, there were sold-out tickets, and now we receive people from all over Florida! What excites us the most of all is the feedback from our guests and the incredible messages they send us afterwards, messages full of love, affection, and good wishes for this event. We do not get tired of this, and we will continue to improve every month! We want to continue creating a safe place, a place where you can even find the love of your life, a place where you can meet new people and have the best of moments!
From the very beginning, we wanted to curate this type of environment and we have had a great amount of feedback from people, each time better and more eager, creating these spaces for our community that are so needed in the city, where we can be free to be and do without being judged and having the best of moments!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been, when we were at our peak, the pandemic arrived and took us off the map. We tried to continue holding events, but it became impossible for us with the COVID-19 regulations. We had to reinvent ourselves, but never stop believing that we could start again. The fact that even still, in the year 2022, when some owners of a venue find out that it is an LGBTQ+ event, they begin to make excuses for not offering us the place, or they simply won’t respond anymore… hard to believe that we are in the year 2022, and we still have these barriers that limit and exclude us. We have experienced a lack of support in certain places, but we have remained strong in our thoughts to achieve what we wanted and still want to do. We’ve managed to knock down these barriers to continue doing and giving our very best!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Our event is aimed at doing something different, an environment to enjoy, have a good time where you can network as well as make a new friendship, and why not? We are proud of where we were to where we are now, and it fills us with happiness to know that we do this with love and our people and guests reciprocate that love! We believe that this new concept of, by, and for the LGBTQ+ events was something that the city much desperately needed, along with love and affection that we put into every The Playlist so that every guest has a place to feel comfortable and safe.
What do you think about happiness?
It makes us so happy that after each event, we humbly receive messages or phone calls from attendees telling us that they loved the event, people who don’t like to go out or even feel comfortable. Some messages are even from other people who have networked job opportunities, and others found love. This fills us with utter happiness, knowing that the desire we put into it is bearing fruit and more and more of you are joining us!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @theplayl1st
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2coyD6jPpX5qfT3zxTBERw?si=fn7wovpyQUuxwUH-pZJgEg
Image Credits
Miguel Leon Yamil
