On April 25, Auro opened its doors to something Delhi hadn't quite seen before, a Latin club night put together by people who believed the city had been asking for it.

Pulse Tropicál was an experiment designed to test one idea: that Delhi's dance-starved youth would show up for Latin music. And show up they did. Reggaeton from Puerto Rico, dembow from the Dominican Republic, salsa from Cuba, baile funk from Rio were synthesized for one dancefloor, and they all just clicked.

Photo courtesy of Lush Lata & p0lluti0n

The night was curated and hosted by Lush Lata, Rehmat Kang (Rem), and Atul Kalkhanda (Tool). Rem and Tool brought p0lluti0n into the mix, their youth-led music and dance movement, and Lush Lata rallied the community behind her Lush Loft party series. Between the two crews, the room filled up with strangers who all happened to want the same thing: good music, good company, and a reason to move.

“As a fella who grew up surrounded by Latin raves, I missed it a lot. This is a homage to people who help me become who I am today,” said Tool.

Photo courtesy of Lush Lata & p0lluti0n

Doors opened at 9 PM. Lush Lata, Rem, and Tool were joined by MC Soopy, Kelcystarr, Abhinav, and JNAE, who held the energy across the night and kept pulses high from the first set to the last.

When asked what Pulse Tropicál meant to her, Lush’s answer was simple: Pulse Tropicál means freedom, fun, and friction.

Photo courtesy of Lush Lata & p0lluti0n

And that’s exactly what auster labs exists for. The labs is our way of exploring crazy ideas, dropping the pressure about outcomes, and just testing things out with creators to see what happens.

Pulse Tropicál was one night. Whether it becomes more than that is still an open question, and honestly that's the point of an experiment. But the room gave us an answer worth building on.

Banner photo courtesy of Lush Lata & p0lluti0n