Bewitched and Entranced, Deconstructed and Tribal: Interviewing DJ Culebra
- csima2
- 4 hours ago
- 10 min read
In this continuation of my DJ interview series, I have a ki with Culebra, a resident DJ for both Chicago-based rave collective RUSH and Milwaukee's DY<3O (Dance Your Heart Out) and my dear friend. He gives us the skinny on the gritty Midwestern underground, experimental EDM, hardware, and much more.
It's difficult to pinpoint exactly when I first met Francisco—or Rico, as I've always known him—but the earliest I can remember encountering him would be at MICTLĀN PRODUCTIONS' March 2025 Aztec New Year celebration rave, UNDERWORLD. At this point I was still very nascent in my raver career, having only attended my first rave on New Year's Eve a couple months prior. I had already been to several intense, bacchanalian all-night ragers held at this (sadly long-defunct) venue that we all knew as the "Biker Bar" but never when MICTLĀN was throwing.
As the name suggests, Biker Bar was once a dive bar for outlaw motorcycle gangs, hidden amidst a junkyard piled with abandoned cars in a far-flung corner on the Northwest Side rumored to be a real chop shop. There was still the bar and biker gang paraphernalia scattered around the space, but it really was more like a huge, sprawling concrete warehouse. When all the collectives were using it as their stomping grounds, decked out with hardcore techno DJ lineups, towering sound systems, hypnotic strobe lights and hidden away from meddling law enforcement— it was a modern-day Gomorrah for all of Chicagoland's edgy misfits, and I say that affectionately.
UNDERWORLD, of course, had similarly promised nine hours of nonstop techno and debauchery, but I sensed that the organizers had a distinct attention to detail and care for its attendees that other groups at the time were missing. They remain one of the city's longest-running and most popular rave organizer for a reason, after all. I arrived at some ungodly hour, wearing barely anything and glow-in-the-dark sugar skull face paint, when I met Rico Culebra in the throes of the underworld. He was with a mutual friend, the two of them kneeling before an altar for the Aztec deities. I remember that he brought a sign with a hand drawn skeleton commemorating the gods of death, Mictlantecuhtli and Mictecacihuatl, a prosperous new year, and happy birthday wishes to the headlining DJ and MICTLĀN 's founder, Chicago native DJ Flores Negras. This, combined with his unfaltering exuberant spirit, made me recognize him as a genuine and passionate soul who I immediately hit it off with. The rest of that evening is a blur, but I can definitely say that a time was had.
Fast forward to just over a year later, and Culebra has climbed the ranks from being just another common partier to establishing his presence as a hard-hitting DJ in the present bando rave meta, now set to make his own MICTLĀN PRODUCTIONS debut at their 4/20 eve celebration, High Society, this Sunday at Avondale Music Hall. He was always there to support throughout my own endeavors in the Chicago scene, including my first two shoddy and low-budget attempts at throwing my own raves, and I am so proud to see how he continues to grow and flourish as an artist.
Without further ado, I present the interview.
Introduce yourself.
“Hello :D My name is Francisco Paolo, otherwise known through my alias DJ Culebra, which translates to Snake, my spirit animal. I am a Chicago born-&-raised DJ & Producer and grew up in a multicultural Venezuelan and Italian household. Alongside DJing, I’m also in my last trimester of my senior year at DePaul University pursuing a career in Cultural Anthropology and am currently working on a research project centered around Graceland Cemetery and how death and funerary rituals are expressed across various cultures and religions with one of my favorite professors I’ve had in my college career.
My day-to-day responsibilities alongside DJing take up a lot of my time and energy but I’m excited to see where my future takes me, especially once I have time to continue pursuing my passion for producing at a deeper level.”
Culebra looking dripped out as per usual. (Image credit: @djculebra.ve on IG) how did you discover the underground?
“Unfortunately, this question is exposing the fact that the first rave I ever attended was (P)Redline’s debut event at that one infamous spot, ifykyk. It was my freshman year of college and I was freshly 18. I honestly had a pretty great time because ignorance is bliss; I had no idea what crazy sh*t was going on besides the vibes that were permeated. But yeah… anyways, I became instantly hooked, started to go to more raves with my friends, and became introduced to more and more collectives.”
What attracts you to rave culture?
“Genuinely, how everyone merges into the atmosphere and is able to escape the day-to-day stress through ritualistic dancing, purging the negativity with the healing frequencies of the bass and synths, and most importantly the fact that the foundation of true rave culture was birthed from fellow marginalized people in society like myself: queer and POC divas trying to slither their way through the adversities of society like a serpent, like a Culebrita.”
What genres are your specialty?
"“Deconstructed club is and probably always will be my favorite genre to spin. The genres that birthed and merged into what we call deconstructed club comes from elements of Industrial, Jersey Club, Reggaeton through the transformation of Latina artists like Arca, Safety Trance, DJ Sustancia, Meth Math, Techno, Avant-Garde, Ballroom, just the more experimental expressions of EDM.
I also love spinning Trance, Gabber, and have recently started spinning Tribal more because I love love love Tribal so much. I can’t wait to discover more Tribal tracks fr. In general, I just really love music with kicks and bass that make my pu$$y quench!”
Who are your favorite collectives and why?
“Well, I’m choosing 2 in Chicago & 1 in Milwaukee because they’re each on my highest rank of Chicago rave pedestal.
RUSH because if it weren’t for them, I would have probably quit DJing by now. From their first event they’ve always hyped me up and consistently booked me, and I’m honored to have received my first residency from RUSH themselves at Kenny’s debut Free Mind event that they collaborated on.
Seeing RUSH grow to the point they’re at today and being able to be a part of this unstoppable force has been breathtaking. I don’t even know how to express it, sh*t’s just so majestic. I just can’t put into words my gratitude for being a resident for them. Their raves are tea asf and I always leave wondering when the next one’s gonna be, and they encourage me to be my best authentic self. They’ve just really helped me grow above the negative mindsets I had surrounding myself. "
Culebra B2B fellow RUSH resident DJ Nonirar at RUSH222DYHO, a crossover rave between the two collectives held on February 24, 2026. (image credit: @djculebra.ve on IG) "The other collective you should feel deep FOMO for not having attended is MICTLĀN!!! Just like Latina dark goth cunt puss pop vibes to the brim, idek how to encapsulate the vibes, MICTLĀN raves permeate because every single rave of theirs I’ve been to has been so enigmatic. Plus, Flores Negras is mother!!! The music is always so healing and powerful, and I’ve met and been able to dance to so many iconic DJs like Miss Twink USA and DJ Slugo. If you haven’t had the chance to go to a MICTLĀN event yet, FEAR NOT!!! I’m slapping my face while typing this to make sure I’m actually awake and not dreaming because I’M MAKING MY MICTLĀN DEBUT ON 4/20 EVE “HIGH SOCIETY! “IM DOING A B2B WITH A HOMIE WHO’S LIKE A BROTHER TO ME, KENNY WHO'S ALSO KNOWN AS EROS! "
The flyer for High Society. (image credit: @djculebra.ve on IG) "If you wanna come support and dance to our set, I promise that the entire night will be unforgettable!! I always told myself from the first time I went to MICTLĀN that the moment I DJ for them, especially on the same bill as Flores Negras & Miss Twink USA, I’ll have completed all of my DJing goals. I truly cannot believe the day is finally coming and cannot thank my friends and fans enough for believing in me and enjoying the tracks I curate for your dancing, I just never would have imagined being loved on such a deep level like this.
DY<30 IS THE BEST RAVE COLLCTIVE IN MILWAUKEE, ALEX (R3ALGRL) & MOWIAH ARE TRULY MY DAUGHTERS AND THEY TRULY RUN SH*T IN THE 414 AND ARE THE PIONEERS OF MILWAUKEES QUEER UNDERGROUND CULTURE. PERIOD. I am extremely grateful to have received my second residency through their collective. It feels mind blowing knowing that I have a residency in 2 cities and coming this May it will have been 2 years since I started learning how to DJ. It makes me so happy and filled with joy!”
Can you tell us more about DY<3O and the Milwaukee rave scene?
“Their mission is to curate a raunchy hardcore queer space & atmosphere for the 414 & even 606 now where everyone feels comfortable enough to D(ance) Y(our) <3 (O)ut to! Like I said, Alex & Mo, the founders of DY<3O, run the apparently non-existent rave culture in Milwaukee. Milwaukee has a lot of parties but not a lot of raves according to them. I think because Milwaukee is a smaller city, their scene is much more intimate; everyone knows each other and there’s much less drama and beef between collectives like in Chicago.
The flyer for a recent DY<3O event. (Image credit: @dyho_ on IG) "All of the collectives in Milwaukee such as DY<3O, Venus Social Club, & Slayground all kii and get along together, collaborating on events often. You don’t really see that anymore in Chicago. There's just so much tension and so many people that it’s bound to be a division of Friends vs. Foes. I just wish we could all get along, burn all the terrible predators that come to these events at the stake, and nourish and encourage each other to grow as a community instead of it being a competition. Idk I don’t mean to ramble, it's just like damn. But anyways DY<3O is the sh*t and PLUR as f*ck!! I definitely recommend checking out their events if you get a chance @dyho_”
What inspired you to throw the culebrave?
“The Universe, my Angels, my Ancestors, my Saints, mis queridas Santa Muerte, Santa Marta & Santa Maria, my Goddesses, my Patron Saint San Cipriano de Antioquia, my homies, my lovers, the DJs on the lineup and the DJS I plan on booking at future events, and most importantly, my Haters.”
The flyer for the Culeb.rave "Montrose Beach Squirt-Off" Rico's first official rave that he's organized himself. (Image credit: @djculebra.ve on IG)
Who are your favorite Chicago DJs?
“El Brujo, Easygoingtech, Flores Negras, DJ Slugo, Miss Twink USA, Kimbä —my Bambinbro who blessed Chicago with his presence all the way from Palermo, Italy!
Elock1, Vales Madre, ERØS, Absono, Abisai, Boxedtittymilk, Dysphazia, Ch4wni, DJ Daddïe Wannïe, the list goes on. Chicago truly has so many talented & beautiful DJs.”
What are your dream raves / venues to perform at?
“Mictlān, and thank you so much to my spiritual court for blessing me with this opportunity 🙏 currently it’s also Bass Station. I actually went there for the first time last Friday for the Perreo Haus rave that Mama Flores headlined.
I had always heard great things about this venue but didn’t wanna go because it was one of the favorite venues of one of my closest friends who recently passed, Ben, and we always talked about going together.
Plus, he’s from Waukegan, where the venue is located, so I was worried that I would just be sad and grieving instead of enjoying my time there. Luckily, I’m finally at a point in my grief where I knew going there would be celebrating his life instead of mourning it, and I was correct. I felt him dancing alongside me and walking + dancing on the same footsteps he had danced on many times felt so intimate and special, especially to all the Latin music being played because he was Puerto Rican. Anyways, DJing there would be crazy and my set would definitely be in contribution and honor of his life and soul who guides me to every day. DJ Culebra b2b Ben for sure.
Also, I dream a lot to DJ at some random underground rave in Prague & anywhere in Europe in the future. The first time I ever DJ’d at a club was for the Fête de la Musique in Paris at this Trance club called Studio56, and I can’t wait to spin out there again. That was a blast. I made some connections there at this club called La Gare Le Gore and I would dream to DJ there because in the daytime it’s a jazz club, and at midnight it turns into a Techno club. It’s also in an abandoned train station; it's just the craziest place. I became friends with a resident there while I was out there, so Imma have to hit bro up whenever I make it back out there lol. Also, Toronto.”
Culebra b2b DJ boxedtittymilk at RUSH's Jan 17. Full Contact rave. (image credit: @djculebra.ve on IG) How does spinning on hardware differ from digital?
“Well, digital is just finding songs and mixing them into each other with a little spinny wheely thing so in my opinion, it’s pretty to pick up on. Like, compared to analog stuff, DJing just seems like a kid toy to me because all you do is load up a song and press some buttons to make it or the next 2-4 songs sound cooler.
Analog and Hardware are just like soo many more buttons and thingys, and it creates sounds that I’m genuinely convinced come from a different dimension because there’s no way any human is actually smart enough to create those sounds. Like, I’m peeping these extraterrestrial aliens to a T. My favorite synthesizers I’ve used are my Metal Fetishist (creates really juicy puss bass that makes u queef), and my Electribe EMX-1. They're both awesome and I’m so excited to learn Ableton and record & mix the sounds I’ve been conjuring. The next Hardware piece I wanna get my hands on is the Elektron Digitakt. From what I’ve seen it sounds so awesome and groovy.”
Who inspires you the most?
“Arca, SOPHIE, Eartheater, FKA twigs, The Thinkers, Isaiah & Vanessa, Petra & Slade, Alex & Mowiah.”
Can you give us some self-promo?
“Follow me on Instagram @DJculebra.ve & SoundCloud: DJ Culebra.”
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