{"id":2110231,"date":"2025-10-23T11:11:25","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T11:11:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2110231"},"modified":"2025-10-23T11:11:25","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T11:11:25","slug":"how-pablo-gonzalez-vargas-and-mayan-warrior-lived-to-fight-another-burning-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/how-pablo-gonzalez-vargas-and-mayan-warrior-lived-to-fight-another-burning-man\/","title":{"rendered":"How Pablo Gonz\u00e1lez Vargas and Mayan Warrior lived to fight another Burning Man"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It\u2019s a bustling predawn morning in Black Rock City. Darkness clings to the sky as thousands of bikers zoom across a dusty alkaline flat in search of a sunrise set, hoping to outpace the gash of periwinkle light bleeding over the horizon. Spending sunrise at an art car is as customary as going out for brunch in the outside world. However, when your destination is itinerant and camouflaged by galaxies of LED lights, finding a particular art car in the dark can be a fool\u2019s errand. Unless your destination is Mayan Warrior, that is.<\/p>\n

Now on its third iteration, the Mexico City-based Mayan Warrior has become one of the most iconic (and contentious) mutant vehicles at Burning Man, the weeklong festival-meets-pop-up-city that sees over 70,000 so-called burners in Nevada\u2019s Black Rock Desert, also known as the playa. About 30 people are involved in the art car year-round, with a camp of 200 people, 70 of whom are crew members. Famous for its full-spectrum lasers provided by Lightwave International, the masterminds who brought the rainbow prism of Pink Floyd\u2019s \u201cDark Side of the Moon\u201d to life during Roger Waters\u2019 2007-08 tour, it\u2019s one of the easiest art cars to spot at night. In addition to a rainbow of radial lasers, a brilliant column of light shoots into the sky, \u00e0 la the Sacramento Kings\u2019 beam. Oh, and it spews fire too.<\/p>\n

For electronic music lovers, Mayan Warrior is one of the most popular parties on the playa, not just because of the spectacle but because it\u2019s hosted artists such as Carl Cox, R\u00fcf\u00fcs du Sol, Black Coffee, John Summit and Monolink, along with burgeoning Mexican electronic DJs, around whom the initial concept was developed. For founder Pablo Gonz\u00e1lez Vargas, it began in 2011 at his first Burning Man.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were very impacted and impressed by how involved people are in making art at Burning Man,\u201d Gonz\u00e1lez Vargas says. \u201cThey give their blood, sweat, and tears. \u2026 The cycle of inspiring and being inspired is very tangible there, and that cycle happened to me. I went to Burning Man in 2011, got inspired, and came back in 2012 [with an art car].\u201d<\/p>\n

The design was inspired by ancient Mesoamerican cultures, particularly Mayan masks and artifacts resembling astronaut-like figures, which Gonz\u00e1lez Vargas saw at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. Combining modern technology and sacred geometry, Mayan Warrior showcased an illuminated mask facade mounted on a medium-duty truck. It became an ever-evolving work of art\u2014painter Alex Grey adorned it with his distinct visionary artwork, a pyramid-like backdrop was added, and its dazzling lasers were installed in 2016. It even has a theme song titled \u201cHere Comes the Warrior\u201d<\/u><\/a> by DJ\/producer Rebolledo, who is Mayan Warrior\u2019s music concept and lineup curator.<\/p>\n

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Pablo Gonz\u00e1lez Vargas painting the new Mayan Warrior art car.<\/p>\n

(Courtesy of Pablo Gonz\u00e1lez Vargas)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

For a decade, Mayan Warrior reigned as a sought-after mobile soundstage at Burning Man. By 2023, it was at the top of its game, touring the U.S. and Mexico for fundraising parties to help pay for its exorbitant expenses. And then, while driving from Guadalajara to Sayulita, Mexico, it caught fire from a combination of weight, heat and tire friction, and burned to the ground. The irony of it happening more than 1,500 miles away from Burning Man, where installations are ceremonially reduced to ash, is not lost.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was painful,\u201d Gonz\u00e1lez Vargas reflects. \u201cIt was gone in 15 minutes. But I also felt liberated. It absorbs time and energy and attention, and it\u2019s not my job; it\u2019s my hobby. \u2026 I mean, the reward is great when you go to the Burn, but operating the outside events and fundraisers was tough for me, especially since you don\u2019t make money at all the fundraisers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Based in Mexico City, Gonz\u00e1lez Vargas has a background in fintech, hospitality, marketing and media. In 2010, he founded Sr. Pago, a point-of-sale system, which he expanded concurrently with Mayan Warrior and sold three years ago. Among a litany of other ventures, he also founded the Latin American media outlet EXA Radio and TV. His newest endeavor is a subscription-based travel platform that offers members access to affordable rates for flights and hotels, which he dubbed \u201cthe Costco of travel.\u201d He also collaborated on an interactive light and sound sculpture called Ilumina<\/u><\/a>, which appeared at Burning Man in 2017 and 2022. When you combine this many irons in the fire with the amount of time, labor and money it takes to run a soundstage art car at Burning Man, it\u2019s no wonder Gonz\u00e1lez Vargas felt liberated.<\/p>\n

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Designs for the new Mayan Warrior art car.<\/p>\n

(Courtesy of Pablo Gonz\u00e1lez Vargas)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

Meanwhile, rumors of drug cartel involvement and insurance fraud related to the art car fire swirled within the Burning Man community, which Gonz\u00e1lez Vargas quickly dispelled. And though he and his crew took time off from the onus of Mayan Warrior, it wasn\u2019t long before designs were drafted and a new version was underway. Enter Tal Ohana, founder of the Los Angeles-based production company Stranger Than;<\/u><\/a> with whom Mayan Warrior had been collaborating, who offered to produce the fundraising events at culturally or historically noteworthy locations in various cities. With Stranger Than; taking the helm on the ancillary events, a large portion of responsibility was lifted from Gonz\u00e1lez Vargas\u2019 shoulders. The Mayan Warrior was back on the playa by 2024, looking flashier than ever \u2014 and it ought to, considering it cost nearly $3 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an irresponsible financial decision,\u201d Gonz\u00e1lez Vargas says. \u201cMy letter to Santa Claus would be, \u2018Hey, I want enough money to go to Burning Man and pay for my whole crew and not have to do fundraisers and have fun and that\u2019s it,\u2019 but that\u2019s not the reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we hit 4,000 people [at a fundraiser], we break even,\u201d he continues, \u201cbecause of the cost of bringing the car, plus the crew, plus the lighting, and local vendors. It\u2019s a complicated business model, and restricted by the non-commodification Burning Man ideology, where you cannot make merch or have sponsors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Burning Man abides by 10 principles<\/u><\/a>, one being decommodification. It\u2019s meant to create an environment free of commercialism, advertising and monetary transactions. The only items available for purchase are ice and, occasionally, coffee; everything else is freely given by attendees. It also means that the art installations, vehicles and theme camps seen at Black Rock City cannot, or rather, should not, be funded through sponsorships or brand collaborations, hence why fundraisers are such a crucial aspect in keeping Mayan Warrior afloat.<\/p>\n

Like any metropolis, Black Rock City is a diverse amalgamation of backgrounds, perspectives and demographics. Although you can\u2019t please everyone, namely those who spurn the proliferation of electronic music at Burning Man, Mayan Warrior clearly pleases multitudes, as when the music is thumping, it\u2019s rare to see an unpopulated dance floor. It\u2019s also become a beloved stage for performers like British house and techno legend Carl Cox<\/u><\/a>, who just released a track with Perry Farrell titled \u201cJoya.\u201d Despite attending Burning Man since 2008, his maiden voyage on Mayan Warrior was in 2024.<\/p>\n

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The new Mayan Warrior roaring down the playa at Burning Man.<\/p>\n

(Courtesy of Pablo Gonz\u00e1lez Vargas)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

\u201cYou just have to admire the ingenuity, sound, and amount of hours that go into creating something like that, just for people to enjoy,\u201d Cox shares. \u201cIn the morning, it\u2019s getting hot, there\u2019s no lasers, no pyrotechnics, there\u2019s nothing apart from people and a great sound system. People could truly understand the connection I have with music, people, the playa, and the stage that Mayan Warrior set for me. It was absolutely incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Burning Man is certainly not for everyone, but those who want to experience the blazing leviathan \u2014 minus the labor, dust storms and brutal ingress and egress \u2014 can attend its Los Angeles Halloween fundraiser<\/u><\/a>, taking place in Grand Park on Oct. 25. Financial and physical expenditure notwithstanding, Gonz\u00e1lez Vargas says he wants to continue attending Burning Man and even hopes to bring his now newborn son in 2026. Regarding the future of Mayan Warrior, he aspires to expand genres \u2014 last year, Mita Gami and Meir Briskman played with an orchestra<\/u><\/a>, and this year they experimented with an unnamed band \u2014 putting artists like Tame Impala, Khruangbin and Glass Beams on his lineup wish list. Although the fire taught Gonz\u00e1lez Vargas that the art car\u2019s future is never certain, he knows that as long as it shows up to the playa, the music will follow, and so will its dance floor denizens.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter who you are; it\u2019s what you deliver from your heart and soul,\u201d Cox says. \u201cWhen I got to play on Mayan Warrior, it was a wonderful moment. It was a vibe, and I felt like people discovered what Mayan Warrior stood for. \u2026 I was able to deliver something so special that even if I never played Mayan Warrior again, I was lucky enough to experience that moment and musical journey with all these people that chose to be there.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n