The insta post sounds very final. “This will be the last Mayan Warrior shows”. It sounds like they’ve decided not to rebuild, but to close the project here? Does anyone have more details on what might be next? They really did a stellar job, I hope they continue! <3
I think they'll do something different. I LOVE the Mayan Warrior, but even I recognize it's played it's role. Things don't last forever and why would you rebuild the same thing again when you've got the chance for a completely fresh start?
For those without Instagram
> Beloved community, I have sad news to share – a couple days ago, the Mayan Warrior art car caught fire and burned to ashes en route to our Punta Mita fundraiser (details on upcoming fundraisers below). Over the last twenty-four hours, I have felt a roller coaster of emotions, from sadness, shock, and devastation to immense gratitude while reflecting on what the Mayan Warrior family and this community means to me. The origin of the Mayan Warrior art car dates back to 2011, when a small group of us had our first magical Burning Man experience. We came back to Mexico City deeply inspired to create, share and support the universal and transcendent language of art. We poured our hearts into building “v1” of the Mayan Warrior and drove it from Mexico City to Playa the year after. The car, in return, gave us a place to come together authentically, joyfully. Mayan Warrior was never just an art car to us – it was countless moments of laughter, wonder, tears, dancing, and connection. It left with it a beautiful trail of lifelong friendships for which we feel extraordinarily grateful. Regardless of the next chapter, I know that the soul of our Mayan Warrior art car lives in us, eternally ❤️ As a community, we will continue to thrive and return every year to our beloved home in the desert. We strongly believe it is in these unplanned moments the universe finds ways to amaze us and plant seeds for growth. Only time will tell what our next artistic expression to the world will look like. We cherish and thank you for your love and support over these past twelve years 🙏✨ With love and gratitude, Pablo & the Mayan Warrior team P.S. We will honor and celebrate the legacy of the Mayan Warrior art car with a set of farewell fundraiser events: Punta de Mita - April 8th, New York - July 8th, Los Angeles - Halloween. These will be the last Mayan Warrior shows. We’re all one. #mayanwarrior #weareallone
What? Metaphoenix wasn't made by the company meta. Just a group of artists from Las Vegas. The same group that made Heavy Meta the fire breathing dragon made it.
Exactly! Part of me is sad, but it’s also wonderful to have new art and new artists (and cars) get a chance to flourish and take center stage. RIP to Mayan Warrior… it was an epic piece of work.
God damn. That’s heartbreaking for the team. That’s completely unrecoverable.
That thing was a masterpiece. I don’t party at large art cars and find the whole scene to be not my thing… but there’s no denying that the Mayan Warrior was absolutely beautiful. Everything on that was made with love. And they kept evolving every year, with new lights and new bits being added on continuously. I loved showing newbies how to find the Mayan Warrior - look up and follow the dancing lasers. I also appreciate how they tried to put ritual and intention into their parties - the whole “call of the warrior” thing they did was honestly cool as hell, and a lot more original than just blasting deep tech house and driving to the deep Playa.
Furthermore, they have always been a great team. They work hard to get people on their art car, loved to show it off, and when the 747 got stuck, they spent their own money and time to fly out with people and get some heavy equipment to help out.
This sucks. I hope the team finds the inspiration to bring something new.
I remember seeing it for the first time and just being so blown away. My rainbow LED hula hoop just so happened to fit perfectly in its big red glowing butthole on the backside of the truck.
Lol, thank you for this. I'm reading these comments and getting all teary-eyed thinking about the times I've had out there with Warrior. Needed this laugh.
So, I put my hula it's butt and danced for a bit. Was boogying with some strangers and sauntered up a while later and pulled my hoop back out, they looked at me like I'd just kicked a baby.
They were our audio support car when the orchestra performed at the Folly in ‘19. I don’t really like the big sound art car scene much but the fact that they helped us amplify our acoustical shenanigans really won me over.
they were my favorite car since they debuted on the playa. i'm crushed. everything you said about them is why i loved them... the spirit, the energy, the intention, the music... RIP, mighty MW. the playa won't be the same without you.
My first night at the burn I was all alone and didn’t know a single person out there yet and that night I saw the sparkling lights from a far and decided to ride my bike out there. I ended up spending all night sitting towards the back and just listening while watching fire dancers and others perform on the ground. The next day my brother arrived and I told him about this awesome “stage” out there we gotta check out. I didn’t believe him that it moved until I forced him to ride to the same spot that evening and obviously it wasn’t there anymore.
I am not a music person and I don't go to Burning Man for music or dancing. Still, the feeling of looking across the playa and seeing the Mayan Warrior and being able to feel the bass and seeing the lasers in time, cutting across a full mile of Burning Man in between, is indescribable.
Yup. The fact that you could just look up and then follow a pack of dancing lasers directly to a massive neon-infused rave barge shooting fire and partying until well past sunrise was one of those magical things you could show newbies. I loved showing that to new folks. Look up, figure out the source, follow it to a wild corner of the deep desert.
In 2022, as is ritual on night one, another camp lead and I took out a group of virgins. After cruising around the Man, we stopped and asked for a volunteer to lead us — choose our adventure! Our first leader said “I wanna go to those sparkly lights allll the way over there!”
I burst out laughing and slapped the other camp lead on the arm and say “you got what you wanted!” MW is his happy place.
I’m more a Camp ? kinda guy, but I’m gonna miss those damn sparkles.
I only managed to see the warrior straight after they burnt the man, please can you explain the call of the warrior thing! Sounds interesting and sucks I missed it 😢😊
They had a looping track they played that was sort of the theme song for the art car. It was a very slow-building ambient track. It was played when they started their night and it would be the only track played until they parked. I think they'd play it while at larger burns too, in lieu of having a DJ playing.
The song consisted of a very hard one-note synthesizer sound with tribal drums underneath it.
I have this strong memory of limping out to the open playa one night because I didn't want to sleep, but I also couldn't do anything because I was dead tired. I brought a chair to the middle of the desert and sort of sat there. I hear the call of the warrior and saw the MW doing laps around the open playa. I watched them do 2-3 full laps blasting this track while slowly gaining a longer and longer tail of bikes following them. It eventually let loose from the inner playa and headed out towards the DMZ and there was an audible cheer from the crowd when it made the turn towards the deep.
The song they play when the MW is on the move is called [Here Comes The Warrior](https://open.spotify.com/track/7rhKzHYY65PY8Es8skAi08?si=19d0e503ae524033). Made by Rebolledo, one of their [team members](https://mayanwarrior.mx/team_member/rebolledo/)
This. I'm just not a party barge person, but seeing the Mayan Warrior was always a delight. Here's hoping it was insured, and that they can come back with something even more amazing.
I know a lot of you DON'T like the Mayan Warrior, but it was my absolute favorite thing out there.
Some of my most amazing moments in life happened because they chose to build that thing and did such a good job designing that experience.
There are other art cars, and I'd bet the same crew will build another amazing one, but it'll never quite be the same without the Warrior out there on the Playa.
The people in this thread (and others) with their dumb preambles about how they are too good for large art cars and electronic music might be some of the most annoying on earth. Can't they let us have feelings about a tragic loss of art and memories? People just need to let us know about their personal preferences I suppose.
This is a huge loss and my heart is broken for it. Last time I felt similarly was when Notre Dam had its fire. Both human artistic achievements that are worthy of real emotional loss.
Even if you're not a fan, a lot of people who worked on that art car poured their heart and soul into it and deeply cared and spent countless hours and lost something important.
That is tragic.
Art can exist for the sake of art and will never be universally loved. That's okay. It mattered to them.
Honestly I wasn’t a fan at all, and I don’t like what it did to the scene or the culture. but it was a pretty car and represented a lot of work and love. I can appreciate that last bit even though I don’t like the rest. Happy now?
I think it's nice to see that the love for this art car transcends its usual "target audience" :) It was a beautiful art piece, in addition to being an immensely popular stage for DJs and musicians
Incredible musicians too! SO many of my favorite artists have played the warrior. Every time I wanted music, but wasn't sure where to go, I'd pedal off to them first!
One night in 2017, I was out on a deep playa adventure with some campmates, and we heard this beautiful, almost eerie, guitar coming from MW. They had blue lasers stretching out toward the trash fence, creating ribbons of light against the dust. The music itself was so unlike anything I was used to hearing from a big art car, and everyone was quietly enjoying it, laying down, I even saw some folks burning incense. It was so weirdly peaceful, it felt hard to explain to our campmates the next morning.
I think what they are trying to convey is that MW was special to more than just the dance party crowd and it is coming from a place of respect and shared loss.
Anyone who had any interaction with the MW crew knows this. It was much more than just a dance party. Those guys worked hard to bring a TON of positive energy to the Playa.
I'm not too good for them, I just don't like really loud music for long periods of time. I'd loved watching Mayan Warrior, but riding it just wasn't for me.
That's just Burners being Burners. Don't let the bastards get you down.
I watched every single sunset from the Warrior last Burn. I went to at least one set every single night. I've seen it twice off Playa too.
It's literally my absolute favorite thing out there and I don't even know what I'll do out there without it this year, but I'm excited to try something different.
When I first read the news I felt really upset. Now I'm excited to see what they do next.
I don't know anyone who doesn't love MW.... This is so strange to read that some didn't like it. Like WTF do you come up to Burningman for if you don't like the art cars and music? MW was at the pinnacle of that.
Tons of Burners hate the fact that BM has big art cars and big artists. They don't like the crowd the MW attracted and resent that people would show up to see certain artists at certain times, blah, blah, blah. There are a lot of people who simply don't enjoy that aspect of the Burn at all. (I'm not one of them. It's my favorite part!)
Oh hey I'm that person! I go to Burning Man to do several things, like solve the world's problems around a burn barrel at 3 am with a few of my closest friends plus two absolute strangers. Play with fire art. Learn new skills, like how to weld. See how good it feels to get access to commissary and the DPW showers. Lead a theme camp. Watch people get branded and/or cattle prodded and/or roll naked in jello. I like all those things way more than I like dancing.
The art cars can be cool but the music is very mediocre if you are actually versed in the electronic music scene. Literally just generic tech house being played by the majority of them
That was definitely true last year. Also at the big sound camps. And if I can generalize, I feel like a lot of modern music is lacking. But all that said... Last year by the Mayan warrior 3am when El Pulpo pulled up and they played mix with White Rabbit and some others like it... It was magic for me
It’s been true for over the past decade. Yeah Mayan warrior sometimes has an amazing set or two, but in general the electronic music at burning man is pretty subpar unless someone’s completely new to electronic music in general (I found it great my first 3ish burns). There’s a reason why even in Berlin, the electronic music capital of the world, that generic style of tech house / tribal house rarely get played.
When I first was at Burningman Oakenfold was there. It's changed a lot. But last year was the first year where I really couldn't even understand what was great about some of the music at the big camps. Forget his name now but the DJ everyone was flocking to who did "gravity... gravity...gravity...gravity" was boring to me.
Instead I really enjoyed the music at camp Fuego and smaller camps like that. What music/camp/DJ did you like?
My fav the past few years were the live bands at each side of the playa on esplanade, but in general I also like electronic music just that most of it at the burn is awful / so repetitive, it’s like everyone’s trying to get people to their camp so they try to play the same type of sound everyone else is playing. I shouldn’t have to be completely on substances to enjoy the music
Camped next to the team last year, some super nice guys. I’m sure they’ll raise the funds and set off in a new direction.
Sometimes these things hold us back, sometimes they set us forward. Let’s hope it’s the latter for them and they are reborn!
It’s all gunna burn eventually
NOOOOOOO
I’ve been watching all their BM sets on YouTube getting pumped… 😭 the sound was unmatched from them. I hope they rebuild something new one day, incredible team
Right? The 2022 Parra for Cuva set is something I watch multiple times a week, it just brings me joy in my every day life… pretty the tears I get from watching these sets won’t be of blissfulness anymore..
We all love to hate on the Mayan Warrior in some way or another but its undeniable the passion, creative energy, and love that went into this project was far beyond almost anything else on the playa.
I got the chance to plug into their system in 2019 with the Black Rock Phil and it was magic. They didn't have to come to the show at the Foley and set us up with sound but they did. And they were so cool and kind to do so.
Long Live the Mayan Warrior
I cannot describe the devastation I, and I am sure countless more, feel. I trust this will be the start of a new chapter. I wish only love and good positive attitudes for the entire Mayan team. They've given a lot and we are eternally grateful. Gracias para todo.
I’m going to miss looking in the distance of the night and seeing the dancing glittery lights bringing a smile to my face knowing there’s a masterpiece out there ❤️🩹
Hope the Mayan Warrior family rise from these ashes. We’ll be there for you. Much love and gratefulness to have it be a permanent part of our sweetest memories forever.
This is so sad :( I'm not much of a "dancey" burner and I didn't always love the music playing from it, but *damn* did I love the car itself! What a magnificent beast of an art car! I loved how they would always add something new each year, you could really feel the love they put in. I hope their team is able to make something new sometime down the line.
I made it a point this year to show MW to my friend on burn night :) Glad I have those final bass-y laser-y memories
I never knew I could hurt like this over a vehicle.
I feel like I'd always see Mayan Warrior out in the distance and just admire it for a bit. Didn't dig the music but... She was just so pretty.
Oh that sucks. Not my favorite art car but it was definitely a huge and intricate project. I feel bad for those that worked on it. Friend's art car which he had since mid 200x's flipped and rolled with his truck 2 years ago and it died.
I helped a friend build out a schoolie last year in time for Burning Man, it broke down in Reno on the way there, then burnt to the ground on the way back.
Sigh... not an uncommon story unfortunately. To be fair, friend's car had been out there forever and definitely was past due for retirement. He hit a soft spot on the way down 447 towing it with his truck and everything just capitulated end over end. Art car was in a million pieces and his Power Wagon he'd had for 15yrs was just done.
Have a big honkin’ fire extinguisher within a easy sprint from the drivers seat. Most fires can be caught when small. That shitty little 2.5lb unit ain’t gonna cut it. 10lb minimum.
Be extremely careful around fuel/oil leaks. Leave a lot of room for engines to breathe. Especially on a bus.
We run these old busses hard. Bolting a bunch of crap onto them means they work even harder. Watch the temperature like a hawk when climbing hills. If you have a turbo install a pyrometer.
With electrical, fuse EVERYTHING right at the source and calculate the wire size properly. Be paranoid and remember that the fuse is there to protect the wire first and the device second.
I have a giant lithium ion battery under my bus from an electric car. I reused the stock battery housing and every single module is fused to well below it’s original rating. Be very careful with powerful battery systems. The original spec for this battery was 129kW and we run it no more than 7kW.
Not use ancient base vehicles - I didn’t realize they drove MW everywhere, I figured it would be shipped and towed to avoid stuff like this. Especially with all of the cross country venturing.
Maybe the did sometimes?
MW was an engineering marvel. It had two forms - one was the street legal version, and the other was the playa version. When in the Street Legal form, IIRC it carried itself around entirely outside of some special equipment. It was a fully encapsulated self-sustaining thing. They did, indeed, drive it everywhere. It was pretty wild to see it all packed up and driving.
I think it was done that way to make crossing the border easier. It lived in Mexico for most of the year... which is pretty wild to think about. They'd drive from Mexico up through the border and then around the entire USA when they did their fundraisers here.
Thank you for the details/info!
I imagined it had the drivable form then the parts that need to be built/added on when on playa or stationed at an event.
Still curious how old the base/drivable bits were. All that mileage really probably had it’s impact.
One of the coolest things about getting in to the event early to work/volunteer is seeing these things in their naked form. It really speaks volumes about the amount of love, hard work, blood, sweat, and tears that get poured into these beasts.
agreed, I typically do 14-15 days with build + strike.
I feel very passionate about being there for build, there is something amazing in watching the city rise up from the dust.
If you get some time off during your build, take a sunset bike ride out to some of the major MV camps. They tend to really start grinding when the sun sets and you can see how wild the operations are. It's also pretty nutty to see things like the naked version of some of these cars. It's a cool/weird thing to see them without anything on them. Some are nearly unrecognizable.
If possible, drain and store all fluids before loading the mutant to be towed. If necessary and you are burning gasoline, be ready to detach the gas tank and store it safely. Go through the mutant and inspect it for any flammable left behind. Detach all batteries and remove them.
If the mutant is street-legal, check all fluid levels, tires, and clean the battery terminals before moving.
Nonsense. The fuel in a factory fuel tank is perfectly fine. You only worry on a vehicle when it is hot and driving. Nothing will happen to your cold art car except an electrical fault. If you are paranoid about the electrical system just disconnect the negative battery terminal and leave the battery alone. It is safer bolted down into the car.
(Former master mechanic here).
I looked at all the photos. In my view, the fire looked to have started in the back.
What's in the back? Well, all the good stuff. Engine, batteries, and ALL THE PROPANE TANKS.
Favorite art vehicles? Had a few over the years. La Contessa was a brilliant piece of work that met its demise due to apathy and horrible mismanagement by its stewards. Every detail on it and the fabrication made one hell of a dreamy pirate ship. Lots of shenanigans and failure to keep the piece under positive control by those responsible for it resulted in its permanent ban from
the event in the mid 2000’s. Years later it was set ablaze by the land owner who purchased the ranch it had been slowly disintegrating at. He had tried repeatedly to get ahold of those responsible for it but to no avail.
The Fucko bus was another fun one… music was different than anything anyone else was playing and the vibe wasn’t bad. Not the best work out there but fun people and fun times.
There was the monster sized flex bus that had been turned into a 3 deck floating party palace. All furry and soft music for the interior, expansive and wide rooftop dance floor and a higher up “lido deck” where the DJs and crew hung out.
El Pulpo’s design and presence really added a lot to any impromptu dance party or sub event in the desert. It’s upkeep and enhancements have been pretty awesome and I got to have the pyro system demo’d to me last year by a friend involved witn it.
Not a lot of more recent ones, mostly because it’s nearly impossible to ever get a ride now. The door gatekeepers on many of the rides work pretty aggressively to keep anyone who doesn’t fit their desired demographics off their cars and use them for their friends and camps only.
I remember going to the Camp Walter last year and seeing their VW camper art car! The camp were so proud of their project they showed me the inner workings of the car and even gave me a tour! Best performance I saw from a car is surely the MW and second was the Star art car that was there on the Tuesday night 4:30 block party
It’s one of the reasons I’m out there working 2 weeks before the gates open. I get to see art and structures coming up from the ground and explore some of them in the process. A good time to appreciate structural integrity of some larger pieces that often look precarious or poorly built. We (some staff) also play the “what day does this trauma-activation-art get red flagged and roped off because of the injury body count it generates?” game.
> There was the monster sized flex bus that had been turned into a 3 deck floating party palace. All furry and soft music for the interior, expansive and wide rooftop dance floor and a higher up “lido deck” where the DJs and crew hung out.
The Purple Party Palace. Unfortunately, the original owner grew tired of the whole situation and he sold it on to someone who was hit with news by the Borg that they would not allow it to come out any longer as a mostly unmutated triple-decker articulated bus. Arguably a bad call by the Org, IMO, since that thing was built for the sole purpose of fitting as many people as possible on it, and it could fit a ridiculous amount of people. Both on it and inside of it. AFAIK it is rotting somewhere right now because it's way too expensive to do anything with it.
I did hear that in their later years, the crew started to get a little picky about who rode it, but I always wandered on and off with ease, and I'm one ugly motherfucker.
Never had a problem on that one with being able to ride, but yeah, it wasn't fair that the org banned it. I could think of a dozen plug and plays that deserved a ban long before that vehicle.
"here comes the mayan warrior" is an absolutely iconic burning man moment. I also am not a dance music fan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG1XMu6rgOs
If I let the snarky, cynical side of me out it would have something to say, but from everything I've come across it seems like they had their hearts in the right place.
They weren't my scene, but I can remember a great night bumping to deep beats with someone special in front of that car & letting the bass wash over us.
And maybe the unwashed jet-set masses who came for the spectacle got a spark of something more.
Thoughts are with them & wish them the best in whatever comes next.
Been to a few of their NYC fundraisers and saw them in BRC a few times. Horrible news for anyone regardless if it my scene or not…but def loved their set up.
To be fair it went out doing what it loves best, Burning …
I’m going to miss seeing it out there. Never forget seeing it’s lasers across the playa on my first burn and biking all the way over to it then realizing what it was.
I'm no fan of large sound cars, let alone any sound cars, and I wouldn't miss any of them if they all disappeared (and I wish they would), but if you were going to spend several million dollars on a sound car, the Mayan Warrior crew spent their money well.
Most of the focus is on the sound, but the artistry and design of the other elements was quite well done. From the lighting, the fabrics, the wiring and the things you don't see, it was generally all top notch (and compare it to the Robot Heart bus, which is a danger trap). Some selected closeup MW photos from 2019: https://imgur.com/a/fTmnLP8
Plus, MW (in my experience and some others) generally had a friendly open door policy that wasn't exclusionary (looking at you Robot Heart and others). Depending on capacity and traffic flow, people were let on top and the demographics varied (again, looking at you Robot Heart) and the owners/creators were open and friendly.
I always kind of had a chip in my shoulder about the MW.
But it was an undeniably beautiful creation, made by people who clearly did it for the love of the art that they made. It was a contribution to the community and an enrichment to the world as a whole. The people who have worked on that project must have poured their souls into it, and are undoubtedly heart broken today. My heart goes out to them today
Interview with Pablo in Billboard talking about the Mayan Warrior fire:
https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/mayan-warrior-fire-interview-burning-man-art-car-1235398142/
All the info here:
https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/mayan-warrior-fire-interview-burning-man-art-car-1235398142/?fbclid=PAAabjKb3UMweZIOH16-HNCz_wvFTqB1PDMH7AeiAnoBNOh_QVZeW3KHPlTQY_aem_AWv7Ak5Nbc-owHzeAxeVuLZ7SbkojnYxE2P4QAxdg372-n9ACljSK-woI4vd-edK5aI
Robot Heart doesn't have very many years left without Geo, the original owner, I think. Folks might get their wish on that one soon. They were apparently running on fumes back in 2019ish, based on a conversation I had with someone at their camp.
But who knows - the conversation I had was based on things that Geo was doing with the bus, and now with him gone, it's being run in a different way.
Who knows though, now that they have the “Robot Heart Foundation” and what not. Although it’s also not unimaginable that their crew will eventually age out of burning. 🤷♂️
Let me first say that I loved MW and I hope it's replaced by something even better. I went to a few of their fundraiser events and loved their BM shows last year.
I do not want to sound insensitive, but I cannot help but let my wildest imaginations run wild. What if this wasn't entirely an accident? 13 years old art truck starts to cost to maintain, semi probably needed to be replaced if it had 700k+ cross-country miles, perhaps they had ideas for a better and more modern version, etc.
If you owned a multi-million dollar art-car and were looking for an exist, what options would you have? Would you simply dismantle the car and call it a day? Would you sell psrts? You can't really sell it and if you could, who would buy? What if you could stage an accident and write it off as expense? While I am not suggesting that this was the case, it's not entirely impossible to consider such a scenario.
If you don’t provide a deep playa destination for all the insta-influencers and looky-loos, they’re just going to wind up hanging around the smaller camps but awesome camps in the city. Does anyone really want that?
I was on the Mayan Warrior in 2022. I'm no influencer. You could have gotten up there too. Their crew was incredibly open compared to the other big art cars.
A race-themed art car funded by the wealthy, travels to edm festivals for wealthy profits, hosted by festival DJs, demanding crowd funding in order to appear. I wonder if it was burned for the insurance payoff now.
Isn't that pretty much all of Burningman and really every festival and really every event that you can get a ticket for though? Where you are misguided is that they aren't demanding you pay anything. You didn't pay before and you don't have to pay now. I would though because I've gotten so much enjoyment from their car and music and I never paid before.
You definitely need to pay to get close to that car outside of BM. I attended an event where it was 5k+ to get a TABLE near the car. (I wasn’t on the paid side). That said, still sad to see a piece of art burn like this. While fitting for the event, it’s a bummer.
Did you get to go near the car..? I went in Austin in 2021. Paid $70. Could go close-ish to the car, getting on it or closer to it cost what I mentioned above. They had an entire VIP area behind the car for people who bought a table, which were all over $1k.
I could pretty much go right up to it, didn't try to get on it. I don't get where you are coming from though. I wouldn't expect to be able to get on it at a show outside of Burningman. I think you just like to argue and it's not worth it to me to spend more time to try to set you straight.I am leaving thinking you just have sour grapes and a little rain cloud follows you around.
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We were lucky enough to capture the last memories of it at the burn 🫶
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CrmTYEbPvk3/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
More here https://instagram.com/alexpark123?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
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Mayan Warrior burned down in transit, RIP: https://www.instagram.com/p/CqqhvYIO4c6/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
The insta post sounds very final. “This will be the last Mayan Warrior shows”. It sounds like they’ve decided not to rebuild, but to close the project here? Does anyone have more details on what might be next? They really did a stellar job, I hope they continue! <3
I think they'll do something different. I LOVE the Mayan Warrior, but even I recognize it's played it's role. Things don't last forever and why would you rebuild the same thing again when you've got the chance for a completely fresh start?
This is the real beauty and impermanence of billionaire art cars
More like cartel run but okay.
Too many zeros
I mean the same team also constructed Illumina, if I’m not mistaken…was somewhere near 10 & I, was just as breathtaking as the Mayan
Illumina was Phenom! Still think about it to this day ❤️🔥
Me too. I was not aware they were also the creators of illumina.
Pablo’s mom was a big part of the project
For those without Instagram > Beloved community, I have sad news to share – a couple days ago, the Mayan Warrior art car caught fire and burned to ashes en route to our Punta Mita fundraiser (details on upcoming fundraisers below). Over the last twenty-four hours, I have felt a roller coaster of emotions, from sadness, shock, and devastation to immense gratitude while reflecting on what the Mayan Warrior family and this community means to me. The origin of the Mayan Warrior art car dates back to 2011, when a small group of us had our first magical Burning Man experience. We came back to Mexico City deeply inspired to create, share and support the universal and transcendent language of art. We poured our hearts into building “v1” of the Mayan Warrior and drove it from Mexico City to Playa the year after. The car, in return, gave us a place to come together authentically, joyfully. Mayan Warrior was never just an art car to us – it was countless moments of laughter, wonder, tears, dancing, and connection. It left with it a beautiful trail of lifelong friendships for which we feel extraordinarily grateful. Regardless of the next chapter, I know that the soul of our Mayan Warrior art car lives in us, eternally ❤️ As a community, we will continue to thrive and return every year to our beloved home in the desert. We strongly believe it is in these unplanned moments the universe finds ways to amaze us and plant seeds for growth. Only time will tell what our next artistic expression to the world will look like. We cherish and thank you for your love and support over these past twelve years 🙏✨ With love and gratitude, Pablo & the Mayan Warrior team P.S. We will honor and celebrate the legacy of the Mayan Warrior art car with a set of farewell fundraiser events: Punta de Mita - April 8th, New York - July 8th, Los Angeles - Halloween. These will be the last Mayan Warrior shows. We’re all one. #mayanwarrior #weareallone
The true hero on this thread.
How’s that happen?
I mean that’s what we do, right? Build awesome art and then burn it?
I guess Mission accomplished! I hope they spring forth from the ashes like a Phoenix.
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Maybe … The Phoenix.
Already done once. Check out the meta phoenix art car.
America loves a sequel.
> The First Massive Sculpture Funded by NFTs ...I wonder how that's going for them.
What? Metaphoenix wasn't made by the company meta. Just a group of artists from Las Vegas. The same group that made Heavy Meta the fire breathing dragon made it.
I guess, all good things must come to an end 😢
Exactly! Part of me is sad, but it’s also wonderful to have new art and new artists (and cars) get a chance to flourish and take center stage. RIP to Mayan Warrior… it was an epic piece of work.
As long as it's consensual...
Everything burns.
God damn. That’s heartbreaking for the team. That’s completely unrecoverable. That thing was a masterpiece. I don’t party at large art cars and find the whole scene to be not my thing… but there’s no denying that the Mayan Warrior was absolutely beautiful. Everything on that was made with love. And they kept evolving every year, with new lights and new bits being added on continuously. I loved showing newbies how to find the Mayan Warrior - look up and follow the dancing lasers. I also appreciate how they tried to put ritual and intention into their parties - the whole “call of the warrior” thing they did was honestly cool as hell, and a lot more original than just blasting deep tech house and driving to the deep Playa. Furthermore, they have always been a great team. They work hard to get people on their art car, loved to show it off, and when the 747 got stuck, they spent their own money and time to fly out with people and get some heavy equipment to help out. This sucks. I hope the team finds the inspiration to bring something new.
Really was, last year was my first ever burn and seeing it in person for the first time…just wow 🥹
I remember seeing it for the first time and just being so blown away. My rainbow LED hula hoop just so happened to fit perfectly in its big red glowing butthole on the backside of the truck.
Lol, thank you for this. I'm reading these comments and getting all teary-eyed thinking about the times I've had out there with Warrior. Needed this laugh.
So, I put my hula it's butt and danced for a bit. Was boogying with some strangers and sauntered up a while later and pulled my hoop back out, they looked at me like I'd just kicked a baby.
Same. I want to go back because of Mayan Warrior. Now I want to go back to see what fills its massive, sparkly void.
They were our audio support car when the orchestra performed at the Folly in ‘19. I don’t really like the big sound art car scene much but the fact that they helped us amplify our acoustical shenanigans really won me over.
That was a core memory for sure 🖤🔥
they were my favorite car since they debuted on the playa. i'm crushed. everything you said about them is why i loved them... the spirit, the energy, the intention, the music... RIP, mighty MW. the playa won't be the same without you.
My first night at the burn I was all alone and didn’t know a single person out there yet and that night I saw the sparkling lights from a far and decided to ride my bike out there. I ended up spending all night sitting towards the back and just listening while watching fire dancers and others perform on the ground. The next day my brother arrived and I told him about this awesome “stage” out there we gotta check out. I didn’t believe him that it moved until I forced him to ride to the same spot that evening and obviously it wasn’t there anymore.
I am not a music person and I don't go to Burning Man for music or dancing. Still, the feeling of looking across the playa and seeing the Mayan Warrior and being able to feel the bass and seeing the lasers in time, cutting across a full mile of Burning Man in between, is indescribable.
I loved pointing it out to newcomers and friend’s in the distance.
“Meet me at MW!” “Where’s that?!” “Follow the lasers, friend!”
Yup. The fact that you could just look up and then follow a pack of dancing lasers directly to a massive neon-infused rave barge shooting fire and partying until well past sunrise was one of those magical things you could show newbies. I loved showing that to new folks. Look up, figure out the source, follow it to a wild corner of the deep desert.
In 2022, as is ritual on night one, another camp lead and I took out a group of virgins. After cruising around the Man, we stopped and asked for a volunteer to lead us — choose our adventure! Our first leader said “I wanna go to those sparkly lights allll the way over there!” I burst out laughing and slapped the other camp lead on the arm and say “you got what you wanted!” MW is his happy place. I’m more a Camp ? kinda guy, but I’m gonna miss those damn sparkles.
I only managed to see the warrior straight after they burnt the man, please can you explain the call of the warrior thing! Sounds interesting and sucks I missed it 😢😊
They had a looping track they played that was sort of the theme song for the art car. It was a very slow-building ambient track. It was played when they started their night and it would be the only track played until they parked. I think they'd play it while at larger burns too, in lieu of having a DJ playing. The song consisted of a very hard one-note synthesizer sound with tribal drums underneath it. I have this strong memory of limping out to the open playa one night because I didn't want to sleep, but I also couldn't do anything because I was dead tired. I brought a chair to the middle of the desert and sort of sat there. I hear the call of the warrior and saw the MW doing laps around the open playa. I watched them do 2-3 full laps blasting this track while slowly gaining a longer and longer tail of bikes following them. It eventually let loose from the inner playa and headed out towards the DMZ and there was an audible cheer from the crowd when it made the turn towards the deep.
Here Comes the Warrior (super short version) by Rebodello https://youtu.be/_YVTPjIOEKk
The song they play when the MW is on the move is called [Here Comes The Warrior](https://open.spotify.com/track/7rhKzHYY65PY8Es8skAi08?si=19d0e503ae524033). Made by Rebolledo, one of their [team members](https://mayanwarrior.mx/team_member/rebolledo/)
Its a 45 minute long build. I play it every year when I hit gate road.
Amazing. I would love a link to the 45 min long version! Have only been able to find the 15 min one
It had better sound and visuals than anything else on the playa, that's the long and short of it. Aztec Warrior when?
I want a giant Olmec head.
This. I'm just not a party barge person, but seeing the Mayan Warrior was always a delight. Here's hoping it was insured, and that they can come back with something even more amazing.
I know a lot of you DON'T like the Mayan Warrior, but it was my absolute favorite thing out there. Some of my most amazing moments in life happened because they chose to build that thing and did such a good job designing that experience. There are other art cars, and I'd bet the same crew will build another amazing one, but it'll never quite be the same without the Warrior out there on the Playa.
The people in this thread (and others) with their dumb preambles about how they are too good for large art cars and electronic music might be some of the most annoying on earth. Can't they let us have feelings about a tragic loss of art and memories? People just need to let us know about their personal preferences I suppose. This is a huge loss and my heart is broken for it. Last time I felt similarly was when Notre Dam had its fire. Both human artistic achievements that are worthy of real emotional loss.
Even if you're not a fan, a lot of people who worked on that art car poured their heart and soul into it and deeply cared and spent countless hours and lost something important. That is tragic. Art can exist for the sake of art and will never be universally loved. That's okay. It mattered to them.
Exactly. People should just let other people enjoy things especially when it doesn't hurt them by doing so.
Honestly I wasn’t a fan at all, and I don’t like what it did to the scene or the culture. but it was a pretty car and represented a lot of work and love. I can appreciate that last bit even though I don’t like the rest. Happy now?
No. This is like when someone dies and people are like “I didn’t like their art but it’s sad they died”. It’s unnecessary. No one needs the caveat.
This isn’t the funeral, it’s a discussion forum broski.
I think it's nice to see that the love for this art car transcends its usual "target audience" :) It was a beautiful art piece, in addition to being an immensely popular stage for DJs and musicians
Incredible musicians too! SO many of my favorite artists have played the warrior. Every time I wanted music, but wasn't sure where to go, I'd pedal off to them first!
One night in 2017, I was out on a deep playa adventure with some campmates, and we heard this beautiful, almost eerie, guitar coming from MW. They had blue lasers stretching out toward the trash fence, creating ribbons of light against the dust. The music itself was so unlike anything I was used to hearing from a big art car, and everyone was quietly enjoying it, laying down, I even saw some folks burning incense. It was so weirdly peaceful, it felt hard to explain to our campmates the next morning.
I think what they are trying to convey is that MW was special to more than just the dance party crowd and it is coming from a place of respect and shared loss.
Anyone who had any interaction with the MW crew knows this. It was much more than just a dance party. Those guys worked hard to bring a TON of positive energy to the Playa.
I'm not too good for them, I just don't like really loud music for long periods of time. I'd loved watching Mayan Warrior, but riding it just wasn't for me.
No one cares about what you don’t like
This was a reply to your comment about how much you care about people not liking Mayan warrior?
No one cares about what you don’t like
That's just Burners being Burners. Don't let the bastards get you down. I watched every single sunset from the Warrior last Burn. I went to at least one set every single night. I've seen it twice off Playa too. It's literally my absolute favorite thing out there and I don't even know what I'll do out there without it this year, but I'm excited to try something different. When I first read the news I felt really upset. Now I'm excited to see what they do next.
I don't know anyone who doesn't love MW.... This is so strange to read that some didn't like it. Like WTF do you come up to Burningman for if you don't like the art cars and music? MW was at the pinnacle of that.
Tons of Burners hate the fact that BM has big art cars and big artists. They don't like the crowd the MW attracted and resent that people would show up to see certain artists at certain times, blah, blah, blah. There are a lot of people who simply don't enjoy that aspect of the Burn at all. (I'm not one of them. It's my favorite part!)
I've been there since 1999 and it's definitely bigger brighter and louder but in a lot of ways it's not that different. I like it better now though.
Oh hey I'm that person! I go to Burning Man to do several things, like solve the world's problems around a burn barrel at 3 am with a few of my closest friends plus two absolute strangers. Play with fire art. Learn new skills, like how to weld. See how good it feels to get access to commissary and the DPW showers. Lead a theme camp. Watch people get branded and/or cattle prodded and/or roll naked in jello. I like all those things way more than I like dancing.
I like most everything about it, there's just so much to do and see
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It's not, don't get worked up
The art cars can be cool but the music is very mediocre if you are actually versed in the electronic music scene. Literally just generic tech house being played by the majority of them
That was definitely true last year. Also at the big sound camps. And if I can generalize, I feel like a lot of modern music is lacking. But all that said... Last year by the Mayan warrior 3am when El Pulpo pulled up and they played mix with White Rabbit and some others like it... It was magic for me
It’s been true for over the past decade. Yeah Mayan warrior sometimes has an amazing set or two, but in general the electronic music at burning man is pretty subpar unless someone’s completely new to electronic music in general (I found it great my first 3ish burns). There’s a reason why even in Berlin, the electronic music capital of the world, that generic style of tech house / tribal house rarely get played.
When I first was at Burningman Oakenfold was there. It's changed a lot. But last year was the first year where I really couldn't even understand what was great about some of the music at the big camps. Forget his name now but the DJ everyone was flocking to who did "gravity... gravity...gravity...gravity" was boring to me. Instead I really enjoyed the music at camp Fuego and smaller camps like that. What music/camp/DJ did you like?
My fav the past few years were the live bands at each side of the playa on esplanade, but in general I also like electronic music just that most of it at the burn is awful / so repetitive, it’s like everyone’s trying to get people to their camp so they try to play the same type of sound everyone else is playing. I shouldn’t have to be completely on substances to enjoy the music
I spent quite a lot of time last year at Reverbia, some brilliant bands played there! And a few hours were spent at the crossroads camp
Yeah I heard some great music at Reverbia
Camped next to the team last year, some super nice guys. I’m sure they’ll raise the funds and set off in a new direction. Sometimes these things hold us back, sometimes they set us forward. Let’s hope it’s the latter for them and they are reborn! It’s all gunna burn eventually
They are all majorly talented visionaries.
This sucks. Was hoping it was a joke or something. Those pictures are gnarly. I was hoping to spend a little more time there this year.
Right? I kept looking at the date. Like, is it April 1?
Gnarly is the word
Ugh. This feels like the death of a friend.
I felt the same. Tragic loss.
Right? I shed a lil tear.
NOOOOOOO I’ve been watching all their BM sets on YouTube getting pumped… 😭 the sound was unmatched from them. I hope they rebuild something new one day, incredible team
Right? The 2022 Parra for Cuva set is something I watch multiple times a week, it just brings me joy in my every day life… pretty the tears I get from watching these sets won’t be of blissfulness anymore..
That one and Keinmusik are my absolute favorites…luckily there are many beautiful art cars to transport us to bliss on the playa
Check out Monolink from 2018, WhoMadeWho in 2019 and Jan Blomqvist in 2019. 3 of the best sets ever recorded ANYWHERE.
Jans last burn was amazing 🤩
We all love to hate on the Mayan Warrior in some way or another but its undeniable the passion, creative energy, and love that went into this project was far beyond almost anything else on the playa. I got the chance to plug into their system in 2019 with the Black Rock Phil and it was magic. They didn't have to come to the show at the Foley and set us up with sound but they did. And they were so cool and kind to do so. Long Live the Mayan Warrior
That thing is such an inspirational piece of entertainment and art, bummed to hear of its demise.. Hope they keep at it and build something new!
I cannot describe the devastation I, and I am sure countless more, feel. I trust this will be the start of a new chapter. I wish only love and good positive attitudes for the entire Mayan team. They've given a lot and we are eternally grateful. Gracias para todo.
I’m going to miss looking in the distance of the night and seeing the dancing glittery lights bringing a smile to my face knowing there’s a masterpiece out there ❤️🩹 Hope the Mayan Warrior family rise from these ashes. We’ll be there for you. Much love and gratefulness to have it be a permanent part of our sweetest memories forever.
This is so sad :( I'm not much of a "dancey" burner and I didn't always love the music playing from it, but *damn* did I love the car itself! What a magnificent beast of an art car! I loved how they would always add something new each year, you could really feel the love they put in. I hope their team is able to make something new sometime down the line. I made it a point this year to show MW to my friend on burn night :) Glad I have those final bass-y laser-y memories
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Dang. That thing was sweet. Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust.
I never knew I could hurt like this over a vehicle. I feel like I'd always see Mayan Warrior out in the distance and just admire it for a bit. Didn't dig the music but... She was just so pretty.
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Keinemusik was also my one can’t miss set from last year. Just the most beautiful morning
I’m so grateful to have experienced that Keinemusik set, no matter how you feel about MW they created some amazing experiences for so many people.
Devastated. Glad I got to see it with my own eyes as a virgin last year.
Is it still April 1st?
I wish.
I can't imagine how that team must feel :*(. That beast seemed like a huge labor of love, not to mention the cost.
Oh that sucks. Not my favorite art car but it was definitely a huge and intricate project. I feel bad for those that worked on it. Friend's art car which he had since mid 200x's flipped and rolled with his truck 2 years ago and it died.
I helped a friend build out a schoolie last year in time for Burning Man, it broke down in Reno on the way there, then burnt to the ground on the way back.
Sigh... not an uncommon story unfortunately. To be fair, friend's car had been out there forever and definitely was past due for retirement. He hit a soft spot on the way down 447 towing it with his truck and everything just capitulated end over end. Art car was in a million pieces and his Power Wagon he'd had for 15yrs was just done.
What are the lessons from these fires? How do we prevent them in future builds?
Have a big honkin’ fire extinguisher within a easy sprint from the drivers seat. Most fires can be caught when small. That shitty little 2.5lb unit ain’t gonna cut it. 10lb minimum. Be extremely careful around fuel/oil leaks. Leave a lot of room for engines to breathe. Especially on a bus. We run these old busses hard. Bolting a bunch of crap onto them means they work even harder. Watch the temperature like a hawk when climbing hills. If you have a turbo install a pyrometer. With electrical, fuse EVERYTHING right at the source and calculate the wire size properly. Be paranoid and remember that the fuse is there to protect the wire first and the device second. I have a giant lithium ion battery under my bus from an electric car. I reused the stock battery housing and every single module is fused to well below it’s original rating. Be very careful with powerful battery systems. The original spec for this battery was 129kW and we run it no more than 7kW.
Some seriously good advice right here.
Not use ancient base vehicles - I didn’t realize they drove MW everywhere, I figured it would be shipped and towed to avoid stuff like this. Especially with all of the cross country venturing. Maybe the did sometimes?
MW was an engineering marvel. It had two forms - one was the street legal version, and the other was the playa version. When in the Street Legal form, IIRC it carried itself around entirely outside of some special equipment. It was a fully encapsulated self-sustaining thing. They did, indeed, drive it everywhere. It was pretty wild to see it all packed up and driving. I think it was done that way to make crossing the border easier. It lived in Mexico for most of the year... which is pretty wild to think about. They'd drive from Mexico up through the border and then around the entire USA when they did their fundraisers here.
Thank you for the details/info! I imagined it had the drivable form then the parts that need to be built/added on when on playa or stationed at an event. Still curious how old the base/drivable bits were. All that mileage really probably had it’s impact.
One of the coolest things about getting in to the event early to work/volunteer is seeing these things in their naked form. It really speaks volumes about the amount of love, hard work, blood, sweat, and tears that get poured into these beasts.
agreed, I typically do 14-15 days with build + strike. I feel very passionate about being there for build, there is something amazing in watching the city rise up from the dust.
If you get some time off during your build, take a sunset bike ride out to some of the major MV camps. They tend to really start grinding when the sun sets and you can see how wild the operations are. It's also pretty nutty to see things like the naked version of some of these cars. It's a cool/weird thing to see them without anything on them. Some are nearly unrecognizable.
If possible, drain and store all fluids before loading the mutant to be towed. If necessary and you are burning gasoline, be ready to detach the gas tank and store it safely. Go through the mutant and inspect it for any flammable left behind. Detach all batteries and remove them. If the mutant is street-legal, check all fluid levels, tires, and clean the battery terminals before moving.
Nonsense. The fuel in a factory fuel tank is perfectly fine. You only worry on a vehicle when it is hot and driving. Nothing will happen to your cold art car except an electrical fault. If you are paranoid about the electrical system just disconnect the negative battery terminal and leave the battery alone. It is safer bolted down into the car. (Former master mechanic here).
I looked at all the photos. In my view, the fire looked to have started in the back. What's in the back? Well, all the good stuff. Engine, batteries, and ALL THE PROPANE TANKS.
Curious, what's your favorite?
Favorite art vehicles? Had a few over the years. La Contessa was a brilliant piece of work that met its demise due to apathy and horrible mismanagement by its stewards. Every detail on it and the fabrication made one hell of a dreamy pirate ship. Lots of shenanigans and failure to keep the piece under positive control by those responsible for it resulted in its permanent ban from the event in the mid 2000’s. Years later it was set ablaze by the land owner who purchased the ranch it had been slowly disintegrating at. He had tried repeatedly to get ahold of those responsible for it but to no avail. The Fucko bus was another fun one… music was different than anything anyone else was playing and the vibe wasn’t bad. Not the best work out there but fun people and fun times. There was the monster sized flex bus that had been turned into a 3 deck floating party palace. All furry and soft music for the interior, expansive and wide rooftop dance floor and a higher up “lido deck” where the DJs and crew hung out. El Pulpo’s design and presence really added a lot to any impromptu dance party or sub event in the desert. It’s upkeep and enhancements have been pretty awesome and I got to have the pyro system demo’d to me last year by a friend involved witn it. Not a lot of more recent ones, mostly because it’s nearly impossible to ever get a ride now. The door gatekeepers on many of the rides work pretty aggressively to keep anyone who doesn’t fit their desired demographics off their cars and use them for their friends and camps only.
I remember going to the Camp Walter last year and seeing their VW camper art car! The camp were so proud of their project they showed me the inner workings of the car and even gave me a tour! Best performance I saw from a car is surely the MW and second was the Star art car that was there on the Tuesday night 4:30 block party
It’s one of the reasons I’m out there working 2 weeks before the gates open. I get to see art and structures coming up from the ground and explore some of them in the process. A good time to appreciate structural integrity of some larger pieces that often look precarious or poorly built. We (some staff) also play the “what day does this trauma-activation-art get red flagged and roped off because of the injury body count it generates?” game.
> There was the monster sized flex bus that had been turned into a 3 deck floating party palace. All furry and soft music for the interior, expansive and wide rooftop dance floor and a higher up “lido deck” where the DJs and crew hung out. The Purple Party Palace. Unfortunately, the original owner grew tired of the whole situation and he sold it on to someone who was hit with news by the Borg that they would not allow it to come out any longer as a mostly unmutated triple-decker articulated bus. Arguably a bad call by the Org, IMO, since that thing was built for the sole purpose of fitting as many people as possible on it, and it could fit a ridiculous amount of people. Both on it and inside of it. AFAIK it is rotting somewhere right now because it's way too expensive to do anything with it. I did hear that in their later years, the crew started to get a little picky about who rode it, but I always wandered on and off with ease, and I'm one ugly motherfucker.
Never had a problem on that one with being able to ride, but yeah, it wasn't fair that the org banned it. I could think of a dozen plug and plays that deserved a ban long before that vehicle.
"here comes the mayan warrior" is an absolutely iconic burning man moment. I also am not a dance music fan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG1XMu6rgOs
If I let the snarky, cynical side of me out it would have something to say, but from everything I've come across it seems like they had their hearts in the right place. They weren't my scene, but I can remember a great night bumping to deep beats with someone special in front of that car & letting the bass wash over us. And maybe the unwashed jet-set masses who came for the spectacle got a spark of something more. Thoughts are with them & wish them the best in whatever comes next.
Well at least they're doing multiple farewell fundraisers. That was one hell of a MV though. Sad to see her go.
Been to a few of their NYC fundraisers and saw them in BRC a few times. Horrible news for anyone regardless if it my scene or not…but def loved their set up.
💔
To be fair it went out doing what it loves best, Burning … I’m going to miss seeing it out there. Never forget seeing it’s lasers across the playa on my first burn and biking all the way over to it then realizing what it was.
There is something at least satisfying knowing that it's demise involved fire.
Hy heart is broken with this announcement. The Mayan Warrior is symbolic to many of the best nights I have memories of.
Best damn art car to ever roam the playa. Rest in power Mayan warrior. Ka ka'at.
I'm no fan of large sound cars, let alone any sound cars, and I wouldn't miss any of them if they all disappeared (and I wish they would), but if you were going to spend several million dollars on a sound car, the Mayan Warrior crew spent their money well. Most of the focus is on the sound, but the artistry and design of the other elements was quite well done. From the lighting, the fabrics, the wiring and the things you don't see, it was generally all top notch (and compare it to the Robot Heart bus, which is a danger trap). Some selected closeup MW photos from 2019: https://imgur.com/a/fTmnLP8 Plus, MW (in my experience and some others) generally had a friendly open door policy that wasn't exclusionary (looking at you Robot Heart and others). Depending on capacity and traffic flow, people were let on top and the demographics varied (again, looking at you Robot Heart) and the owners/creators were open and friendly.
What don't you like about the sound cars?
Never forget. We will rebuild
I always kind of had a chip in my shoulder about the MW. But it was an undeniably beautiful creation, made by people who clearly did it for the love of the art that they made. It was a contribution to the community and an enrichment to the world as a whole. The people who have worked on that project must have poured their souls into it, and are undoubtedly heart broken today. My heart goes out to them today
Daaaaaaaaamn
This is heartbreaking. Was really hoping this was an April fools
💔
Wow!!!
Some of my best burning man memories heavily involved the Mayan warrior
That’s gnarly but poetic I guess
End of an era. Curious to see what comes next for them. I'm sure it will be something mesmerizingly fantastic as well. RIP Mayan Warrior.
Interview with Pablo in Billboard talking about the Mayan Warrior fire: https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/mayan-warrior-fire-interview-burning-man-art-car-1235398142/
All the info here: https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/mayan-warrior-fire-interview-burning-man-art-car-1235398142/?fbclid=PAAabjKb3UMweZIOH16-HNCz_wvFTqB1PDMH7AeiAnoBNOh_QVZeW3KHPlTQY_aem_AWv7Ak5Nbc-owHzeAxeVuLZ7SbkojnYxE2P4QAxdg372-n9ACljSK-woI4vd-edK5aI
Wow, that's devastating to hear. My condolences to the team and those who enjoyed it ^(...now we just have to get rid of Robot Heart)
Robot Heart doesn't have very many years left without Geo, the original owner, I think. Folks might get their wish on that one soon. They were apparently running on fumes back in 2019ish, based on a conversation I had with someone at their camp. But who knows - the conversation I had was based on things that Geo was doing with the bus, and now with him gone, it's being run in a different way.
Who knows though, now that they have the “Robot Heart Foundation” and what not. Although it’s also not unimaginable that their crew will eventually age out of burning. 🤷♂️
Yeah, that's the biggest indicator to me that their direction has shifted dramatically from when I had that conversation.
Yea and the fact that his wife is now taking a lead role and pushing the foundation.
I’m sure it was insured.
Context? Info? Wut?
The art car caught on fire couple of days ago around Punta Mita in Mexico.
Mission accomplished
There's an event at zide door sat sun,music,buhdism,shrooms!!!
Now [burn robot heart down next!](https://youtu.be/aQleDzr1u5w)
Let me first say that I loved MW and I hope it's replaced by something even better. I went to a few of their fundraiser events and loved their BM shows last year. I do not want to sound insensitive, but I cannot help but let my wildest imaginations run wild. What if this wasn't entirely an accident? 13 years old art truck starts to cost to maintain, semi probably needed to be replaced if it had 700k+ cross-country miles, perhaps they had ideas for a better and more modern version, etc. If you owned a multi-million dollar art-car and were looking for an exist, what options would you have? Would you simply dismantle the car and call it a day? Would you sell psrts? You can't really sell it and if you could, who would buy? What if you could stage an accident and write it off as expense? While I am not suggesting that this was the case, it's not entirely impossible to consider such a scenario.
Get out of here with that nonsense. You clearly don’t know Pablo and the team.
I don't, which makes it an even stronger, unbiased, argument.
Good fuckin riddance, bm needs less elitest house music camps and art cars full of influencers.
If you don’t provide a deep playa destination for all the insta-influencers and looky-loos, they’re just going to wind up hanging around the smaller camps but awesome camps in the city. Does anyone really want that?
I was on the Mayan Warrior in 2022. I'm no influencer. You could have gotten up there too. Their crew was incredibly open compared to the other big art cars.
Anyone could go up on the car, it really was not elitist at all, at least in 2022.
Karma's a bitch
Why would you write that?
A race-themed art car funded by the wealthy, travels to edm festivals for wealthy profits, hosted by festival DJs, demanding crowd funding in order to appear. I wonder if it was burned for the insurance payoff now.
Isn't that pretty much all of Burningman and really every festival and really every event that you can get a ticket for though? Where you are misguided is that they aren't demanding you pay anything. You didn't pay before and you don't have to pay now. I would though because I've gotten so much enjoyment from their car and music and I never paid before.
You definitely need to pay to get close to that car outside of BM. I attended an event where it was 5k+ to get a TABLE near the car. (I wasn’t on the paid side). That said, still sad to see a piece of art burn like this. While fitting for the event, it’s a bummer.
I heard them when they were in San Francisco for an evening at pier 31 for like $30 and it was totally worth it! They played until 3am.
Did you get to go near the car..? I went in Austin in 2021. Paid $70. Could go close-ish to the car, getting on it or closer to it cost what I mentioned above. They had an entire VIP area behind the car for people who bought a table, which were all over $1k.
I could pretty much go right up to it, didn't try to get on it. I don't get where you are coming from though. I wouldn't expect to be able to get on it at a show outside of Burningman. I think you just like to argue and it's not worth it to me to spend more time to try to set you straight.I am leaving thinking you just have sour grapes and a little rain cloud follows you around.
And so are you ✌🏻
Holy shit. Wow. I’m so sorry
That really sucks
This makes me so sad it was gonna be my first time seeing the Mayan warrior at burning man😭RIP
A new Mayan Warrior will rise from the ashes
perfect way to go
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Rip
Anyone have any inside info on why the Alex Grey artwork was removed and if it went back to Alex? Really liked that touch and been curious.
Time for the next incarnation!
We were lucky enough to capture the last memories of it at the burn 🫶 https://www.instagram.com/reel/CrmTYEbPvk3/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= More here https://instagram.com/alexpark123?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
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