RECAP: Valentine’s Day with BACARDÍ and PATTA

February’s cold bleakness is only interrupted by the cutest, soapiest date of them all – Valentine’s day! In true celebratory spirit, BACARDÍ x PATTA held their latest party on the day of Friday 14th, marked with a big heart on our collective calendar. Of course, this meant we had no other choice than to honour love by dancing, drinking rum and coke, and feeling all treacly. The night quickly started reflecting our sentiments, turning into a symbolic jaunt into the immense love that resides in being one with the crowd. 

Their entire vision is affirmative of this love, and not only when the calendar urges us to emphasise it. With DJs such as BXXMBASTIC, DJ Drivah, Bao G, T.NO B2B YENTZYZ B2B NADIM and none other than DJ Edzon (Edson Sabajo, one of the founders of PATTA), the PATTA Soundsystem pulsated acutely, in tune with its hip-hop roots.

The rum virtuosos and streetwear label previously converged their vision into one encompassing statement: ”Do what moves you”. Their punctual synthesis is a marker of their strive for community, inclusion, and capital C Connection, percolating the dancefloor as people merge into one. This time, it really made us look within and focus on our corny, Cupid-stricken feelings, which are often easily neglected in favour of other forms of hedonism. Last summer, Charli XCX set it tone by famously claiming that everything is romantic – and with BACARDÍ x PATTA, we’re just indulging further, keeping the eternal romance aflame.

We have to own up to the facts: spontaneity is a lot more fun than a sequential programme, and BACARDÍ x PATTA have been aware of this truth for a while now. With their joint events functioning on a pop-up schedule, their sporadic parties convey an adventitious, yet bewitching setup for a night out. There is no such immersive magic protruding in a space as when people come together in true unity, and the brands are notorious for their idiosyncratic location choices. Last weekend, their romantic party infused the space of Noordwaarts, an old Amsterdam-Noord warehouse, conjuring the resident spirit of all of their events. 

Needless to say, apart from an unmissable DJ lineup, any BACARDÍ x PATTA event automatically implies live performances, exclusive PATTA merch and BACARDÍ long drinks and cocktails. If these were not convincing enough for the crowd, sticking close to Valentine’s Day’s ubiquitous symbolism, the brands launched a limited edition BACARDÍ x PATTA longsleeve, with hearts being (obviously!) its central theme. Despite it not being for sale, the first one hundred visitors were sure to put their hands on one – and we loved to see love, worn gratuitously as the night grew into pure, joint bliss. 

We are closely anticipating a sequel to this emblematic night – all announcements and thrilling updates can be found on PATTA’s social media accounts.