Alegria Musica, Summer Edition 2009

Just when you were starting to sweat the end of summer, and rue the loss of carefree beach days and endless fun-the kind of days that one associates with Fire Island Pines, for example, or P'town-along comes Alegria Labor Day, a reminder that even as the calendar changes, there's still joy-still Alegria.

Last weekend, for example, you might have been working it out at the Pines in ninety-degree heat on the custom-built dance floor for Ascension-and maybe you noticed a plane flying over the beach, with a banner reading ALEGRIA MUSICA SUMMER EDITION, LABOR DAY WEEKEND, NYC. There it was, the sign you'd been searching for: proof of an endless summer.

One of producer Ric Sena's personal favorites on the Alegria calendar, Alegria Labor Day has always been one of those parties where the celebration is two-fold: the glory of summer giving over to the advent of autumn. Summer's been heaven, but now everyone's returning to town; the city is abuzz with a new cultural season-as well as the return of college frat boyz to campus for...instruction.

One year, Alegria Labor Day was a labor of love to Sena's beloved Rio-a valentine to perpetual summer-while this year's version will be Alegria Musica, Summer Edition, with a singular focus on lighting and music. And in keeping with a renewed focus on music and lighting, Sena is bringing in three deejays, each one representing a different continent, thereby highlighting the global reach of the Alegria family.

Tribal, House, and Progressive House

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Opening the night, from Amsterdam, will be Giangi Cappai, a long-term resident of Amsterdam's uber-club, Rapido-the eponymous party named for Cappai's massive international hit "Rapido," released in the US on Star 69. Known also for his alter ego, "Alma Matris," Cappai has played Barcelona's Circuit festival, as well as parties from Rio to Rome-and it's a certainty this man will be laboring hard for Alegria.

Taking over the turntables from Cappai will be Renato Cecin, one of Brazil's most prominent deejays, the premier resident of S�o Paulo's uber-club, The Week. Since 1996, when Cecin returned to Brazil from Vienna, where he'd studied fine arts, Cecin has been one of the most popular deejays in a country that lives to party. From his residencies at Opera Club, X-Demente and Level Club, to his parties at Ultralounge, Cecin has amassed a devoted following for his highly elaborate mixing of tribal, house, and progressive house.

DJ Paulo Kicking-It-Up

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And then, as the morning commences, Los Angeles's perennial king, Paulo, kicks Alegria up another notch, with his much-heralded blend of progressive percussive tribal. As anyone who was at Roseland for the Saturday of Pride weekend knows, this man is relentless-and there's no doubt that Paulo will wring every last bit of energy out of the boys who crowd Alegria's floor until the very last beat.

And just in case you find yourself unable to make it to New York for Labor Day weekend, Sena happens to throwing another Labor Day party, the same night, at Route 66 in Fort Lauderdale, reprising his New York Pride Alegria smash hit, Alegria Wonderland.

Your choice, your pick-either way, Alegria Labor Day is determined to prove that summer just keeps on getting better in September.