Real recognize real. Oscar Sanchez proves cooler than the infamous “1992″ parties he’s been throwing and promoting for the past couple of years. In recent days he’s been workin’ it out on stage as a dancer for the buzzed about recording artist, Maluca (Mad Decent). I got the chance to catch up with Oscar and ask him a few questions, listen in and brace yourself to be schooled…
Hi Oscar! You’re probably most well known for your now infamous “1992” parties with Vashtie, can you tell us a little bit about how you got started as a crowd motivator?
Crowd motivator? Haha, I just made that up cause I do so many different things. People get discouraged often and I just want to give people positive advice, especially the ones I see and work with on a daily basis.
How did you and Vashtie meet?
I met Vashtie through her ex-boyfriend, Marco. He and I always linked up at b-boy events, parties etc.
What have been the best experiences from doing such a popular party? What are your most memorable nights?
The best would be so many people that attended on the strength that they loved the idea and just wanted to party. Also, picking up the New York Times Sunday Styles and seeing the 1992 article. I thought it was going to be a blurb, it ended up being a full page article in color! Shout out to Ben Detrick. That’s history in the making. Thirty years from now I’m going to search “1992 the party” on nytimes.com and read about the party.
Memorable? I would have to say every party we did for 1992. The anniversaries, the flyers, the DJs, the vogue show, the bboys, the 1992 cake, the gifts bags. Vashtie and I put everything into every party. Its just crazy fun!
You also do graphic design for Hood By Air, how did you get involved with the brand?
I’ve known Raul for quite a while now, and he always mentioned his clothing line. I never really knew what it was about until he showed me a lookbook. And I asked him, “Who the f*ck did this, can I fix it?”, haha. Then he asked if I wanted to work for Hood By Air. I met Shayne and the rest was history. They are really young and come from the hood, and they are doing really great things. Raul is 23, Shayne is 21, they fund their own collections/projects etc and have had the craziest fashion shows all on their own. That’s no joke. They have no financial backing, they built the empire all on their own, thats mega props. And their pieces are works of art. So many fashion houses (I will refrain from mentioning names) are straight up biting the aesthetic of Hood By Air. I just wanted to add to their monstrosity, they’re scaring a lot of people (in a good way!) Haha :)
As a jack of all trades, what was your first job and how has that impacted your career choices?
When I interned at Mass Appeal back in 1999 they were working out of their living-room in Brooklyn. They hustled out every issue and schooled so many on graffiti and the culture that revolved around it. They made things happen, period.
Also I’ve been working in hospitals, the board of education, and community centers for almost 10 years. I’m grateful I’ve had the energy to provide my services to those that need it. And at the same time I’ve been creative and I’ve partied like a beast. Haha. It worked out really well!
We hear that you were a break dancer, do you still dance?
I really started to see people dance to house music when I was 10 years old so I was more in tune to wanting to learn house. But back in ‘95-’96 I would go to a bunch of b-boy events and I always wanted to rock the floor so I got my basic floor rock and top rock down packed, just in case. Of course I still dance, it’s my daily excercise and I want to show people thats it’s still ok to dance and mess up your sneakers.
Described as a lover of everything ’90s, who are some of your favorite designers and trends from that era?
I would have to say the Ralph Lauren and Polo era in NYC. If you paid attention, the whole look
was based off of the wealthy, or as Lauren would have put it “the American Dream”. It was all based off of fishing, skiiing, yachting, etc. Take that whole look and have inner city youths wear, boost, kill for it, that have never been skiiing, fishing, etc. I don’t know… it was a double edged sword.
At that time we would have never been a part of that “American Dream” and probably never will, so we stole it. It was a crazy era. Just surround that with the music of that time, the lifestyle, the club scene, the actual participation of every borough in NYC- it was the craziest rush ever! Today nothing is attached to Polo, just the “American Dream”. I was a big fan of Benetton, but Polo by Ralph Lauren definitely put me on to colour schemes, different style of fabrics and blow-up graphics. If you see how I dress today, it still has the twist from those days.
Vintage or reinterpreted 90s?
Vintage all the way.
If not New York then where?
I’m not sure, maybe Dominican Republic but nothing feels more like home than the Big Apple.
What accessory can you not live without?
Probably glasses. I really like backpacks and long bill hats. Skippies make my feet feel fine.
Aside from ”1992”, where are we most likely to find you on any given night?
I have a lot of respect and love for DJs and party promoters, most of whom are my friends that I support. I mean, they keep me dancing. I support many events downtown, Santos on Friday nights, the Smiths party on Sundays, Club Vortex etc, etc. Shoutout to all the DJs and party promoters in NYC.
What else can we expect from you in the future?
I’ve been trying to write a movie script, it’s autobigraphical/fiction stories. I started to put some of it on twitter.com/osclops. Check it out. I don’t condone any acts of violence, it’s all based off of growing up in east New York, Brooklyn and New York City.
I’ve recently been back-up dancing for Maluca, check her out on myspace.com/malucamala. We did the Fader Fort Show at SXSW and are about to do a European tour. We performed on the same stage as Theophilous London, Bun B, Kanye West and the Good Music family, I was kind of gassed. Haha. I got a couple of events lined up, I’ll definitely keep you posted.
I’m also starting a house dance class called “FUNdamentals of House Steppin’”. I’m putting up a blog really soon. You know- a little about how people got onto to cazals, the eyewear game, bowties. Bringing back swag, the usual ;) Got a ton of stuff lined up.
What are the top 5 songs on your play list right now?
Hmm, I listen to about 10,000 tracks a week (laughing.) Maybe I’m exaggerating but I love music. I’ll list 10.
1. OPENING by Phillip Glass
2. TRYING GIRLS OUT by The Persuaders
3. TIRED by Adele
4. MY GIRLS by Animal Collective
5. ARE YOU READY by Beatnuts feat. Grand Puba
6. IN THE MUSICAL by Bjork/Selmasongs
7. OPEN YOUR EYES by Bobby Caldwell
8. BAD NEWS by Kanye West
9. NORTH ON SOUTH ST. by Herp Alpert
10. QUE SE MUERAN DE ENVIDIA by Joe Veras
I could seriously list 50+ songs.
Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?
I have to apologize, I did take the cookie. I understand that we are inspired from what was, but I wanted to take from what motivates me, to think BIG, and be as creative as possible and reinterpret it through my eyes. Hopefully I will make things which will inspire the next generation to think outside the box and continue to school generations after.
One love.
oscar
Check Oscar at www.myspace.com/oscarwild or follow him on twitter… and we can’t forget about the 1992 parties!
- Katy Bagli