White Party will feature Japanese food, reggaeton

A young man with no small amount of both verve and nerve is putting together and throwing an offbeat party at the Favorite Tavern, 118 B St.

Dubbed "The White Party," the 7 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. event on Dec. 8 will feature an unlikely combination of Japanese, Latin, hip-hop and black culture.

Relying on what he calls "a strong sense of culture," 22-year-old Marcos Garibay - a 2002 graduate of Centennial High School - said "There's Cinco de Mayo and Oktoberfest in Pueblo, but nothing that is really out of the norm. How many times can you watch the Mexican Hat Dance at the Fair and feel like you're being exposed to something different, to a different culture?"

Accordingly, his White Party event will feature a Japanese dinner, salsa, merengue, bachata, reggaeton, hip-hop and rhythm and blues music, all for the admission price of $10.

Maleza, a two-man music group from Denver, will be among providers of sounds that night.

Garibay, who heads a promotion and production enterprise called The Blackout Beat Production Co., also will show off a new film, "Making the Revolution," that recorded the efforts he and others expended making a CD, "The Blackout Revolution."

Garibay, whose nickname is, appropriately, "Gambit," began the company in 2002, when he was fresh out of high school. He earned capital for the venture by mowing lawns. He has partnered with his brother, Armando.

In addition to producing events such as The White Party, the Garibay brothers aim to "connect with new artists who are motivated and driven." Marcos Garibay hopes to produce one to three solo albums next year and continue events such as Havana Night, which he held last September at the Favorite.

He also has produced a sharp-looking, 10-page promotional magazine, "The Beat."

Garibay, who is taking classes at Colorado State University-Pueblo and Pueblo Community College, asks that people attending The White Party event wear white clothing.