Interview with Jamie Awad of Club Papi

CLUB PAPI
“Ain’t No Party Like a Papi Party!”

Club Papi is spanning the nation bringing you Latin entertainment at its finest, with weekly events, national tours, and the now infamous parties in Tijuana and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico as well. What started as a night in San Jose in 1996, has now become the name synonymous with hot Latin dance parties! Club Papi wants you to check your stress at the door and enjoy the music, the dancers, the atmosphere, and for a few hours, just lose yourself in Club Papi. GED sat down with the creator and owner of Club Papi, Jamie Awad for a quick one on one…

How long has Club Papi been going and how have you evolved over the years?

2016 marks our 21st year in business serving the gay Latino community all over the United States and Mexico. What an amazing 21 years it has been.  With the changing technology, we have seen a big shift in how customers interact with our team online and how they choose to go out on a weekly basis. Our strongest asset is our attention to customer service.   

How do you keep it fresh and fun?

One thing CLUB PAPI has always been these past 21 years is a traveling party, which gives us the advantage to come into different venue’s and create unique experiences inside those clubs.  Yes, we still have our wonderful weekly events but the ability to come to different cities and produce wonderful shows with amazing artists is a huge plus for our party.  Another way we strive to keep it fun and fresh is by partnering with other amazing promoters and producers in our industry.  This year we have partnered with WTF FRIDAYS and Stefano Rosso to throw some truly unique and incredibly fun fiestas. These partnerships allow us to expand the Club Papi brand into alternative markets, which is super important to the longevity of our production.

What gives you the most satisfaction?

There are two things I am most proud of as a producer and owner of Club Papi.  Being the creator and producer of the LATIN STAGE concept at Long Beach, Los Angeles and San Francisco gay pride events year in and year out.  This is our 19th year working on the LATIN STAGE and it was definitely not an easy road traveled to get these stages to be the success they are today. In many cases we faced individuals that did not want to see the Latin stages succeed.  But all of the hard work and amazing contributions of Major Artists believing in the gay community has taken these stages at Long Beach, LA and SF gay prides to a whole new level. A second source of pride and accomplishment for me is the National Gay Club tours we produce across the USA.  Our team has brought some of the most recognized names in Latin Music and the Club Papi experience to over 15 cities in America.  Working with these HUGE artists on a gay club tour is hard work, but also some of our most satisfying experiences.  Being able to bring Club Papi to the masses of proud gay Latino’s is definitely a thrill I love.

What special entertainers/parties do you have coming up?

We are entering the busy pride and summer season here at Club Papi, and this year we are once again producing the Latin stages at Los Angeles and San Francisco Prides in June.  In Mid April, we take electro pop sensation BELANOVA on a mini 3 city tour to celebrate the release of their new album.  BELANOVA is huge, and we are super excited to work with them again and to partner with WTF FRIDAYS for an incredible party at the historic YOST Theater in Santa Ana. At the end of April and beginning of May, we go on the road with the sensational Mexican actress and singer MARIANA SEOANE for her National Gay Club tour across America.  Following our work with MARIANA, we also start producing events with another incredible Mexican singer, DIANA REYES. I love our new partnership with Stefano Rosso and our collaboration on Club Papi and Circuit F*ck*r After Hours at MICKY’S in West Hollywood for our monthly productions.  So many hot dancers and cutting edge DJ’s, makes this an event I really look forward to every month.

Photos from some nights in Sacremento, San Jose and Long Beach are pictured here, courtesy of Club Papi. For more information on all the Club Papi events and weekly parties, visit www.clubpapi.com.