[EN] The «Santísimo Desmadre» that arrives at the Fiestas del Pilar: more than ten hours of electronic music and 16 DJs

The Fiestas del Pilar will have a very special date with electronic music this year on October 10, the day of the Proclamation. While the Zity Space will vibrate with the sounds of Coliseum Almudévar, which will return for the second consecutive year to Valdespartera, on the other side of the city INPU Discoteca will open its doors to Santísimo Desmadre IV – Pilar Edition, a party designed both for those who grew up listening to these sounds and for those who are discovering them now.

There will be more than ten hours of festival in which there will be room for Remember, Hard Trance, Hard House, Newstyle, Bumping and Makina, with vinyl sharing the limelight with the digital format. DJ Thomas, Bassdrum Project, GNS, Dibison, Alex-T, Valero, Manu Blasc, Juanjo Cruz, Javiercico, Chorche, Jaime Beltrán, J.Bueno, Juanfrank, Jerez, Maniac and Álex Beat will perform in the booth.

Behind this display there is a much simpler story: that of a birthday party between friends that ended up growing to become a party open to the public. The Aragonese Rubén Santamaría is behind this project that reaches its Volume 4 during the Fiestas del Pilar 2026 with a very specific idea: to bring together in front of the same booth those who lived this music decades ago and a new generation that has decided to make it their own.

DE UN CUMPLEAÑOS ENTRE AMIGOS AL SANTÍSIMO DESMADRE

Before the posters, the DJs and the nights at INPU, there were birthdays. Rubén Santamaría has been celebrating his birthday since he was 18 years old by gathering his friends around a private party in which music and sessions always occupied an important place. Over time a question began to be repeated: «Rubén, why don’t you have a birthday party with all your DJ friends in a nightclub and we open it to the public?».

The proposal seemed simple, but putting it into practice was another story. «The idea started to haunt my head, but it took a lot of encouragement to encourage me. It was one thing to organize a private party for your friends and quite another to take the step of taking that idea to a nightclub, setting up a project and opening it up to everyone,» Rubén recalls.

This is how Santísimo Desmadre was born, maintaining part of that initial spirit of reunion between people who share the same way of living the music. «From the beginning I wanted to create a meeting point between the old and the new school, between those who have been living this music for decades and those who are now discovering that same passion. The project began to grow edition after edition and, although it has been difficult, it has been worth it,» explains Santamaría.

B2B ALL NIGHT: THE PARTY FORMULA

If there is one characteristic that differentiates Santísimo Desmadre within the electronic music offer of Zaragoza is its commitment to B2B throughout the night. Instead of proposing a conventional succession of individual sessions, two DJs share a booth and build together a performance whose course also depends on what happens on the dance floor.

«It’s not simply about putting two names together in a line-up. We seek to create connections that don’t normally occur, to confront different styles, generations and ways of understanding the booth,» explains Santamaría. The intention is to bring together even artists who have never played together before so that they can listen to each other and build something different in front of the audience.

This formula also allows us to cross eras and supports. «Santísimo Desmadre is that place where vinyl and digital coexist without rules, where the experience of the most veteran DJs meets the freshness and energy of the new generations,» sums up its promoter.

Nor is there any intention to limit itself to a single genre. In this Pilar Edition, Remember, Hard Trance, Hard House, Newstyle, Bumping and Makina will coexist. «We want each session to have personality, for each B2B to tell a different story and for the audience to never know exactly what is going to happen when two DJs get together in front of the decks,» says Rubén.

FROM THOSE WHO DANCED IN THE 90S TO THOSE WHO HAVE JUST ARRIVED

A large part of Santísimo Desmadre’s identity is to unite generations. «We want someone who lived through the 90s to be able to feel like they did then, but for a young person to be able to discover why that time was so important for our musical culture,» says Santamaría. «We don’t want one to replace the other. We want them to meet.»

This desire is understood through its residents. One of them is Valero, who represents the Remember and Hard side, with sessions marked by constant energy and his ability to interpret what the dance floor needs.

Juanfrank contributes another of the elements that the project wants to preserve: the culture of vinyl. His sessions are entirely in physical format and are linked to the Andorran sound. «For us it is very important to keep that vinyl culture alive, because it is part of the history of this music and of a generation that learned to live it in a completely different way,» explains the promoter.

Completing this identity is Cava, whom Santamaría defines as «the king of melodies». «His sessions have that special point that makes a melody not simply a song, but a memory,» he says.

THE KEYS THAT HAVE MADE THE MESS GROW

But for Rubén, an electronic music party does not only work with a good line-up. «You can have a spectacular line-up, an incredible sound and a production to match, but if you don’t have an audience in front of you that understands and shares what you are doing, there is no magic,» he says.

«We have found an audience that comes to enjoy, to dance, to remember and also to discover,» explains Santamaría. For a few hours, age differences take a back seat to a shared love of electronic music.

And although the result is seen on the dance floor and in the booth, Santísimo Desmadre is also built away from the spotlight. Rubén Santamaría highlights the support of Chema, owner of INPU Discoteca, who trusted in the proposal from its first steps, and of Álex Beat, one of his main supporters in the advice and decision-making of the project.

To them is added what they internally call «the leadership», made up of Valero, Cava, Marieta and Rubén himself. The six maintain almost daily contact to prepare each edition between proposals, changes and decisions. «We talk, we discuss, we propose ideas, we change things, we go crazy preparing each edition, but we always end up rowing in the same direction,» sums up Santamaría, confident that on October 10 the public will once again make that mess their own.

But Volume 4 will not be the last date of the year: Santísimo Desmadre Vol. 5 will arrive at the end of 2026 and its line-up will be presented that same night of October 10 at the nightclub, opening the next chapter of a story that began with a birthday party between friends.