Black Rock City. The most unusual town on Earth.

Welcome to Black

rock

City and before we begin, here's a history lesson for you. The Burning Man originated on Baker Beach in San Francisco in 1986. It is here that the first eight foot, approximately eight foot wooden man statue was burned, the idea of ​​burning the man was the brainchild of Larry Harvey and Jerry james in the 1990s there were so many willing participants that san francisco authorities banned the festival the burners had to find a new location and the nevada desert became the new location for the festival, an event that began when some friends around a a bonfire now, 30 years later, will bring together 70,000 people from around the world now the Black

rock

Desert is the home of burning man thousands of years ago a body of water stood in the same place that is now a dry bed of Blake, is one of the flattest surfaces on

earth

and in 1997 the world speed record was established here 1228 kilometers per hour at 763 miles per hour this place is famous for its dust storms that cover absolutely everything, curiously it is not sand but alkali what formed the bottom of the lake spinning kilometers in all directions there is no life there is no water and extreme changes in temperature thanks to the hard work of thousands of people once a year this place becomes a

city

in the desert that exists For just one week, a place called Blackrock City is where man is burned.

The burners face a gigantic task: adapt to the desert and build homes and infrastructure, then protect everything from wind and dust, fill everything with lights and al At the same time maintaining an authentic look the main challenge lies in the lack of electri

city

in the desert and everything has to run on generators, from the smallest industrial ones to the largest, of course, fuel must also be brought for the generators, there is also solar panels. Here are aez areas in Blackrock City where 100% of electricity is derived from alternative sources. sources people bring an incredible amount of furniture and construction materials with the sole objective of building a city in the heart of nowhere and two days later the city begins to configure a phenomenal site to contemplate such an organized place built in the middle of a desert how many cities in the world can boast the unique features of Black Rock City everything is carefully thought out as in any typical city there are main and secondary streets central and quieter residential areas all streets are exactly 12.2 meters or approximately 40 feet wide marked width long before the first burners start arriving, Blackrock City forms a semi-circle and as with any clock, all the streets are named in time 345 215 230 etc., makes it really easy to navigate and provides a good understanding of where you are.

A huge field in the middle of this semicircle is called the beach and serves as the epicenter of all the roads in the city, right in the middle of the beach there is a human statue called the man, it is the central and main structure of the city, although Black Rock City looks small from above, in reality it is extremely vast and getting from one end of Black Rock City to the other can take over an hour by bike. Keep in mind that it is a city that is home to a population of 70,000 people. Blackrock City has a well-defined boundary. a so-called garbage fence that is intended to prevent garbage from being washed out of the city.

The garbage fence runs like a city boundary and is only half a meter high or about a foot and a half, making it easy to climb. It is practically impossible to sneak in and the local police are constantly watching Blackrock City must comply with the laws of Nevada and the United States It is patrolled by federal police and local rangers who are mainly supporters of the burners the local speed limit is five miles per hour or five miles per hour and like any other normal city, Black Rock City has an airport, a local newspaper post office and even has its own zip code 89412, there is a working landline, there are 430 fire extinguishers spread throughout the whole city and each one has their own qr. code there is a hospitable municipality and even traffic jams like in a typical city, however, Blackrock City is not a typical city, it is a dusty fantasy of what a post-apocalyptic world would look like, it is like a game of consequences and Mad Max Gathered here, you have to constantly pinch yourself because it's hard to believe you're not dreaming that you find yourself surrounded by steampunk installs people in futuristic outfits and arty cuts mutant cars that impress me the

most

, there are hundreds of them here, all in true mad max style like these The appearance of the car is limited only by the owner's imagination.

You encounter submarines that ply the immensity of the desert. Horse-drawn carts with strippers on them. Scorpion fish and other strange futuristic and questionable vehicles. There are so many of these here that even a week is not enough. to see them all you just don't have time according to the rules of the burning man you can go in any art car here and that is why they undergo rigorous inspections obtaining a numbered plate that allows you to enter playa

most

ar the cars are equipped with propane I will see by what later and the sound systems are almost all mobile dance floors that you can hop on to join the party or just bounce around

town

, still bikes are the main form of transportation at Burning Man, which is mine and from my neighbor Artem. bike given the size of this place it's hard to survive here without a bike and parking it is similar to something you'd see in Amsterdam the only difference is you'll never see bikes like this anywhere else everyone goes out of their way to customize their bike . and not only to stand out, but to make it easier to find your own bike among the chaos, you also need a bike to travel around Playa, most of the city, Playa is an open-air museum, a place where hundreds of artists from all over the world exhibit.

His work isn't just paintings, it's full-fledged art installations, beach houses with over 300 structures and we'll look at them more closely later, but for now I hope you get an idea of ​​how massive this place is, how which brings us to local laws which is an extremely interesting topic, Blackrock City is a utopia, a place that does not exist anywhere else, but here, although not for long, it exists once you create the city of your dreams, naturally follow the laws of your dreams that would never work in real life however here they make the first law refers to money and money can only buy you coffee and ice since for everything else there is a 100 discount everything is free here free bars free food activities are also free for example here in the refrigerator you just come and help yourself, most things are free here and if you need something you just have to ask.

The Burning Man is a utopian vision of human relationships, something that can theoretically exist. This model of relationship established between people is close. To be ideal, everyone does something for the benefit of others. Burning Man is a version of the ideal society in the middle of a Nevada desert. Some bikes repair, as bikes are extremely useful and have a tendency to break. Some repair shoes where you leave your broken sandals and pick them up and repair them the next day for free, of course some are bought in clothing stores, where you only take what you need.

A little water sprinkled on you, which, believe me, is very helpful. Some hand out fruit, make candy, or serve your beer just because someone has to. so now I'm in the middle of the beach, it's really hot here and these guys pull up in this art car and they're like, dude, do you want some iced tea and I'm like, yeah, please everyone share here, it's awesome when you got it. some free time you can also eat for free throughout the week. What are we waiting for for hot dogs? They give them out for free every day at 3:30.

Hence the queue. A line like this takes about 20 minutes to pass, but oh well. At the end of the day, it's free food, thank you, you're welcome. The same goes for breakfast and dinners. There is free food everywhere. You see a line. I guess there are about a thousand bars in Blackrock City and alcohol can be found on every corner. You even find craft beer bars with a selection of more than 15 types of beer, don't forget guys, this is a desert, the procedure is simple, bring a glass and that's it, you get the hint. Surprisingly, those who invite you to their bars actually insist that you come in and drink as if you really insist that they stop you on the street and push you into their bar.

US laws allow alcohol consumption once you turn 21, so you may be asked to show your ID, so many burners will simply print a scan. their glasses, I forgot to mention that everyone brings their own glasses, since plastic tableware is practically non-existent here, all because of the upcoming law that requires leave no trace, the law requires that it look like no one was ever there, not even here, no there is garbage. cans here and you must take all your trash with you, you can throw it at the exit for ten to fifteen dollars a bag. The same goes for water, where will you throw this water?

We put it in buckets and take it out with us when we leave. You can't throw it here, no, you can throw clean water like melted ice, for example, but you still have to spread it along a perimeter and not in one place, but if you have a lot you have to carry it out. Marks are prohibited in

black

rock city, you won't see any here and I had to tape the whole thing at home. Burning Man allows you to do and express yourself any way you want, as long as it doesn't harm others. I want to do everything possible. naked, they will allow it and many people take them up on the offer, although most people wear clothes, making costumes a strong form of self-expression.

Burners begin preparing their costumes long before the event and some even adapt them. Your clothing should include a belt where you can hang things you need sunglasses comfortable shoes although appearance is more important and a dust mask the more extravagantly you are the better so people dressed like me stand out more those who are dressed alternatively represent the real ones burners that we change into various costumes during the week and since it is hot here, most of the costumes are minimal, but they all look extravagant and beg to be photographed, since for life in general, tents are the most economical option, But since it is very hot, some people opt for special thermal tents.

Some live in trailers, while the one percent come in luxury RVs, they all strive to add some comfort to their homes and some manage to hit the sweet spot, since we are in a desert, we decided not to put a big amount of effort and built a simple design, the most important thing is that our refrigerator was full of goodies and the freezer was overloaded with food that the kids I lived with crammed in there was, in fact, so much that half of them went home to that you can fully appreciate it. How prepared we were, we even brought a leave-in shampoo.

Water is the most valuable resource. It has to be brought in tanks and you will need a lot of it, but there isn't enough to shower with, so this is what the bathroom looked like, yes, a whole week. Of this, I know it looks terrible, but it's not really that bad dishes are washed in the same way that burning man is like a training course on how to use wet wipes to their fullest potential. Wet wipes are extremely important here as the Black Rock Desert is famous for its sand storms people try to protect themselves against them but they still end up everywhere as it is made up of small particles when the storm hits, It looks like the movie, the fog with visibility decreases to around 5 meters, about 16 feet, these storms are quite irregular, which means it may be fine now, but in just a few minutes you can't see anything, you get used to it.

This is what you will look like after a small storm. For my camera, this burning man became the last. The same goes for my clothes and my converse are now a work of art in my studio I didn't even bother to clean them there is something primordial in everything that happens on the beach in our normal daily life we ​​avoid living in dirt but here, during these seven days, you really start to enjoy living and being on the land, since there is no cell reception in the desert, the only way to contact a friend and arrange a meeting is to write a letter and leave it in a designated area and will only hang out if his friend happens.

Finding it is not an easy life. I tell you, some people I met here I had a hard time finding later and didn't think to leave a message. Probably the most surprising phenomenon at Burning Man are the art installations. These installations are made specifically. for Burning Man from independent artists around the world, I can't even fathom how much effort each installation required, not just tobuild it but also in logistics and service. I didn't manage to see them all, but here are the ones I managed to capture during my week at Burning Man. Each installation has its own meaning and seems absolutely surreal like a real mirage in the desert.

There are some substantial preparations leading up to nightfall. Since 1993, it has become a tradition to light kerosene lamps to illuminate the street that leads to man. There are special people for this called lamplighters. They repeat this procedure daily at dusk. Everyone tries to climb as high as possible to enjoy the sunset that sets. about Black Rock City it is during these hours in which the desert is dressed in unreal colors it only lasts 30 minutes but this is when the landscape becomes otherworldly preparing for the night means dressing up as the sun sets the temperature decreases and The skins become a necessary part of your outfit.

The knight also means light. There are no central lights in Black Rock City, so the more visible you are, the less chance you have of getting hit. That's why all the bikes are They turn into Christmas trees with dozens of twinkling lights and each bike turns into a mini one. Light show, the same goes for the man who burns down the house, it is 24 hours of continuous events and something happens here every minute at night, although it is the most active part of the day. I wouldn't be wrong in saying that there are two different man on fire man on fire during the day and man on fire at night because at night everything changes completely

black

rock city starts to look like las vegas and the amount of light is crazy everything is illuminated similar to an amusement park and the night traffic also goes crazy everything moves everything makes noise even the laziest people in Blackrock City come to the beach.

Of course, there is a good reason for this because the facilities are incredible. You can really feel overwhelmed here at night because it's so hard to take it all in, especially when you see something like that. This is crazy, you're just riding around on a bike and then you see a Boeing plane with people dancing on it, it's crazy guys, it really is, yes, a real Boeing 747 converted into a dance floor was washed onto the beach several times during the main night. art car is the mayan warrior this moving dance floor reaches the farthest parts of blackrock city followed by hundreds of bicycles it is one of the most expensive art cars here and according to some sources it costs between three and eight million dollars it has 24 subwoofers and Approximately 70 kilowatts of sound capable of reaching any part of Blackrock City.

Couple that with a sublime laser system visible from anywhere in the city. Fire setup and one of the best dj lineups at Burning Man Burning Man always attracts the best djs in the electronic scene with people like carl cox, jamie jones, brothers martinez, guy gerber and many more, if these names don't mean anything to You, you should know that these guys are as good as they come, since all of our cars are practically dance floors and there are a lot of them here. Of them are actually empty, however, they are all on another level, to the point that any city in the world would be delighted to have even one of them, obviously, electronic music is not the only thing that can consume you.

Burning man at night is like an amusement park where everyone can find something interesting to do. Attractions include, but are not limited to, rides, skate parks and even a circus. This place was one of the most popular. The goal is to push your opponent into the mass or how about a self-portrait? carved into a block of wood with a chainsaw not bad there are a lot of bands and this funk band got me hooked on fire now I bet expectations are high thanks to the name of the event there really are a lot of them Everywhere, on the signs of the DJ booths and even in costumes, these horns are made of metal and are connected to gas tanks on this guy's belt.

It's the toughest outfit I've seen here. Fire vs burning man accompanies the music and you can even carry it in your hands in this game. You have to send a fireball into a hole. The octopus is the car that consumes the most fire at Burning Man. It is a highly technological structure where everything moves and can also do this. Still, the best fire-related thing I saw was the fire tornado that anyone can try. having them give you a burner and a row of fans point at each other and if everything fits this is what you end up with yeah there's a lot of fire here I don't want to leave you with the impression that Black Rock City at night is just a party, it's a separate and diverse world where everyone will find something to their liking, so just as I promised before, listen to the art installations at night, so I haven't told you about another important structure in Blackrock City yet.

This year's temple was called the Temple of Direction and looks similar to the Uzi Minari Temple in Kyoto featured in my Japan video. The temple is a place of spiritual cleansing. We can try to close it with our loved ones. Many people leave here photos of those who died. and notes that it is always quiet here, unlike much of the Burning Man environment along with all the other structures in Playa, the temple with everything left inside will be burned at some point during the week, the burning will begin halfway through of the week and the smoke.

It can be seen from any point in the city. The burning is always great with smiling faces around the temple. On the other hand, it is different. Burns in complete silence. Like other artistic structures. The burning becomes a spectacle in itself. This is where I first started. I saw a fire hurricane formed due to an extreme change in temperature. Houses burn in less than 10 minutes. The heat is intense, very hot and I'm pretty sure it will burn all the hair on my legs. The burn continues throughout the week and into Saturday. It becomes the day when the entire city comes together, the entire community of 70,000 people.

I keep telling myself everything will be okay, you can't make everyone happy all the time. Lately I found this place where nothing seems right and I don't do it. I know what to think about the night Yes, it's cold in the dark and we don't know where we're going to go. No, no, no, it's time to let it go. Wow, stranger, so burning the man is a game and there are so many people who play it and their belief in it is so strong that even if it is not for long it becomes a reality, there will be no recap in this episode since the only The way to genuinely understand the burning man is to fully immerse yourself in him and that's what utopia is all about.