Miggy Camacho has been deejaying for 25 years now, since moving to Denver from Los Angeles to attend the now-defunct Art Institute of Colorado. And in that time, he’s created a local legacy by embedding himself in the community, from promoting and performing at the annual La Raza Park lowrider event to other Westwood happenings like Cinco de Mayo and Dia de los Muertos; he also hosts the SolFax on Colfax event at the Squire Lounge. “It’s all my community, because I live in this community,” he says, noting that his home is near the newly opened Federal Theatre.
And the Federal Theatre is where he’s set his sights for a new, ongoing, all-ages event he’s dubbed Federal Nights, featuring DJs spinning Latin music, food trucks and more. The first iteration debuted in November with the block-party, family ethos that Camacho was hoping for, and it was a big success. “It was crazy because [the owners] were like, ‘You blew it out of the park,’” he recalls. “And I was like, ‘Nope, this is the neighborhood.’ People can just walk there.”
Now he’s gearing up for the first Federal Nights of 2026, which will happen on Saturday, January 17.
After the first Federal Nights, “Everybody was like, ‘We got to do this more often,’” Camacho says. “You know, people hang out outside, get some tacos. Go inside and take pictures at the [photo booth] with their kids and their family. It’s basically a backyard barbecue with your aunts and uncles and everybody, and all the different genres of music that we play all in one event.”
“My whole concept is to get the whole community together,” he says. This next event will include Papas Grandes serving up tacos and Mexican stuffed potatoes; Camacho will be deejaying as DJ Miggy alongside DJ Ricky O (the co-host of KUVO Jazz’s Latin Soul), while the MCs will be Benjamin Chavez, founder of La Raza Park Day and Cruise, and Tim Hernández, another Chicano community organizer. There will also be a digital photo booth from Sol360! and lowrider community members, who will be cruising around the theater. (Alas, there isn’t a permit to park.)…