There is a festival where selfie sticks are forbidden, the transportation from the parking lot to the festival costs 56 euros and the VIP bungalows are at 6500 euros. There are flowers on the head and golden paintings on the face, vegan and gluten-free meals for whoever wants; at every corner, an art installation and games of lights turn this piece of desert into the most surreal musical event you can watch. It is Coachella, an epic festival that lasts two weekends in Indio, California, always with a very interesting poster that mixes great names of rock, recent bands, and prodigies of rap.

A description of what you can expect to see at Coachella

Just like the thousands of festival-goers that spread out in the enclosure drinking, lying on the grass, or playing pranks with friends, nobody comes only for the concerts. One of the aspects that surprises me about Coachella is the little diversity of people, despite the musical variety but also with the art and creative environment. It’s basically a festival frequented by young, and rich consumers. There are boys in bare trunks and college students with the fraternity flag around their necks. Further back, a man with a giant smiley in his hand.

Here there are no brands to sponsor anything. The festival is simply called Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and inside there are no slides sponsored by drinks or stands offering hats. Because it’s not cool to have brands invading the psychedelic experience of camping for three days in the desert. The Ferris wheel right at the entrance of the enclosure is amazing, but there are no long lines because the trip is paid for. What’s left and free is filtered water and cell phone chargers; the festival also risks having the most beautiful and organized food area of any festival in the world, with colorful covers in the shape of a luxury tent in the desert and with varied lights.

Coachella is known by young festival-goers, to be between hipster and cool, in the style of those who fill the main stage area. But although there’s no gourmet vegan food at all and no breezes of water to soothe the heat outside the tent, this is a festival where the conditions for general entry are frankly above average.

“I’m too old for this” says a woman just over 30, laughing and pointing at the VIP bracelet, which costs $900. The enclosure is large and completely flat, which allows wide visibility from any point. Still, it’s possible to see festival-goers with walkie-talkies so they don’t get lost from their friends. But you notice that there are assistants of all kinds in every corner of the festival, from security guards and walking maps to the campsite, which is right next door. There are prepaid shuttles at $60 per person, cabs, and an interesting novelty: a Uber reservation center. There is not much better than this.