According to its website, “ComplexCon is an expertly-curated festival of the future, bringing together the world’s most influential brands and artists for an immersive and unforgettable weekend of style, sneakers, art, design, food, music, inspiration, and more. We invite you to join our community and experience the future of pop culture this November 18-19 in Long Beach, CA.” We covered the 2023 festival in search of Latino creatives. We spoke with of Javi Bandera of PAISABOYS and Brenda Equihua of EQUIHUA on Sunday, November 19th, 2023 at ComplexCon.

Hello. Please introduce yourself and tell us where you are from.

My name is Javi Bandera. I am from Los Angeles and my family is from Mexico City.

Please tell us about PAISABOYS and who you started the company with.

I cofounded PAISABOYS with Joey Barba. We are a two-man team.

When did you start PAISABOYS?

We started it around 2017. Joey explained the concept he had and the name he was running with. We began to learn about each other and the similarities we experienced how we were brought up. We shared the same type of journey. We decided it would make a lot of sense for us to join forces and launch this brand officially.

PAISABOYS is a concept that seems to highlight parts of Chicano culture. What do you guys bring to the culture?

From the beginning, one of our core missions was to change the narrative on what it meant to be Mexican or someone with ties to Mexico. We were born here but felt very paisa! It was important for us to highlight that part of the culture. We all are not cholos. There is a subculture of people like us that take a lot of pride in our background and our traditions.

Paisa can and has been used as an insult. It is definitely a different subculture than cholo culture and focuses on regional Mexican music like Chalino and Adan Sanchez. Would you please tell us how you are taking paisa and redefining it positively?

That is accurate. We are fully committed to it. We did not want to be just a clothing brand that had one collection that referenced paisa stuff. We wanted to name it PAISABOYS and really own it. It is crazy to see the growth from seven to eight years ago to now. We are able to get opportunities with bigger platforms that in the past would have turned us away or not worked with anything that said paisa. Like you said, the term paisa could have a negative connotation to it. I feel we have been successful in flipping that.

Espolon Tequila x PAISABOYS booth at ComplexCon 2023

You are here at ComplexCon 2023 selling merchandise from your Espolon Tequila collaboration Día de los Muertos Calavera Collection: The Afterparty Edition. What would you like to tell us about that?

We have a partnership this year with Espolon Tequila. We have been working with them since Cinco de Mayo. This is the culmination of this episode of our partnership. We had a pop-up shop featuring our collaborative pieces in New York and now we are here.

Congratulations on your success and thank you for your time. Where can our readers purchase your creations?

You can purchase our stuff at a store in Los Angeles, California called Genero Neutral (https://generoneutral.la/). They are really dope peoples! We are also online at PAISABOYS.com and our Instagram account is @PAISABOYS.

Brenda Equihua (right) and family by Roger Martinez

Hello. Please introduce yourself.

Hi. My name is Brenda Equihua and I am the owner and designer of EQUIHUA. We are a LA-based brand that makes luxury products.

Where are you from?

I am originally from Santa Barbara, California. I moved to Los Angeles around 2008. My parents are Mexican. My mom is from San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato and my dad is from Santa Ana, Michoacán. I am Chicana. Our booth here at ComplexCon 2023 is inspired by The Santee Alley, an LA staple that is downtown. They have everything there. It is a community space where you go and spend time with family and see what the latest knock-offs are. You know!

Yes, that is right! (audible laughter from both of us)

Everything that is popping and culturally relevant is here at ComplexCon.

When did you start your company?

We started around 2016 but it didn’t turn into what it is now, in terms of concepts and where we were going with it, until 2018. So, essentially it was 2018.

Would you please tell us about the cobija coats and sweatshirts you have displayed in your booth.

Yes, we make garments out of cobijas that are San Marcos inspired. San Marcos the company does not exist anymore; the blankets now being sold in markets are not San Marcos. We don’t use actual San Marcos’ blankets for our garments but we are inspired by that aesthetic: the design that existed from the original blankets.

We make cobija jackets and coats. We call it cobija-wear. We use the materials that we find locally and incorporate them into luxury goods. We really care about quality. For example, we use nice and beautiful zippers. The way we finish everything is super high-end.

Your cobija-wear looks really nice. The garments are bright and colorful. For readers that do not know about San Marcos, could you tell us about them?

The San Marcos Company was started in Aguascalienties, Mexico by Jesus Rivera Franco. The man who started the company went on a trip to Spain and saw the people there had their own blanket with a signature look. He wanted to return to Mexico and create something just as iconic for our people. He started creating blankets and integrating Mexican iconography. He would add the type of things we would like culturally, like tigres and Azteca designs. That is what the San Marcos cobijas were about.

Where can readers find your products?

We are on Instagram at @Equihua_official and our website is Equihua.us.

Thank you for your time!