Last Thursday Camp Latinitas had the opportunity to tour Austin’s famed Moody Center. An arena located on the UT campus that has housed the talents of Bad Bunny, Justin Beiber, Sza, Olivia Rodrigo, and many many more. It was an exceptional opportunity for the young students in Camp Latinitas to get to see behind the scenes of the music industry, and the many steps that go into making a live-venue possible. The tour started early in the morning, as our students excitedly stepped off of the bus onto the Moody Center grounds.
Immediately we were greeted by Moody’s Marketing Coordinator, Carolina Aceves, who began the tour by taking the students through security and fitting them with wristbands. Once inside Aceves offered some background on The Moody’s history, “I just want to give you a little bit of the story. So, we opened on April 2022. Matthew McConaughey is the Minister of Culture here at the Moody Center, and he really wanted to implement the culture that Austin has here as part of the Moody Center.” Aceves then pointed at a sketch drawing that had been blown up and etched in a glass panel of the Moody’s layout. McConaughey had sketched it on a napkin when thinking about what the Moody could become.
As the students continued walking around the main floor, Vice President of Marketing, Veronica Cantu joined us and pointed out some of the finer details at the Moody, “What you’ll see is a whole bunch of artwork around the building. So, a lot of murals and they were all done by Austin artists. Everything we wanted to do in this building, we wanted it to be a representation of Austin.”
As the students toured through the various suites, rooms, and luxorious clubs, they learned all about the very arena that hosted their favorite artists. Like not only is the Moody Center used for incredible concerts, but it’s also the court used for UT’s basketball games. When the students had walked it seemed like everywhere, they were treated with a trip to the lower level. Initially, it seemed only to be more exclusive suites. A deluxe club with a speak-easy aesthetic called the Germania Suite, an even more deluxe “Bunker” Suite comprised of a small (though plush) room with a kitchenette and a huge TV to watch the stage, and the elevators that led back up.
This is when Aceves surprised the students, with a tour of not only the entirety of the Moody Center but also its backstage. As the students followed, they passed the parking lot where the artists and their crew unloaded. They were then let into a typically blocked-off hallway with twinkling ceiling lights as far as the eye could see. To the sides were rooms of various sizes and decorations, this was where the artists stayed, bathed, and even ate. Walking into Moody’s “Press Suite” the students were greeted by a wall of signed postcards from every artist who’d ever played The Moody. Those names, Justin Bieber, Lizzo, Adam Sandler even were suddenly all too real. The students pointed excitedly at their favorites, bombarding Aceves with questions about what they were like.
Walking down the hallway, we learned these ceiling lights are changed for every artist. When Olivia Rodrigo played, they were all changed to purple. On the hallway wall, the Moody had placed every artist who had ever played here separating them by year. Only two years in, but the hallway was already quite full. It was, as one student put it, “definitely the coolest field trip we’ve had so far.”
The day ended with a Q&A with Aceves, where the students asked her everything under the sun from “Is there someone you know who’s gonna play here that hasn’t been announced?” (The answer: yes, but she can’t tell anyone. Not even the President.) to “Have you ever met a celebrity?” (Not yet!). It was a really fun field trip, and as the students walked out they were each gifted with a purple Moody bandana to remember the day, though it’s safe to say this would be an experience they’d never forget.
