“I just don’t want her to be sad anymore,” says Deezy. If it were not for her nieces’ encouragement, she may have never returned to Nocturnal in the first place.

“Now that I went back, I want to continue!” She’s already planning trips to Escape and EDC Las Vegas, with Liani and Deezy by her side. “I just ran away instead of facing that fear,” she says. While 18 years have passed since she decided to stop raving-a decision made because of the pain and agony of losing her best friend and lover-Perla is now continuing for Jose. “I felt this peace over me, and I just enjoyed the rest of the night,” says Perla. The significance of the moment was unquestionable. “Then I look up, and this guy is standing right in front of me, and his shirt has ‘Deeper’ on it. “The tears started coming out of my eyes, and I was like, ‘Get a hold of yourself,’” she explains. In that moment, the festival felt aggressive and foreign to Perla. On this night, there were more than that at one stage. Back then, 3,000 people comprised a massive. There was no such thing as trap music when Perla and Jose had been raving, no such thing as “rave bootie” or twerking, and definitely no mosh pits. But instead of thrilling her, the blaring music, mosh pits and packed crowd left Perla feeling anxious and uneasy, and she decided to move to the back of the crowd. Perla’s nieces, Liani, 21, and Deezy Gomez, 23, were on a mission to get their aunt to the front of Flosstradamus’ set. She was there to commemorate a culture that had given her so much and, more importantly, to commemorate Jose.Īll the reasons for her return, however, felt distant to Perla during the second night of Nocturnal Wonderland.

Almost two decades after last setting foot in a rave, Perla made her return to the scene at Nocturnal Wonderland 2015. Following his death, Perla, now 37, found it too difficult to return to the scene where she and Jose had spent their formative years, so she stopped going to parties after he passed. Jose was shot and killed on Novemby his own roommate. Perla and Jose, who went by the name Deeper, were avid members of L.A.’s early rave scene, attending undergrounds, warehouse parties and the first two Nocturnals in 19. Perla Meraz’s boyfriend Jose Robles may have died 19 years ago, but this past September 5, on the second night of Nocturnal Wonderland, he felt very close. If you haven’t already, check out part one of the story before reading part two below.

Nocturnal wonderland lost and found