As the temperature cools down, the weekend heated up with the first day of Mala Luna festival in San Antonio takes off. Festival-goers from all parts of Texas traveled to Wolff Stadium to bask in the Hip Hop filled weekend. 
Gates opened at noon sharp with eager guests waiting outside of the check-in gates. A sea of brightly colored, cloth wristbands flooded the grounds as people of all ages ran to get a front-row spot for the first set of the weekend. The festival kicked off with Jay Wile and FRITOGANG hyping people up for the rest of the talented filled day that lies ahead. 
Water-filled Camelbaks and clear backpacks filled the festival grounds as guests enjoyed free water, food trucks, and immersive art. In order to promote local art, all of the live artists were based in San Antonio to keep the sense of community alive. 
Mike Comp, live festival artist, has had a great passion for art since an early age and recently quit his office job in graphic design in order to take a chance on his passion of immersive art throughout Texas. He has been doing live spray paint art for about nine years in bars and festivals on the side, but decided to make it a full-time career traveling around the country. 
“My last day as a graphic designer was Friday, so we’ll see how it goes,” Comp said. 
The day continued with talented artists including Smino, Melii and Jessie Reyez. Reyez is a Canadian singer-songwriter who not only uses her performances as a way to speak her mind but also promote important controversial events happening in the world around us such as ICE, the #metoo Movement and equality for women. 
While performing her songs, she had videos of concentration camps in the United States playing in the background and took the time out of her music to take pauses in order to properly relay her message to the crowd. 
Mala Luna is not just a rap music festival, it is about the people of San Antonio and beyond taking pride in their art and transforming it to reflect their beliefs about the world around us. 
Sophia Seller, nursing major, has attended the festival for years and always comes back for the overall experience and diverse lineup. 
“It’s definitely a good way to find new artists to kinda get a feel for what we like and don’t like,” Seller said. “It’s always just a fun way to meet new people and chill out for the weekend.”
The first major crowd, with people running to get as close to the barricade as possible, was for Summer Walker on the American Apparel Stage. Before anyone knew it, she was 20 minutes late for her set. 
In workout clothes, messy bun, no makeup and a purse, Walker appeared on stage and the crowd remained confused. In the middle of performing, she stopped to cuss out the sound people for turning autotune on.
“I sound like T-Pain in this b*tch,” Walker said.
Without saying goodbye, Walker rushed off the stage, leaving the crowd even more confused. After her performance, the festival heated things up again and Rick Ro$$ most certainly did not disappoint. He hyped up the crowd and got everyone’s attention with his sly remarks and grateful nature. 
“If you are from the great state of Texas and not Oklahoma, make some noise!” said Ro$$. 
As the night ended with performances from Russ, YG and Miguel, the festival reached an all-time high from the swarms of people waiting to see some of their favorite artists perform on a chilly night. 
With the live artist’s neon spray-painted canvases lit up and the smell of turkey legs still lingering in the air, guests prepared for the last performers of the night. 
Day two will feature artists like Diplo and Juice Wrld. More information about Mala Luna can be found on their website.