In Buenos Aires, tens of thousands of people invaded the Plaza de Mayo on Saturday for a “rave” honoring Pope Francis, one year after his death, with the electro sound of Portuguese “heart DJ” Guilherme Peixoto.
The decibels, the dance, the faith, or at least the communion. A few tens of thousands of people made Saturday vibrate in Buenos Aires’ Plaza de Mayo, with the electro sound of Portuguese “heart DJ” Guilherme Peixoto, for a gigantic rave, in honor of the Argentine Pope Francis, who passed away just a year ago.
The emblematic Plaza de Mayo, accustomed to major political and activist demonstrations, recently also marked the serious 50th anniversary of the dictatorship (1976-1983) by turning into a massive party for over two hours, clogging adjacent avenues.
Intense pulsations, powerful yet melodic build-ups, video mappings of heavenly clouds, peace doves, crosses, interspersed with images and audio messages of Pope Francis: alternately laughing or absorbed, at the mixing table, Father Guilherme, in a black shirt and clerical collar, animated what has made him known internationally in recent years, and what drives him.
The city of Buenos Aires expected between 30,000 and 50,000 people for the free concert. Symbolically, in front of the cathedral where Jorge Bergoglio was a very popular archbishop for 15 years before becoming Pope Francis in 2013. He never returned to Argentina until his death on April 21, 2025.
The mix of electro and religious message has become Father Guilherme’s hallmark, famous well beyond his native Portugal – originally from Guimaraes, he is a priest in Braga – for his techno “grand masses”, celebrated around the world, in Lisbon, Beirut, Mexico, Rio, Ibiza…
A mix, a bridge to the youth, endorsed by Pope Francis himself, who met him and invited him to animate the World Youth Days in Lisbon in 2023.
“It’s great that he’s trying to bring people together through electronic music and religion,” said Tomas Ferreira, a 25-year-old lawyer, amidst the dense crowd, mostly young but not only, who unlike 63% of Argentines is not Catholic. But aware that “religion is modernizing, and it’s a good thing.”
Projected on giant screens in nearby avenues, the concert, under the theme “Francis lives in encounters”, alternated purely electro sounds, and some brief, more dated nods, but not without religious reference, such as “Knockin’ on heaven’s door” (by Bob Dylan).
“I’ve always loved music. In the seminary with the young people of my parish, it was normal for me,” said Father Guilherme.
He adds: “I never felt that because I was in the seminary I shouldn’t do this or that, or go out at night. At 18, we formed a pop-rock band…”
Starting to organize karaoke in the 2000s in his parish to raise some funds, he gradually started mixing, then developing a techno culture. The pandemic saw him tilt, producing streams, sets that went viral.
Over time, his techno “became a bit more melodic, that’s what I play now. It also allows me to insert a whole series of messages throughout the set,” he emphasizes.
“It gives me goosebumps when I see the youth, when I feel all of us united on the dance floor. It’s a very beautiful image, like a journey,” he muses.
“If it’s possible to travel together on the dance floor, then it’s also possible to travel together outside, right?”
