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Avila isn’t the only one who built a community from LAF.
Frankie Osorio, 24, Oscar Alba, 31, and Sabrina Sandoval, 29, joined LAF in search of new friends. Last spring, after meeting each other individually at various LAF events, the three connected on Discord. Osorio said they bonded over their shared music taste and cynical, sarcastic humor.
By summer, their friendship had left the chat. The trio attended EDM concerts together and spent nights bar-hopping across the city.
At events, people would stop Osorio and Alba to ask if they’re brothers. It happened often enough that the friends decided to play along. Now all three of them tell people they’re siblings.
“At this point we’ve even tried coming up with a last name,” Sandoval said. “They’re my brothers. It really feels like they’re my brothers. “
Over the past few months, the trio has attended raves together, supported one another through breakups and celebrated New Year’s on a ski trip in Utah. Last weekend, Alba surprised Osorio and Sandoval with floor tickets to see Excision, a Canadian DJ and EDM producer, in concert. Next up on their calendar is a Tiësto and Illenium show for Sandoval’s birthday in July.
Osorio, left, Sandoval and Alba have spent a lot of time together over the past few months, including attending EDM raves, helping one another through hard times and skiing in Utah.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Music also connected self-proclaimed best friends Lili Jacob, 27, Eliana Mata, 34, and Erika Bernal, 33. Their love for musician Peso Pluma sealed their bond. And when they got to talking, they realized they had a lot more in common than that. Each of them was going through a life transition and had joined LAF looking to put themselves out there and form new friendships.
Like Osorio, Alba and Sandoval, the three women met separately on Discord and at various events before Bernal formed a group chat to unite their individual friendships. Now, Jacob and Bernal are roommates and Mata lives just five minutes away.
“People will say, ‘If you invite one, the other two will come.’ That is how tight-knit we are,” Jacob said. “I’ve heard people say, ‘They’re a package deal.’ I mean, you’re not wrong.”
Since becoming close friends, the three do everything together — Halloween costumes, college traditions, eating fistfuls of grapes on New Year’s for good luck. They’ve made some of their core memories in the mosh pits of emo concerts across the city. Sprained ankles haven’t deterred them yet.
“I cannot imagine going through big things in life without having them,” Jacob said. “I am so grateful to have them as my closest friends.”
Sometimes, Jacob, Mata and Bernal remember that they met through meetups inspired by a single TikTok and laugh.
“I was just thinking of a comment Lili made after we moved in. We’d settled in a bit and then one day she was like, ‘Do you ever just trip out how we just met online and then moved in together?’” Bernal said.
“At this point we’ve even tried coming up with a last name,” Sabrina Sandoval said. “They’re my brothers. It really feels like they’re my brothers.“
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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