Under the Nevada Sky: Our Burning Man Experience

Under the endless Nevada sky, dust swirling around us, we stepped into a world completely unbound by ordinary rules. A city that exists for just a week, where creativity, chaos, and human connection collide.

Preparing for the Playa

Burning Man isn’t just packing your outfits; it’s gearing up for an environment that tests you in every way. From scorching sun to relentless dust storms, preparation is everything. For those planning Burning Man 2026, we’ll be sharing our survival list soon. Consider it your essential guide.

The moment we arrived, the Playa took our breath away. Endless flatlands stretched to meet jagged mountains in the distance, and the sunsets were something you can only witness here, every color bleeding into the next, surreal and vast. By day, the desert revealed an endless array of art installations, each one an invitation to explore. By night, the city transformed with glowing costumes, illuminated art cars, and live performances from world-class DJs turned the Playa into a luminous, pulsating dreamscape.

The anticipation begins: a long line of cars queued outside Burning Man, as attendees wait to enter the desert and start their week of art, music, and community.

Challenges Turned Into Moments

Getting to Burning Man is an adventure in itself. We traveled in an RV, fully stocked with a generator and power for the week. A torrential rain left us stuck in traffic, and our RV sat outside the festival gates for 18 hours. Yet, instead of frustration, we created a party. We set up speakers, shared steaks with fellow travelers, and danced. Strangers became friends instantly. Gratitude and music became the soundtrack of our wait, transforming inconvenience into connection.

Camp El Sielo: Where Music Meets Community

We called Camp El Sielo (Heaven, in Spanish) home, a music-themed camp pulsing with energy. One of our camp members founder of Animo Systems, the company behind our legendary Art Bus: a rolling DJ booth that drives through the Playa. When mechanical issues grounded the bus for the first few days, a neighboring camp offered their space, and we parked it and performed daily alongside DJs from Madrid, Ibiza, and Miami.

Every set was electric between Makiato, Cristina (Madrid), and Alfonso Ares (Ibiza) rotated back-to-back, creating waves of sound that swept across the crowd. However, Burning Man isn’t a just a festival. It’s a city of music, art, and human creativity colliding in real time. Performing on the Art Bus, with the desert stretching endlessly around us, each beat reverberated through the horizon and into the hearts of everyone who joined.

Art, Music, and the Magic of the Playa

The Playa is a canvas, and its attendees are the artists. Rolling art cars, intricate installations, and spontaneous performances are everywhere. Nothing is staged; everything is lived. The environment itself shaped the music, creating moments that could never be replicated elsewhere. Performing there wasn’t just a set: it was an experience, a communion with space, sound, and the unspoken energy of tens of thousands of people.

Community & Connection

Burning Man is profoundly human. Friends emerged from every corner of the globe, united by music, art, and a shared spirit of creativity. Radical self-expression was everywhere from glowing costumes and decorated carts to spontaneous performances and intimate gestures. Our team brought a Polaroid, capturing and gifting portraits to strangers, and offered beaded energy crystal bracelets for chakra alignment, protection, and healing. Each gift was treasured by people like priceless keepsakes. Food, water, and kindness were given freely, never as trade, but as an extension of the Playa’s communal heartbeat. At Burning Man, generosity, spontaneity, and authenticity aren’t just values... they are survival tools, the invisible threads that weave the entire experience together.

Reflection & Takeaways

Burning Man challenged us, inspired us, and reminded us of what’s possible when you let go. The heat was intense. Bikes carried us across the desert for ice runs and supplies. Buses broke down. Mechanics were found, strangers helped, and the entire community became an impromptu support network. Every obstacle was a lesson in resilience and adaptability.

Being surrounded by 70,000 people who accepted us for exactly who we are was transformative. The creativity on display from flame-spewing buses to ephemeral art installations reignited a joy and inspiration that often gets lost in daily life. It reminded us that life isn’t meant only for consumption; it’s meant for creation.

For the first time in a long time, we felt authentically ourselves. The energy was raw, electric, and unforgettable. And while the outside world might see chaos, we found clarity: collaboration, vulnerability, and the courage to ask for help turn challenges into magic. Burning Man wasn’t just an event. It was a living, breathing lesson in creativity, community, and the art of being alive.

Drone view of the Man burn at Burning Man 2025: thousands of attendees and art cars encircle the towering sculpture as it ignites, creating a spectacular desert celebration.

The Man and the Temple: Fire, Silence, and Rebirth

No visit to Burning Man is complete without witnessing the burns, two profoundly different yet equally transformative experiences.

The Man sculpture by day at Burning Man: a monumental wooden figure standing tall in the desert, inviting exploration, photography, and anticipation for the iconic burn.

Saturday: The Man Burn

The week culminated in the fiery spectacle of the Man Burn. A fireworks show that puts the Fourth of July to shame lit up the desert sky, synchronized with the roar of art cars, attendees, and the collective energy of the Playa. The city erupted in celebration, music, and chaos—the ultimate expression of release, joy, and communal catharsis. Every spark and explosion felt like the desert itself was alive.

The Temple at Burning Man: a beautifully crafted sanctuary for reflection, art, and personal offerings, central to the festival’s spirit of introspection and release.

Sunday: The Temple Burn

Then came Sunday: the Temple Burn. Completely opposite in energy, it was a moment of silence, reflection, and emotional gravity. As people left offerings, painted tributes, and notes inside, the temple became a sacred space for letting go. Watching it burn was heavy, almost reverent... the crackle of the fire accompanied by an overwhelming stillness. This wasn’t about spectacle or celebration. It was about rebirth, release, and honoring the cycles of life. Tears flowed freely, and for a moment, everyone around seemed suspended in collective reflection.

The contrast between the two burns: the exuberant chaos of the Man versus the solemn silence of the Temple captures the full emotional spectrum of Burning Man. One celebrates life and energy; the other honors loss, reflection, and letting go. Experiencing both in one weekend is nothing short of transformative, leaving you with a deep sense of connection to yourself and the people around you.