Ávila is not the only one who built a community out of LAF.
Frankie Osorio, 24, Oscar Alba, 31, and Sabrina Sandoval, 29, joined LAF in search of new friends. Last spring, after meeting individually at various LAF events, the three connected on Discord. Osorio said they were united by their shared musical taste and cynical, sarcastic humor.
By summer, their friendship had abandoned the chat. The trio attended EDM concerts together and spent their evenings hitting bars around the city.
At events, people stopped Osorio and Alba to ask them if they are brothers. It happened quite often that friends decided to play along. Now the three tell people that they are brothers.
“At this point we've even tried to think of a last name,” Sandoval said. “They are my brothers. It really feels like they are my brothers.”
In recent months, the trio has attended raves together, supported each other through breakups, and celebrated the New Year on a ski trip to Utah. Last weekend, Alba surprised Osorio and Sandoval with tickets to see Excision, a Canadian EDM DJ and producer, in concert. Next 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 each other through tough 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 started talking, they realized they had a lot more in common than that. Each of them was going through a transition in her life and had joined LAF looking to get ahead 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 bridge 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’s how close 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 of them do everything together: Halloween costumes, college traditions, eating handfuls of grapes on New Year's for good luck. They've made some of their greatest memories in the mosh pits at emo concerts all over the city. Ankle sprains have not yet deterred them.
“I can't imagine going through great things in life without having them,” Jacob said. “I am very grateful to have them as my closest friends.”
Sometimes, Jacob, Mata and Bernal remember that they met through hangouts inspired by a single TikTok and they laugh.
“I was thinking about a comment Lili made after we moved. We had settled in a little bit and one day she said, 'Do you ever remember how we met online and then moved in together?'” Bernal said.
“At this point we've even tried to think of a last name,” Sabrina Sandoval said. “They are my brothers. I really feel like they are my brothers.”
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
