Rene Garcia and Chris Fernandez Accent Natural Beauty for Univision Show with CHAUVET Professional

Savy swimmers at Condado Beach know to keep an eye out for red flags. When they're flying, it's best to stay out of the water, because the area's rip tide, though calm much of the time, can pull the unwary bather out to sea.

Currents may sometimes be unpredictable at this piece of heaven on earth, but one thing is always certain, the scenery will be breathtakingly gorgeous. Lined by high-end hotels, clubs, and restaurants and blessed with one of the world's most beautiful beaches, Condado is where chic luxury meets Caribbean style.

The producers of the Univision awards show Premios Juventud appreciated the evocative power of this combination, which is why they chose La Marqueta, a popular club/restaurant on the seaside of Condado Beach, as the site of "The PJ Backlot," a breakaway spot located about 15 minutes from the Jose Miguel Agrelot Coliseum, where the awards program took place.

Set against a stunning seaside background, the PJ Backlot instantly put viewers in a Caribbean frame of mind every time it appeared on their screens for award ceremony introductions and tags as well as selected musical performances.

Accentuating these evocative surroundings, while also providing camera-friendly broadcast lighting was a creation by lighting designer Rene Garcia and lighting director/programmer Chris Fernandez who collaborated with the team from House of Sam. Over 240 CHAUVET Professional fixtures supplied by Musique Xpress helped these creatives work their magic.

"Our goal in designing this show was to maintain our overall backgrounds, while keeping them open to showcase the natural beauty, and at the same time, still deliver an array of lighting effects for the broadcast," said Garcia. "Enrique Núñez and Edward Aviles, the owners of Musique Xpress as well as our PM Lara Alsina, were excellent in helping guide our vision. We positioned most fixtures on the ground and used only four vertical trusses in order for the cameras to have nice vistas of the ocean, palm trees and beach setting. The producers wanted the viewers at home to get the sensation of Puerto Rico -- and this venue suited that goal well."

Anchoring this impressively balanced rig were 40 Color STRIKE M motorized strobes. "They were the focal point," Fernandez said of the fixture. "We utilized them in distinct ways. First, as a powerful strobe, they accentuated the musical hits, adding an electrifying effect. Second, we toned down their intensity a bit, transforming them into endless pixel-mapped backdrops, which brought a great atmosphere to the stage. Their versatility allowed us to achieve a great dynamic lighting experience throughout the performances."

While the Color STRIKE M fixtures added variety and pizzaz to the program with their dynamic looks, another force was also setting a deeply immersive mood. "The picturesque natural setting was woven into the fabric of our show," said Garcia. "It is so beautiful, how could it not? We accented it with COLORado Q40 fixtures creating colorful washes on the rocks and waves, as well as with COLORado Solo 1 Pars lighting the palm trees in the background."

Another captivating dimension of the show was the circle of beams created with 12 Rogue Outcast 2 Hybrid fixtures that surrounded the talent on the seaside stage. "This was a dramatic touch that came off just as we envisioned," said Fernandez.

The color palette selected for the 30-universe show reflected the mood of the music and the natural surroundings. Garcia and Fernandez say they wanted to enrich the show by having their color choices fit into the scenery. Univision viewers who tuned into the July 20th broadcast of Premios Juventud were happy they did!