Making music on the metro

Meet Gustavo Cid. At first glance, he looks like a typical young urbanite driving to work in the Salto del Agua district of the Centro Histórico. But his job is far from ordinary.

Image:Luz Montero

Mexico City Metro DJ Gustavo Cid.

Gustavo is a DJ in the Mexico City Metro system. He is one of seven who work in shifts playing the diverse musical repertoire -- from classical symphonies to chill-out electronic and belly-dancing music-- that you hear during your commute.

At 31, Gustavo is the youngest DJ in the system (the oldest is 80) and the man behind the subterranean tunes from 11 am to 5:30 pm, Sunday to Thursday.

Gustavo shows me the 10,000 song computer database he uses to create his playlists. He and the other DJs also upload new songs that fit the Metro's guidelines.

And what are the guidelines? Thrash metal is out. So is thumping techno. Ranchero stays on the ranch and banda is limited to microbuses. No melancholy heartbreakers or moody goth - we can't have suicidal riders. Want to hear Daddy Yankee? Go to the Colonia Roma nightclub Bullpen.

The guidelines are also explicit about what kind of music may be played at different times of the day. During morning rush hour, a perky rock, swing, funk or jazz riff will get your blood flowing. In the afternoon lull you'll likely hear Spanish and English rock and pop, or new music by local bands. For the evening rush hour, the goal is to soothe the weary traveler with chill-out, electro, acid jazz, trova, Mexican folklore or world music.

But maybe you're thinking, "Hey, I don't hear music in a lot of Metro stations. What's up with that?!" Many of the speakers have been stolen or vandalized, according to Gustavo.  Feisty street sellers smash them when they hear announcements discouraging people from buying their wares, he says.

The DJs get song requests, often from taquilleros. Trapped in their claustrophobic booths for 8 hours at a time, some ticket sellers ask for songs all day to alleviate the monotony of their jobs.

"Happy Birthday" is commonly requested by and for Metro employees. Hopeful bands stop by the broadcast office to drop off demo tapes. Foreign embassies donate music from their countries. Obsessive passengers call to track down the name of a song Gustavo or one of the other DJ's has played.

All in all, it's a job Gustavo loves, not only for the opportunity to introduce new music to people who wouldn't otherwise hear it, but also for the perks of working for the Metro system - medical insurance, free education, subsidized housing, and a cheap cafeteria.

And when he's not spinning tunes to assuage harried Metro riders, Gustavo is known as Cid Project playing his own synth and electro-pop music in clubs like La Capilla and Dada-X.