Creativa Fest: We Had No Idea What We Were Doing (And That Was the Magic)
How a group of students brought global animation to Mexico.
BY NATALIA GARFIAS
April 2025
We were 22. Still in university. No clue how to organize an event—let alone one that would bring together creatives from across the country. We had no funding, no roadmap, and no real connections in the industry. But we had one thing: conviction.
Creativa Fest was born out of a dream to create something that didn’t exist in Mexico at the time—an event that celebrated animation, storytelling, and the creative process behind it all. We wanted to bring the artists we admired from behind our screens into a real space, in front of students, emerging creators, and dreamers like us.
What followed was a crash course in production, negotiation, marketing, and resilience. It was chaotic, beautiful, and unforgettable. That event changed everything.
The Industry in Mexico (at the time)
Back then, Mexico’s animation and visual storytelling scene was still growing—and hungry for visibility.
The biggest names in the industry were studios like Huevocartoon and Ánima, both of which had made impressive strides in bringing Mexican animation to the big screen. Their work was funny, culturally relevant, and undeniably successful. But beyond those heavyweights, the broader creative ecosystem was still fragmented.
Independent artists were starting to emerge, but resources were scarce. Animation festivals were few and far between. Access to professional mentorship, networking, or even panels with working creatives felt almost out of reach—especially for students.
Most of us were learning from behind-the-scenes DVD features, online forums, or early YouTube tutorials, dreaming of someday being part of something bigger.
There was passion. There was talent. But what we lacked was connection.
And that’s what Creativa Fest aimed to change—a space where students, self-taught artists, professionals, and dreamers could finally gather in one room.
How It Started
Creativa began as a student project inside a university club called 24xSegundo at Tecnológico de Monterrey. We were animation students hungry to learn—not just from textbooks, but from the people actually shaping the industry.
In 2013, we pulled off something unthinkable: we hosted the Pixar Artists’ Masterclass on our campus, bringing Matthew Luhn and Andrew Gordon to Mexico for the very first time. The experience was surreal. It lit a fire in us.
That’s when the idea sparked: What if we opened this up? What if this wasn’t just for our university, but for everyone?
That dream became Creativa Fest. In March 2014, we launched the first edition—off-campus, open to the public, and built entirely by a team of students with a vision that was way bigger than our budget.
What Was Creativa Fest?
Creativa Fest was more than just a one-time event—it became an annual gathering that ran from 2014 to 2017, with each edition growing in scale, reach, and ambition.
At its core, the festival was created to bridge the gap between young creatives and the animation industry. What began as a bold experiment evolved into a series of events that brought world-class talent to Mexico, year after year.
We hosted:
Annual flagship festivals, held in iconic venues like the Mexico City World Trade Center and the Palacio de Minería
Workshops on animation, storytelling, career development, and industry pipelines
Movie screenings of major animated features like The Good Dinosaur and Zootopia
Smaller events throughout the year, including meetups, talks, and hands-on labs
The lineup featured professionals from some of the world’s most influential studios:
Pixar Animation Studios
Disney Animation Studios
Nickelodeon Studios
DreamWorks Animation
Industrial Light & Magic (ILM)
Sony Pictures Animation
And leading studios across Mexico and Latin America
Our audience was made up of students, self-taught artists, and young professionals—all eager to learn, connect, and step into the world of visual storytelling. The festival quickly became a landmark for the animation community in Mexico.
We were even sponsored by Spotify in one of the editions—a sign that big players were beginning to pay attention to what we were building.
Creativa Fest was a space for passion, learning, and shared ambition. It was a celebration of creativity—and proof that Mexico’s creative youth were ready for more.
Media & Community Response
Creativa Fest was met with an incredible wave of enthusiasm.
Auditoriums filled up fast. Attendees came from across the country, eager to learn, connect, and be part of something that felt new and necessary. Social media lit up with sketches, behind-the-scenes snapshots, speaker quotes, and the electric feeling of creative momentum.
We also received coverage from national media outlets, design blogs, and university publications—many of which highlighted the festival as a breakthrough moment for the animation and storytelling community in Mexico.
The energy was unforgettable, and the community made it clear:we weren’t just organizing a festival—we were part of a movement.
What We Learned
To this day, I’m still amazed that Creativa Fest actually happened.
We were a group of students with no experience—just vision, drive, and a shared belief that something like this was possible. It taught me that team effort can make the impossible real, and that passion can carry you through even the steepest learning curves.
One of the most lasting lessons came from the people:The creative industry in Mexico is filled with incredibly passionate, hardworking, and talented individuals. Despite the fact that creative work is often undervalued or underpaid, many still choose this path. Creativa Fest made it clear: there’s a deep thirst for inspiration, for guidance, and for spaces that celebrate creative ambition.
If I could go back and add something to the program, it would be this:a business mentor. We had vision, but we lacked the structure. And that’s something I’ve come to recognize more clearly as the years pass. Creativity thrives with support—and understanding the mechanics of business is key to building something that lasts.
Thank You
To everyone who attended Creativa Fest,
to the studios and professionals who believed in a group of young dreamers,
and most of all—to the team who made it happen:
Francisco Barrera, Justo Nava, Israel Rivas, Kevin Mancilla, Luis Ríos, and Gerardo Cacho—thank you.
You helped turn an idea into a movement. This story wouldn’t exist without you.