Irena Stanisic

Tulum resident weaving organic house, downtempo and tribal textures

Irena Stanisic is a DJ and multidisciplinary artist based in Tulum, Mexico, born in South Africa to Yugoslavian parents and raised across Macedonia, Mexico, and the United States. She came to music from a contemporary art career as a printmaker and painter, treating electronic music as a way to connect with a global community. She is a resident DJ at the Papaya Playa Project, a music booker and curator at Casa Jaguar, and a co-founder of the Mexican label Xeri Collective. Her sets lean into organic house, downtempo, and ethnic deep house, the warm, tribal-tinged palette that defines the Tulum sound. Stanisic has spent years helping shape that scene from behind the decks and behind the bookings.