Emi Guerra: Gift of Gab

These days, Miami's party scene is a contender for top spot worldwide. From Ultra Music Festival to Winter Music Conference and from the Electric Pickle to Treehouse, there are impressive events and venues in the 305.

Right in the thick of things is Emilio "Emi" Guerra. At the tender age of 22, he cofounded Club Space, a revolutionary dance music and DJ hot spot that retains its landmark status 12 years later — a rare accomplishment in the transitory club world. From there he cofounded Go Big Productions, the brand behind the Surfcomber Hotel's Go Big Pool Parties, and continued to evolve his marketing efforts citywide.

Today, he runs Guerra Marketing Group (GMG) and — in conjunction with the prestigious Andy Warhol Museum — is about to launch UR1, a groundbreaking festival kicking off during Art Basel weekend.

Headlined by Kanye West and Lenny Kravitz, the show will feature 100 acts amid custom installations and works of art at Bayfront Park. The lineup includes the Offspring, Lou Reed, Keane, Fun., Santigold, Bob Sinclar, and dozens of other notables.

Guerra gives friend and partner Alex Omes (cofounder of Ultra) credit for the concept. "He's into festivals, and UR1 is supposed to be the next-level festival. It's the first one fusing music and art. We chose Art Basel weekend because, with 120,000 people coming into town, it was the only time of year when you have such great tourism and there was no major music component. Alex thought it was missing that, and I loved the idea and supported him in getting it done."

Regardless of his project du jour, Guerra is an expert at getting the word out, worldwide.

"One of our philosophies is that we do whatever it takes to get the job done, whatever it takes to make the customer happy. Our second is: Get the word out. That's kind of my motto for the marketing company. We do social media management and reputation management and online marketing and events and ad buys, but at the end of the day, all we do is get the word out."

Adds Guerra: "If you compare dance music and electronic music seven years ago to the way it is today, it's obviously a lot more mainstream. We were just fortunate enough to be some of the first people to do it and stick to it and continue with it."

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