Walking past Olin Library any evening in the past few weeks, it would be impossible to miss the spectrum of colors throwing light onto the pillars of the building’s front facade. This display is credited to Mario Torres, DJ and long-time mover for Physical Plant, and his student assistant Harmony Hoogs ’27, who set up the lighting to celebrate Pride Month at the University. Every night from Oct. 23 to Oct. 31, Torres and Hoogs illuminated the library from 6:30 p.m. to 12 a.m.

Torres uses his personal company, Powered by 2 DJ’s, to hire students like Hoogs to help set up for events. His company has existed for 25 years, but Torres has been DJing for much longer. From hip-hop and soca to reggae and latin, he has more than 38 years of DJ experience under his belt. His favorite music genre to date, however, is house music. Originally from Brooklyn, N.Y., he moved to Connecticut after getting married.

Torres started off working at the RIDE at the University, but he is now the resident DJ for many on-campus events, including the senior dance, seasonal fairs, the ice cream socials, and provides lighting for photo booths. He also gives tours of the campus underground tunnels. In 2021 he won the Peter Morgenstern-Clarren ’03 Employee Recognition Prize for his dedicated work at the University. A well-traveled musician in his younger years, Torres has played across the country and beyond, stopping in Texas, Florida, New York, and Canada. It’s this diverse experience in music that he brings to his work as a DJ at the University. 

While this was Torres’s first time lighting up Olin for Pride Month, he has a long history of lighting up buildings, both at the University and beyond.

“I see a building that looks beautiful, and I think the architecture would look really good if I light it up,” Torres said. “I did Wadsworth Mansion, Zelnick (Pavillion), I did the back of Olin once too. And then there’s a lot of places in New York that I light up too. ” 

When it comes to his DJ gigs, Torres is just as enthusiastic.

“I treat every event like my first, I don’t pick and choose. Really, I give it my all,” he said, remembering all the events he’s DJed for so far.

 He strongly emphasized the support of Physical Plant in coordinating event support on campus. 

“I also have Physical Plant members who help me out,” Torres said. “It depends on the event, but mostly the electricians, my coworkers, help us out.”

Torres also brought attention to the Forklift Danceworks program, of which Hoogs was a part of in her first year. Visiting Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Kathleen Miller’s “Introduction to Environmental Studies” (ENVS197) class collaborates with the non-profit Forklift Danceworks, which allows enrolled students to do a collaborative project for their final. The program, which has been around for eight years, pairs students individually with a Physical Plant employee to shadow their work; Hoogs was paired with Torres. She shadowed Torres as he responded to Physical Plant work orders under the program, and this year she helped set up, stage, and break down the lighting for Olin. 

Hoogs talked about her experience working with lighting for the first time. 

“Honestly, I’ve never done anything technical like lighting before, but getting into it has been really fun,” Hoogs said. “It’s really cool to be working at midnight, and I get to watch everyone leaving the library. They look at me like ‘What the hell are you doing?’ and I say ‘Hey, I’m on the clock right now.’”

Hoogs is one of many students Torres has worked with over the years. He reflected on his personal history, noting the importance of programs like Forklift Danceworks for bringing different communities on campus together. 

“The students have always been great; that’s why I work with the students,” Torres said. “They’re always eager to learn, they’re always coming up to me when I’m DJing. They want to learn about the music, and how to be a DJ. But that’s what the Forklift does, it bridges the gap between Physical Plant and the students.”

He believes that there’s some apprehension from students in approaching Physical Plant or sending in work orders, but that there’s really no reason for it. 

“Students are worried to reach out to Physical Plant sometimes,” Torres said. “We’ll fix your bed, we’ll fix your thermostat, we’ll fix your blinds. They should reach out.”

Janhavi Munde can be reached at jmunde@wesleyan.edu.