PEOPLE
Organizers: Jose Fernando Rincón and Diego Lara
Jose Fernando Rincón and Diego Lara are the Mexico based co-organizers of MXPDX.
Rincón and Lara were born and raised in Mexico City. They became captivated by craft beer in 2008 at a time when few imported beers were available at their local bars. Utilizing their professional backgrounds in logistics, they began importing beer to Mexico a few years later, and this eventually led to their first taproom, Hop: The Beer Experience, in 2014. In 2016, they opened their second location, Hop2, which is the largest taproom in Latin America with 52 craft beer taps. In 2018, Rincón and Lara opened Falling Piano Brewing, and cemented their reputation as leaders of the vibrant and developing Mexico City craft beer community.
Cultura Ambassador: Ricardo Antunez
Ricardo Antunez is MXPDX’s minister of culture and fills a valuable role in facilitating authentic experiences, food, culture, and entertainment.
Antunez is the chef/founder of McMinnville Oregon’s authentic Latin restaurant Pura Vida Cocina, as well as Oregon’s first Latino-owned brewery Xicha Brewing in Salem.
Born in Mexico and raised in the Los Angeles area, Antunez has been ingrained in food and the culinary scene since he was 13. As a leader in Oregon’s Latino community, Antunez lends his important voice to cerveza, comida, and cultura.
Artist: Mariana Monroy Díaz
Mariana Monroy Díaz, also known as Marea Brava or simply Mar, is the Mexico based artist behind MXPDX’s visual and creative identity.
Marea is 27 years old, born in Mexico City and grew up moving around a lot because of her navy dad. Her work as an illustrator is extremely influenced by the latter - since she was little she has been exposed to an infinite number of very diverse people and cultures which cultivated in her a great love for humanity.
Marea is part of a lineage that includes artists, designers and nomads. Educated in multimedia graphic design, Marea’s dream has been to share her vision with the world and hopefully make it a little brighter. She specializes in illustration and poster design for musical events, but has done her fair share of branding and am not afraid of new challenges.
Beer Friends
MXPDX is produced by Beer Friends, a 501(c)(4) founded in 2023 to promote education, commerce, and cross-cultural exchange with craft beer, cider, food, arts, & culture.
Beer Friends’ first event was the biennial Fuji to Hood (F2H), a Japan/Oregon collaboration beer festival that was held in Portland, Oregon in 2018, and then in Tokyo in 2019. The festival returned after the pandemic in 2022 to rapturous attendance and interest from the public, sponsors, brewers, and vendors. After returning to the Shibuya area of Tokyo in 2023, organizers decided that to improve the festival and extend their mission that a nonprofit model was the best course of action. Ahead of the 2024 Fuji to Hood festival, 501(c)(4) Beer Friends was formed by founders Michael Walcott, Red Gillen, and Ezra Johnson-Greenough.
After the huge success of the 2024 F2H, new board members Nicole Kasten and Jeremy Herrig were added as Beer Friends works toward future extensions of the concept like MXPDX