The impact of the tragic condominium collapse in Surfside, Florida, has rippled across the country to Beverly Hills after Miami-Dade police confirmed the death of Live Nation executive Theresa Valasquez, 36, along with her two parents. Velasquez, who worked at Live Nation’s Beverly Hills headquarters, had traveled to Florida the night before the collapse to visit her parents, Julio, 67, and Angela, 60.
“Our hearts break for the loss of our beloved Theresa Velasquez, her parents Angela and Julio, and everyone taken far too soon in the tragic accident in Surfside, FL,” a statement from Live Nation released on Saturday read. “Theresa was an impassioned leader at Live Nation, who elevated every project she was part of, at the same time breaking down barriers for women, and the LGBTQIA+ community. We will always remember and honor the impact she made and will miss her dearly.”
Prior to her time at Live Nation, Theresa charted a successful career as a musician in her own right, deejaying at large stages across the world. She started off deejaying at clubs in her native Miami before her natural charisma and musicality brought her to larger audiences and venues like Miami Beach’s White Party and Aqua Girl Miami. She spun for New York’s Electric Zoo and Mysteryland USA and performed at Barcelona’s Circuit Festival and Madrid’s SuperMartxe.
“She was just so musically gifted, with an incredible ear and the ability to lift up a crowd with her sets and original tracks,” Rosslyn Luke, Theresa’s partner, told the Courier. “Her magnetic personality shone brightly from the DJ booth.”
Theresa founded her own music label in 2013, alongside Grammy-nominated DJ Hector Fonseca, named Audio4Play. The record label specializes in House music and features LGBTQ artists.
Theresa brought this same passion for representation into her work on the business side of the music industry. After earning a master’s degree in the music business from New York University, she went on to work at labels including Sony Music and SFX Entertainment. She eventually settled at Live Nation, where she worked as an executive for six years, championing projects by gender and sexual minorities.
“She was also so proud of the multiple sponsorship deals she secured for Live Nation, which were massive, unique and extremely complex in structure,” Rosslyn said.
For all of Theresa’s career accomplishments, Rosslyn described her partner as prouder of her relationships than anything else. “She was proud of every win, big or small, by the people she loved, and supported them unconditionally. She never missed an opportunity to help, support, or champion someone and the incredible relationships she maintained are a testament to that,” she said.
