La Favela Bali

Situated in the heart of Seminyak and quoted as truly one of Bali’s most exquisite hotspots, La Favela Bali opened its doors in mid-2013 and was again the brainchild of the hugely creative and talented husband-and-wife-team, Gonzalo and Sandra Assiego.

Originally a small shop and home, La Favela was designed and built over the course of 2 years. It was a labor of love.

“It was originally a nice house but structurally challenging, it required years of alterations and everyone said we were crazy but for Gonzalo, it was a passion. He built La Favela like he was building his own home. Nobody goes to that much effort just to make money. This very small place and this very complicated process became our fixation and our passion.” – Sandra Assiego

Completely crazy and totally magical, La Favela drew its original concept and vintage design, intimate cozy heavily decorated corners, and Graffiti and stencil art adorned walls from around the globe! Inspired by the jungles of Bali and Indonesia, the favelas of Rio to the underground bars and clubs of London and New York through the early 90s, La Favela was designed to captivate.

“Obviously with time, every concept metamorphosis, but initially our vision was that of a rooftop original Brazilian favela vibe. With laundry strung from building to building, fire pits, and BBQs.  This combined with my background and emersion into the early 90’s New York and London underground art scenes was really where we drew our inspiration from” – Sandra Assiego

With semi-indoor gardens, artificial waterfalls and ponds, alfresco tables, and chairs all laid out beyond a mini bridge, patrons are captivated upon entry into this enchanted garden and treasure trove. It’s tropical and romantic: bold and beautiful. Making La Favela truly unique is the fact that many of the rooms are decorated with pieces not just from the homes of Gonzalo and Sandra but their many friends.

“La Favella is a lot of things from our house and then many of our friends bought pieces back from their travels. The small rooms were decorated by the home and family friends. La Favela is in many ways an extension of our home” –Sandra Assiego

With the couple having spent time in New York and London in the ’90s, at a time when underground parties were at the forefront of culture change a melting pot where art meets music, meets fashion, and a time when a deserted warehouse or seemingly uninhabited grimy back lane became the spaces where (as the night descended), a roller door opened to those invited and revealed a party scene with 1000’s of people.

“When La Favela first opened, we invited all our friends and began again to host parties in the spirit of the underground New York and London art scenes that had influenced us heavily during the 90s. A small corridor, down a dark lane that leads to a party. Later what made it really famous was that we focused on something no one else was doing in Bali and that was theming the parties. Everyone would come dressed up. La Favela private parties became famous public parties” –  Gonzalo and Sandra Assiego

“La Favela was an extension of what it was I looked for in my own youth and party experience. It was from those in Bali who were creating fashion and art that La Favela was born. Word of mouth. The extraordinary decoration and the underground house party vibe it was born out of saw people flocked there …. they booked their flights, planned their holidays and La Favela as we know it today was born. A destination in itself.” – Sandra Assiego

From architecture to street art. From the lighting to the music, the concept of La Favela has always been to bring to Bali the very first underground party scene. No techno, no house music. Just music that everyone loves and can dance to. Old school but never cheap.

“For me, La Favela is really underground. That is the soul of LA Favela. The party spirit. Yes, you have dined in a beautiful place – the garden is beautiful but then it’s like the inside of a museum that has been made with love from our own search for pieces, to things from our homes and the homes of our friends. We also wanted to recreate the ambiance of the underground 90’s party scene.” – Gonzalo and Sandra Assiego