- Cristina Celis went into labor while at Electric Daisy Carnival, the biggest rave in North America.
- Celis was 32 weeks pregnant at the time. She felt her first contraction while at Zedd's set.
Cristina Celis was dancing to her favorite DJ at Electric Daisy Carnival, the largest electronic music festival in North America, when she suddenly felt a strange pain.
Celis, who was nearly 32 weeks pregnant at the time, was going into labor right there on the dance floor.
She told Insider she has made the trek from her hometown in Santa Clarita, California, to EDC — which is held in Las Vegas — every year since 2018.
On the morning she left for EDC, Celis saw her doctor as a precaution and was given the all-clear to enjoy her favorite three-day music festival.
Celis said she felt normal when Zedd kicked off his performance just before 2 a.m. on May 20.
"I was off to the side enjoying his set. I made sure I wasn't too much in the crowd," she said. "Then I felt something off."
Celis and her boyfriend, Jonathan Garcia, went to the first-aid tent, where a doctor decided she should go to the hospital. While she was in the ambulance, the contractions got more intense, she said.
Seventeen minutes after she got to the hospital, Celis gave birth to her daughter, Izzabella Daisy Garcia.
"I was feeling every emotion when I was holding her," Celis said. "It was super special. Even though she was super early, I felt like everything was going to be OK."
And Celis decided to pay special tribute to Izzabella's very unique birth with some changes to her name.
"We knew we wanted to name her 'Izabella,' but we added the second Z because it started at Zedd's set," she said. "And 'Daisy' for EDC."
"EDC has been a big part of my life for the longest time, and it just felt right," she added.
When Celis woke up the next morning, she learned that Zedd had heard the news.
—Zedd (@Zedd) May 22, 2023
"When I saw that Zedd tweeted us and was looking for us, I was super shocked," she told Insider. "He's a big deal, so I didn't think he would hear about us!"
Celis replied to the tweet with a picture of herself cuddling Izzabella.
—Cristina Celis (@tinacelis11) May 22, 2023
"CONGRATS! So happy you're both healthy and that I had the honor to be the soundtrack," he replied.
As Celis' story spread and began to make headlines, she received some negative pushback from people who didn't think she should've been at EDC while pregnant. But she said she isn't fazed by the criticism.
"They don't know the whole story or how I was feeling," she said. "And that's their own opinions. We don't read into them. And we want to say thank you to everyone who is showing us support and speaking on behalf of us."
Celis and Garcia will have to stay in Las Vegas for at least another six weeks until doctors give Izzabella the OK to travel home. They've since set up a GoFundMe to raise money for her hospital bills.
Once she's old enough, Celis said she's excited to take Izzabella to her first show and teach her all about the community that she loves so much.
"We do want to show Izzy everything we can about the rave community and teach her all about PLUR and just being kind to everyone no matter what," she said. "That in the rave community you can be anyone you want to be, and you will be welcomed."