A carnival of neon lights flickers on as the sun sets over the Coachella Valley.
Ruben Gonzales, a stocky, mustached 64-year-old artist and construction contractor, gestures toward the giant turtle head protruding from the pavilion in front of him. He built the structure based on a visiting Mexican university professor’s reading of the Aztec calendar.
“His interpretation was that (in) the calendar, the turtle represented Mother Earth,” Gonzales said. “So that’s the way I designed the stage. These are the front legs, this is the cabeza (head) and then this says, ‘La Tortuga of Mother Earth, Aztec Codices.’”
Like many things at Ruben’s Ranch in the City of Coachella, the structure is part art installation, part functional space. The stone-clad, thatched-roofed platform serves as the venue’s main stage, complete with a full sound setup and glowing red, yellow and blue neon lighting.
Somewhere between an indie concert venue and a Slab City sculpture garden, Ruben’s Ranch is one of the Coachella Valley’s hidden gems. It has flown under the radar in tourism-soaked greater Palm Springs for decades despite playing host to celebrities and music icons like RZA of Wu-Tang Clan (as the set of two of his singles released in 2022), Chief Keef, Paris Hilton and more.
In addition to its original use as a gathering place for family and friends, Gonzales regularly rents the venue out for private events ranging from parties (Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival afterparties are a popular use) and small concerts to corporate events and philanthropic fundraisers.
The ranch, still growing and evolving with new areas limited only by Gonzales’ imagination, is the product of one man’s passion for art, culture and having a good time. It serves as a sort of living museum, embodying a unique and often underappreciated art and music scene in the eastern Coachella Valley — quietly thriving just outside the limelight.