Dedicated to live, interactive, music, and film events.

Our experience has earned us the respect of the industry and award recognition, such as over 30 nominations to Best of Austin.

Luis Zapata

CEO, M.A.

Luis was born in Lima, Peru. He earned his bachelors and masters degrees from the University of Texas at Austin. Having worked in the music industry since 1994, Luis spent time at record labels – ranging from blues to metal – working with seminal artists, from Grey Ghost to Metallica. He introduced Rock en Español to Central Texas, creating the Latino Rock Alliance. His deep roots extend into all parts of the music and event production industry.

Currently his interest focuses on integrating all aspects of modern technology into each event with a passion for realizing his goals of creating a more sustainable world through SEM’s green productions.

Luis supports scholarships and the Luis Zapata Collection at UT Libraries.

Chris Haddad

Production Manager

Spurred by the digital media program at St. Edwards University, Chris is an all-in, no holds barred entertainment industry lover. With over five years of professional experience in contractual agreements, talent buying, event production, and production management, Chris has worked with and represented numerous live acts, event management companies, and venues alike. He is also the founder of Evidence Entertainment, which specializes in event production and venue rentals for clientele during SXSW and the Formula 1 Grand Prix, and is the talent buyer at Maggie Mae’s in the heart of Austin’s Sixth Street. Chris is proud to contribute his expertise towards growing the SEM brand.

Eliana Rios

Marketing & Business Coordinator

Eliana is an experienced executive in commercial and marketing areas in Latin America and the USA. She has a background in Business Administration, and a dual MS Marketing (Esan, Peru) / MS in Marketing Intelligence (ESIC, Spain). Eliana has forged various ideas for projects related to industrial marketing such as CRM program implementation, customer loyalty, and lead generation at their previous workplaces. As an independent consultant, Eliana has implemented successful marketing plans focused in inbound marketing and social media for peruvian companies.

John Ballejo

Director of Digital Communications

John has been with us for a couple years and is an essential key player of the team. John contructs visual media for our presentations and online material. On top of this John is a master video and audio producer, he makes Special Events Live media look and sound glorious. His hard work knows no limit and his ideas never cease to amaze us.

Alex Goff

Graphic Designer

Alex Goff is a rock musician that majored in Music Business at Austin Community College and has since been working for Special Events Live taking pictures for events, managing this website, and editing social media presence regularly.