25 years ago, Arturo Martinez took his first small gig for about $50. Fast forward to 2026, Arturo, now known as DJ Turo, has rocked the main stage at this year’s FIFA Fan Festival in Dallas. The Oak Cliff native sat down with us to share about his career beginnings, and what landed him on one of seven host city Fan Festival stages.

When DJ Turo started mixing music in his bedroom, he was 14 or 15 years old. One of his neighbors would let him use their turntables. At that time, the music industry was transitioning from vinyl records to CD so he learned both. Turo got his start doing small events and backyard parties, learning at every step of the way. “I grew up dancing my entire life because of my sister, so what I was DJing would make me dance. Then that transferred over onto the dance floor, making other people dance.” he shared.

For 10 years, he served in the U.S. Army. After coming home from a deployment, he naturally got back into music. The job that really jumpstarted his career was at the Tejano club New West, working with his boy DJ Noe G. DJ Turo has also graced the radiowaves of the iconic KNON 89.3. During this period, he learned a lot from his buddy DJ Miracle, who taught him the ins and outs of radio and emceeing.

Turo’s extensive resume lists off notable latin, country, and hip-hop venues across North Texas. Though he learned from the OGs of the music community, he continued to grow and evolve with Latin nightlife by way of venues like Cafe Salsera, Yellow Rosa, and El Chingon. In recent years, DJ Turo expanded into DJing concerts at the AT&T Stadium and Dos XX Pavillion (Grupo Firme, Morgan Wallen, Dierks Bentley Lady Antebellum, even AC/DC). He has also seamlessly executed music for CONCACAF Gold Cup matches at Jerry World.

DJ Turo emphasizes that though he’s done a lot, weddings and quinceañeras are his primary focus. “That’s my bread and butter…I love marrying people. I love being there for people’s major moments in life” he says. Turo’s energy and versatility is what made him the perfect addition to the FIFA Fan Fest atmosphere. He kept the energy high, even amongst disappointing losses. Some of the craziest moments were following Mexico’s victories. Hyping up a crowd of thousands of international soccer fans came naturally to him.

“FIFA [Fan Fest] has been…one of the biggest blessings of my life, to be honest with you. It’s just been the amount of community that you see out here. Seeing everybody come together and cheer for each other, regardless of what’s going on outside of FIFA.” Getting to connect with people from all over the world and learn about their cultures has made this opportunity exceptionally special for DJ Turo. We cannot overemphasize the importance of having a bilingual, born and raised Oak Cliff Chicano represent Dallas on an international platform. Especially, at this point in our cultural and political history.

If one thing’s for sure, DJ Turo will continue to DJ in the background of our community’s most special moments. Looking to the future, he can see himself landing a residency with a professional sports team. Knowing how hard we partied at FIFA Fan Fest, it’s clear that any franchise would be lucky to have him.