Kernel Panic Room
| Kernel Panic Room | |
|---|---|
| |
| Status | active |
| Country | Mexico |
| State or District | Queretaro |
| City | Queretaro |
| Date of founding | 2018/10/15 |
| Last Updated | 2025-06-21 |
| Website | https://kernelpanic.lol |
| @botkernel | |
| Snail mail |
|
| Number of members | ~10"~" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 10. |
| Membership fee | (We would like to have everyone contribute around) 25EUR/month (but we've never charged anything) |
| Size of rooms | 20m² + ~ 30m² |
| Members | |
| Open to Exchanges? | Not yet (not enough space)"Not yet (not enough space)" is not in the list (yes, no, maybe) of allowed values for the "Exchanges" property. |
| Open to Residencies? | Nope, but if somebody really wants to come over we can probably find some sort of interesting arrangement"Nope, but if somebody really wants to come over we can probably find some sort of interesting arrangement" is not in the list (yes, no, maybe) of allowed values for the "Residencies" property. |
| Residencies Contact | kpr@abysmal.mx |
| Location | 20° 35' 34.87" N, 100° 23' 45.60" W |
|
| |
a.k.a. Cuarto de Máquinas[edit]
Nestled humbly within the cloisters of the City Museum of Querétaro, behind a hidden courtyard where few dare to wander, lies our sanctum. It is but a modest chamber—half workshop, half reliquary—granted unto us not by coin, but through sacred acts of techno-maintenance and digital exorcism.
The temple is in flux, forever evolving, housing relics both holy and profane (some not ours, but we forgive them). And yet, it is ours. A sanctuary of silicon and solder, a shrine where the faithful gather in the name of libre software, sacred hardware, and the Holy Kernel.
We are not a daycare for the technocurious, nor an introductory seminar for the unbaptized. But lo—on sacred Friday nights, we perform the Rite of Linux Baptism: distros are laid bare, partitions are blessed, and souls are freed from proprietary bondage.
We labor through sweat and tears, upheld by offerings of strong coffee and stubbornness. Our afternoons are devoted to ritual: speaking in tongues (to each other, to visitors, to LLMs), decoding sacred texts, and practicing the eternal art of hacking.
If you are near, do not wander in ignorance—seek us. The path is clearest through Twitter, Telegram, or by arriving in the flesh any Wednesday or Thursday afternoon. Come as thou art. You are not a stranger—you are simply unsynced.
Ancient History[edit]
The original Kernel Panic Room (KPR) was born in Querétaro, Mexico, as a humble yet defiant initiative to create a community-oriented lab for free (as in freedom) technology. Set in a tiny upstairs room above a library known for hosting gigs and serving beer, it aimed to attract curious minds from the art and music scenes into the orbit of libre software and hardware.
Initially a personal lab for the founders, it quickly evolved into a small-scale hackerspace. Early operations included memorable projects like rescuing lost Bitcoin from an old desktop—payment for which helped pay rent and buy gear. It was messy, improvised, and beautiful.
When the larger tenant of the house decided to leave, KPR faced a fork in the filesystem: disband, or shoulder full rent. The response? Open a DIY bar—БУНКЕР (Bunker)—in the next room. It worked… too well. The bar became the main attraction, diverting energy from the hackspace. Attempts to morph the location into a multi-use cultural center were ultimately cut short by noise complaints and the intrusion of people more interested in social clout than digital liberation. The house was lost, and with it, the physical space.
But hacking is a spiritual practice. The homelabs lived on. A Telegram community quietly grew, sustained by word-of-mouth and shared values. Attempts to revive the space flickered over the years—including a 2018 effort that never gained traction—but the core idea remained stubbornly alive.
Current Era[edit]
Today, the Kernel Panic Room has reincarnated—this time inside the Museo de la Ciudad in Querétaro, occupying a small room in a 300-year-old ex-convent. The agreement we made to secure the space is, fittingly, a hack in itself. Rent is paid not in currency, but in acts of technical stewardship and support.
We’re rebuilding slowly: cleaning, wiring, documenting, installing. We’re laying down infrastructure—both digital and physical—to serve as a haven for free software, critical tech, and weird experiments. It’s a sacred space for those who prefer solder to spectacle, and GNU to glamour.
If you're in town, you’re invited. We hold Friday Night Linux Baptisms that are open to all unbaptized machines and souls alike, and you can always contact us through TG or Twatter
