Yo perreo sola en mi cuarto… for real though. Cuarenteca is the best Latinx online discoteca that you never knew you needed, every week on Zoom. We chatted about Latinx spaces, online and IRL, and how we’re staying connected to our familias.

Also Cool: Hola Cuarenteca! Let's start at the beginning. Tell us a bit about who you are, what the two of you do IRL, and how you started this online discoteca.

Cuarenteca: Hello! Thanks for having us. Our names are Ana Luisa and Camila. We are Venezuelan visual artists living in Toronto. We bonded over our mutual experiences, as well as our love for reggaeton and other Latin genres. Ana Luisa started DJing six months ago after attending an Intersessions workshop. Camila began DJing four years ago, getting her start on friends' computer programs, and has recently begun learning how to use a controller.

Our weekly online discoteca is called Cuarenteca, and it's hosted on Zoom. We were initially inspired by Club Quarantine and decided to start our own online party focusing on Latinx genres and spotlighting queer femme DJs.

AC: As an avid Xicanista, I've been following online Latinx efforts for the past few years. Recently, it seems like there's a strong wave of young Latinx creatives making space for ourselves in mainstream art and music spaces. What have your experiences been like in creative scenes? Why do you personally feel like it's important to have Latinx representation in these spaces, both online and IRL?

Cuarenteca: As visual artists and musicians, we have always felt the need to make space for ourselves and other people of Latinx descent, especially in a Canadian context. We feel like there's a real lack of safe, queer-friendly Latinx parties in Toronto, excluding Convento Rico. This was one of the main reasons we started DJing. Ana Luisa in Toronto, and Camila in Halifax, where there are literally zero Latinx dance parties except the ones organized by Camila and her friends.

Ana Luisa: I don't have a ton of experience in the Toronto music scene yet, but I know that there are a lot of amazing people out there creating spaces by and for underrepresented women, queer, trans and BIPOC creatives. Intersessions, which is a workshop series that puts a spotlight on gender disparity in music, was my first encounter with a DJ community in the city. They truly made me feel welcome and safe. I never felt judged for asking technical questions or for not knowing a lot about the craft. Big shoutout to Chippy Nonstop, Karim Olen Ash, Nino Brown and everyone else involved.

Camila: When I was a teenager, I was avidly involved in Toronto's all ages music scene, but at the time it was super straight-white-male dominated. It wasn't until I moved to Halifax to go to art school that I really felt encouraged to make music. In 2016, I joined an all-femme band and also started DJing in an all-femme DJ collective. I have definitely felt more welcomed in visual arts spaces overall, especially in art school, where there were mostly female, queer, and non-binary students. There’s a super small Latinx community in Nova Scotia, so being back in Toronto definitely feels more validating.

AC: What were your lives like before quarantine? What are some of the ways that you've been finding comfort since this began?

Cuarenteca: Our lives before quarantine, in terms of online communication, have more or less been the same. As members of the Venezuelan diaspora, this is how we've always communicated with our friends and family, so quarantined or not, we'll always video-chat our loved ones.

Cuarenteca has definitely been comforting and validating, especially in creating an online space that points to the experience of being an immigrant, but also of living in the current pandemic. We look forward to dressing up, putting on some makeup, playing tunes, and seeing our friends all over the globe move their bodies with us every week. It's been amazing to see how people have been either joining for the first time or coming back every week; it seems like there is a real need for Latin music and community right now. We think that all the tunes we spin are great for the body and the soul, and can truly lift up your spirit!

AC: How have you personally been connecting with the Latinx community lately? I follow a few Xicana and bruja accounts on Instagram and TikTok, but it's difficult for me to actually talk to my family in Mexico.

Cuarenteca: Cuarenteca has definitely been connecting us to the Latinx community, both our friends and folks we didn't know before. It's cool to meet new people who are into the same music we like! We are also part of an artist collective called Satélite, and they are definitely our chosen family and support system getting us through this time.

CS: I've continued listening to Latinx podcasts and shows, in particular Brown Love, Gentefied, On My Block, Los Espookys, which are all very US-centric. As well as reading works by Isabel Allende, and listening to artists like Ms Nina, and Bad Bunny!

AL: What's been getting me through the quarantine has been discovering new music, making mixes, doing Cuarenteca every week, keeping in touch with my friends and family, and reconnecting with friends that I haven't talked to in a long time because we all live in different countries. I recently worked on a mix for days, check it out!

AC: Describe the Latinx dance party of your dreams.

Cuarenteca: Cuarenteca is as close as it gets, for now. Música para perrear and all our friends in one place, please! Y el calorcito of sweaty bodies IRL.

AC: How can we best support you, and other Latinx artists right now?

Cuarenteca: For Cuarenteca and any other initiatives, sharing the projects, inviting your friends, purchasing from our online shops and Bandcamps, and donating to PayPal accounts if you're in the position to do so! Artists are suffering from a lack of funding, gigs, and opportunities so all of the above would be immensely helpful.

Our Instagram is @cuarenteca and our PayPal is paypal.me/cuarenteca <3

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