June #PRIDE month is over, but I wanted to share my first piece for ABC News and Univision News’ new network coming this fall, Fusion. I had the great honor to get an inside look on La Joteria‘s “Azucar! A Queer Latin Dance Party!” Check out the action in this video and article I wrote. Special thank you to Fusion’s Nuria Net and Jessica Blank.
FUSION: [VIDEO] More Than a Party: Celebrating Pride, Underground Global Dance Sounds & Power!
The hosts of Azucar! dance party.
By NATI LINARES
As entrepreneurs and designers in their 20s, friends Patric Prado, Ivette González-Alé and Crystal González-Alé – the hosts behind the monthly Azucar! A Queer Latin Dance Party – found each other in the heart of Bedstuy, one of the fastest changing neighborhoods in Brooklyn.
What did they have in common besides having access to Wi-Fi, Facebook and being Latino? They sought to cultivate a supportive and fun community to share something quite simple: a love for globally-minded underground dance music bubbling out of the digital age to dance floors everywhere.
Reclaiming joto with pride.
“Azucar!” has been taking place for two years now, and this month’s Pride-themed party was extra special…it was a “POW! Puro Pinche Pari!”
I was initially introduced to Ivette and Crystal by DJ Ushka; when Zuzuka Poderosa, the Brazilian-born Brooklyn-based global dance artist I manage, was booked to play at this POW! Pride party, it was my chance to finally check out the buzz. There, I met party people from the ‘hood and all around New York City – some I spoke to traveled from the Bronx and Staten Island, all joyously packed inside the Franklin Avenue bar One Last Shag to hear the global bass stylings of DJ Precolumbian (Cutn Paste), Bhangra Trini flair of Ushka (iBomba), and retro-Mexipop Selena nostalgic selections of Shomi Noise (I overheard: “anything for Selenas!”)
“Azucar!” stayed true to its theme of the month, “POW!” with an explosive and power-filled performance by Zuzuka Poderosa (poderosa means powerful!) And then it dawned on me: There is power in the connection, celebration and spaces being carved out in this particular moment with so much at stake. We danced in time with the overturning of DOMA this week, and in anticipation of the Pride celebrations that will certainly rage all over the world this weekend.
You can follow Nati around the Worldwild via Twitter: @conrazon
