Creato Talks
With Cuarenteca
Cuarenteca is a Latinx Queer DJ collective started during the pandemic, who are all about community, parties, & education. We caught up with members Ana Luisa, Camila and Alejandro to learn more about their journey and their important role within the Latinx Queer community.
Q: What is the story behind Cuarenteca? How did it start?
A: Cuarenteca started as an online Zoom party in 2020 out of the need to connect with other folks during the beginning of the pandemic. We wanted to shake ass, be in community, and create a space for us to practice our DJing skills and provide paid opportunities for other DJs and artists. In 2021, we also began offering DJ workshops for QTBIPOC folks.
Q: Why is a space/community like Cuarenteca important in a city like Toronto?
A: Initially, it was a way for us to connect to our Latin diaspora and beyond, but the need for this kind of event in the local Toronto scene became undeniable. As a result of our negative experiences in Latin clubs, we wanted the opposite for ourselves and our community.
Q: For you, what does it mean to encourage and facilitate a welcoming and safe space for the Queer community?
A: Cuarenteca provides for us a space to reclaim genres of music that speak of our culture while upholding safety, care and love for the queer community. As queer DJs, facilitating this kind of space is part of our daily lives, and comes naturally to us.
Q: Cuarenteca is a part of Colectivo Satelital, a diverse arts collective with members from the LGBTQ+ community as well as allies, can you tell us more about this dynamic and how it is important to you?
A: We are friends, we work together, and most of all we love and respect each other. That’s how we navigate each other and all of our programming.
“Cuarenteca provides for us a space to reclaim genres of music that speak of our culture while upholding safety, care and love for the queer community. “
Q: Tell us what Cuarenteca/Colectivo Satelital has going on this month!
A: Alejandro just debuted their acting in ‘Ripples’ during Inside Out Film Festival, a film about queer friends on the Toronto Island.
Cuarenteca resident DJs are both performing on the Pride Stage through the party, Veneno, on June 26th at 7 pm. Ana Luisa is co-curating the stage and will be performing as a DJ, and Camila will perform for the first time in drag as Camilo el Salsero. You can find us all on the dance floor!
Keep an eye out for our upcoming call for submissions for our Cuarenteca DJ Incubator funded by ArtReach, next month.
Special Thanks to @cuarenteca @analuisaaaaaa @lil_arepa @rizzonervo @colectivosatelital @_sebasrodriguez @ceci.salsa @denireeisabel for this conversation