El reggaeton es para perrear

This is the music that I dance to with friends or that I hear while driving. I can’t paint with music playing in the studio, but my selection of songs reflects my cultural experiences living in Mexico. For me, music is about desire, community, and culture. I don’t analyze it from a conceptual place. I embody it and experience it.

“El reggaeton es para perrear.”

This playlist includes Reggaeton, an expression of desire and freedom that has been embraced and claimed by the queer community. My selection of songs also includes punk and metal. These subcultures helped shape who I was when I was younger, and I think it’s important to revisit and incorporate that history into my work.

In addition to looking back, my work explores conceptions of futurity. For example, I am interested in the emergence of “corridos tumbados,” a variation of the traditional corridos form that includes elements of rap and trap music. This type of music is deeply rooted in Mexican culture and specifically speaks to the experience of living in a culture of violence around drug cartels. Though hard to translate, it is an important expression of postcolonial experiences, exploring the complexities of being subjected to violence while also seeking forms of joy.