On Rising Above Conformity: Natalia Rocafuerte
Every year, bbatx curates a monthly residency highlighting the work of 10 to 15, Texas-based women and nonbinary visual and musical artists that create work and perform in our programs. As we move to take our programs online, we’ve partnered with Bumble to launch a digital version of The Residency. From now through November 1, 2020, you can tune in for weekly mixes, visuals and workshops from 16 women and nonbinary artists and DJs.
Today, as part of the series, we’ve got an interview with new media artist, DJ, and filmmaker Natalia Rocafuerte. In conversation with bbatx committee member Amanda Vaughn, Natalia talked with us about how she started DJing through Chulita Vinyl Club, her greatest influences and inspirations, and how she commits to being her authentic self through her art and DJ practice.
ABOUT NATALIA ROCAFUERTE:
Natalia Rocafuerte is a Mexican-American new media artist, filmmaker and community organizer creating work on perception, analog technology and spatial identity. Encouraging a phenomenological experience by using unconventional technologies, Rocafuerte views her work as a broadcast of alternative narratives and self perceptions. She is also a recent fellow for the New York Foundation for the Arts Immigrant Mentorship program and has work currently exhibiting in San Antonio for Xicanx.
How did you start DJing? We’d love to hear about your first gig, what inspired your name, at what point you branched out more… whatever you’d like to share. :)
I always made mixtapes for my friends and would even mail out CD’s to friends across the world. It wasn't until I joined Chulita Vinyl Club that I was encouraged to share my vast library of records and DJ outside my bedroom. My first gig was through Chulita Vinyl Club during a West Side Studio tour in Austin. I can still feel my heart hiccup when I played my first track publicly. It was a thrill to see people dance and be filled with curiosity as to what the song I played was. I got a lot of support from the Austin queer community and started getting gigs at lesbian wedding parties, Thee Gay Agenda as well as some independent galleries like Sala Diaz and Mass Gallery. I incorporate sound into my installation pieces as a way to explore mood setting through sound as well.
Why do you DJ?
I like exploring sound, and music has always been a source of inspiration. I think a lot of people find it to be the most influential kind of art. It comes in many languages, but you don't really have to know a language to understand sound. I feel really lucky to be alive in a time where we have access to global archives of music. I DJ to explore what everyone is experiencing through sound.
Natalia with Chulita Vinyl Club.
Where do you buy records? What is your favorite record and why?
I love shopping at Bluebonnet Records in Lockhart because they have such an eclectic collection (and the largest Yoko Ono collection in the area). It's also owned by some rad punk rockers who always stock up on weird music from around the world and local bands. I also research a lot of music by labels to support independent labels. I kind of started doing that after going to SXSW parties in high school.
I think a favorite record is hard to pick. It would probably be The Ramones' self titled record or Los Shapis' Los Auténticos.
How do you build your crates? How do you transport all that vinyl?
I like to add what I am currently listening to my crate, and that includes new records I buy and ear worms I keep on repeat. It's kind of an excuse to get to hear my favorite song over and over again. Sometimes I think about records I listened to growing up in Mexico and what comfort they bring and I like to bring those along, too. I like when someone comes up to my turntable and shares their memory of their grandmother who played that exact same song in Mexico. I buy vintage cases for my records (for 45's and 78's) and decorate them with stickers from friends. I also DJ in digital formats which allows me to bring music from friends who upload their music to Soundcloud.
What are your greatest influences? Faces? Places?
I think Honey Dijon is an amazing queer icon and DJ. I also really like Alaska from Alaska y Dinarama and Fangoria. I love Prince, Claude Cahun, Erykah Badu and Yoko Ono. I'm also really inspired by sound artists working to explore sound as medium in installation and sculpture. I'm currently in Detroit and listening to a lot of "classic” techno from here—music for the Motor City.
This season at bbatx, we're exploring the theme of RISE. What does that mean to you, and how do you find rise in your DJ practice?
I feel connected to a greater calling through my art and want to rise above conformity to oppressive ideas of art and gender expression. Decolonize your mind and heart. Rise above tyranny of our people through class and racism. Allow ourselves to dream and be original. I want to be my authentic self and not to operate on conspicuous consumption.
What are you listening to now?
My mix is a collection of music I have been listening to in my room and studio during the pandemic. It's everything twee and everything that reminds me of being calm in my own space. I've been reading The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison and wanted to include her voice in my mix as something I am listening to. I listen to a lot of artists from Austin—TC Superstar has been on my stereo lately.
LISTEN TO NATALIA’S BABES FEST RADIO MIX. :)
ABOUT THIS MIX:
This mix is a twee and eclectic collection of soothing femme singer-songwriters and multi-instrumentalists. So sweet it can be sour, this collection explores the self through sound and lyrics. This mix is tender—not for the cynical.
TRACKLIST:
Oprah interview with Toni Morrison
Code - The Tuna Helpers (*ATX-based)
Green Eyes - Erykah Badu
Synthesize Me - The Space Lady
Just Another Diamond Day - Vashti Bunyan
Honey - Marine Girls
Blank Girl - Dum Dum Girls
Moving On, Getting On - Christelle Bofale (*ATX-based)
Leave All Your Old Loves - The Liverbirds
Drown - Black Tambourine
Together Forever in Love - Go Sailor
Not Too Soon - Throwing Muses
Dream Phone - Peach Kelli Pop
Cet air-là - April March
Sed de amor - Esther Suarez
Kiss Kiss Kiss - Yoko Ono
Why Do You - Jane Claire (*ATX-based)
I Been Livin - Liv.e
I Miss That Feeling - Tennis
What You Want - Sheer Mag
Together Forever in Love - Go Sailor
Pista - Los Bitchos
Aventurera - Natalia Lafourcade
Knock Out - Air Waves
Comment Te Dire Adieu - Françoise Hardy
Modern Girl - Sleater Kinney
Party Boots - Murdertits!
In Dreams - Little Marzarn (*ATX-based)
Forget about - Sibylle Baier