Bailando Contra el Capitalismo en el tiempo de #CoronaVirus

[Image description: A screen shot of Angélica's Zoom green screen glitch in which her skin onher face, neck and hand is overlaid background picture of peach colored sunrise light casting shadows on a white ceiling. Her eyes, hand silhouette, straightened black hair, and white knitted sweater are distinct from the green screen background.]

This morning I woke up in full club attire.

Yes, dear reader. In the time of #CoronaQuarantine I woke up on our couch in last night's look, an outfit intended for DJ Precolumbian (IG @cordill3ra) & BEARCAT's (IG @b_e_a_r_c_a_t) 12-2AM set for the incredible By Us, For Us global ZOOM partí ; a look that was honestly still #ClubZOOM ready. My eyeliner wings remained sharp, khaki suspenders and white chunky-knit cropped remained unwrinkled, and my face only slightly puffy from 1 potent glass of jalepeño wine.

SO, at 7AM I did what any partí ready mamí would do before her toddler woke up; i joined the early bird booty-poppin' brigade forming on the For Us, By Us zoom channel. In classic toddler style, bb Kiki woke up to join the fun the very second after I jointed. From 7am-8:30am Kiki and danced, built block-towers, and nodded our heads to the incredible vibes of DJ Turay (IG @pas.telshade) from Sisters with Invoices.

As a busy queer mamí & someone with chronic illness- my presence at queer nightlife events was on the decline before the #CoronaVirus pandemic. This fact made the experience curated by the By Us, For Us crew indescribably more meaningful for me. On top of the above, BUFU is delivering

- partí as beyond-scacity praxis - collective work to keep cultural creators paid in a time of crisis! - cute outfits & dance moves

- desire for a world that does not exploit undervalued members of our communities

- centering of LGBTQ/GNC/NB disabled, fat, creative, sick and other amazing PoC at the margins.

Yes, this was what I needed on a Sunday morning. This was my church! These kinds of spaces allow me to be a mamí and a #mami, tu sabe? And creates opporunities to celebrate each other, across space in pandemic times and in the times that are coming after.

Praise the virtual meet ups, the behind the scenes organizers, the mutual aid workers, the prison abolitionists, the single-parents w/ kids, the daycare staff still going to work to provide care for other essential workers, praise the essential workers who have always been essential, praise clemency in times of health crisis, praise critical/anti-colonial public health workers, the offline conversations + coordinations with family & kin, the hard work of surviving together and leaving no one behind, a noted contrast how the rich are doing the least for others and the most for themselves. <3 Ya'll. Love us! Stay care

*A noted contrast how the rich are doing the least for others and the most for themselves.

[Note: this blog post is part of a daily writing ritual. One which allows me to complete a smaller piece of writing while I work through larger writing projects. I need some short term satisfaction to help me get through!]