“I’m a Bronx-Ecuadorian dj, producer, and writer.”
- Bodega Bruja

When and how did you start djing?

I would say I started djing formerly maybe three or four years ago, around when I was 21, so now I'm twenty four. But I feel like I've kind of been djing since I was about 14. Not in the classical sense of mixing or anything like that, but I used to make a ton of very well thought out playlists because I was a huge nerd in school. I loved readingonline web comics and anything of that sort, and I loved making character-like playlists. I used this website called Eight Tracks, and whenever you listen to it, it would have to be in order. So anytime I did it, I would make cover art for the playlist and then choose the songs very carefully so that they can like relate to the character and what they were going through. But I never really considered being a DJ ever until I joined the NYU radio station when I was a freshman. I was a radio host, so I was kind of a radio DJ. And then when I was 21, I just very coincidentally happened to meet my mentors Barbie Bertisch and Paul Raffaele, who are the creators and founders of Love Injection, a fanzine about New York City dance and music nightlife like from past and present. I started going to clubs because of them. And it was kind of the pivotal moment for me to watch them DJ at their own parties.

Do you have inspirations for your djing?

I feel like a large part of what I've been trying to do my best in my djing and also just in general in my life, like what I've studied, is the idea of honoring the originators. So much of our contemporary music that we play is from black culture. And I think a major reason why I studied urban/metropolitan studies was because I understood that there was a certain difference that was built in the maps of cities. And that's something that I try to actively fight against—internalized racism, external racism, homophobia, transphobia. Coming out as a non-binary person, that’s something that I never thought I'd be able to do, especially coming from my background and my family. But really owning it and just being like, I'm non-binary, like, I may look a certain way to you or whatever the fuck, but that's not who I am, and it's none of your business. I no longer feel confined to the oppression of like the.. the white supremacist patriarchy. Not to put those three buzzwords all together, but it's just so deeply ingrained into our society, into my family. It's something that I have had to dismantle every day because it's necessary.

Do you want to dj full time?

I was just unwillingly laid off from a job. I was working as an investigator at the Civilian Complaint Review Board for the City of New York. I did a lot of investigative work. I did a lot of reading, writing, interviewing. It was something that I was really excited about at the beginning. And then I really hated towards the middle. And then I was very, very suddenly and very rudely laid off. I am at this point in my life… what’s the word? Not that I'm an ungovernable person, but I do feel like in all of my work experience that I've had, there's been kind of this idea of me that’s always butting heads with authority. I've had this since I was a kid. I’ve always wanted to do what I wanted to do. And I think what happened in my office job and in general, was that the idea of conforming to a nine to five desk job and then living my life for the next two days… not only was that not for me, but it's also something that people could probably tell wasn't where my heart lies, and it's true. That's not. I don't want to answer to anybody. And not even that. I take that back. I don't want to answer to anybody that thinks that they have any type of authority or power over me. I want to answer to people who feel like we are all equals and we're all working on it. We're all alike in a symbiotic relationship of workflow or whatever the fuck. But I've never had that. I've never had that because I realize that the jobs I've been in have always seen me as like a type of machine and never as a person. So I realized that, you know, why am I going to subject myself to work to have an authority figure who doesn't even see me as a person, and respect or care about what I have to say. I'd rather just work for myself, really do what I can to pursue what I want to do, even if it's more difficult than sitting in an office job. But at least, it feels less soul sucking. I can feel some type of agency, you know? It's never going to be that easy. I won't do it alone. You need a community around you to help you financially, emotionally, mentally.

What do you like about djing?

A part of me loves the idea of being able to not only speak to people through somebody else's music—music that has resonated with me and given me feelings I've never felt before personally—but also, being able to connect with a whole crowd of strangers anonymously to tell them all these feelings that I have just through the music that I'm playing. It kind of feels like a trick. It kind of feels like I'm telling you about this horrible heartbreak that I've had in my life, but I'm not saying it out loud. I'm just playing you some music. It feels like a very personal way of telling a bunch of these people all these feelings that I have. It feels like a cathartic experience because then people on the dance floor start feeling it with me. I like how safe I feel behind the booth, feel very safe back there.