The political act of partying: CarlCollison parties with the organisers of batekoo_ , an unapologetically pro-queer, pro-black, pro-poor, pro-body outfit in São Paulo.
It was something of a political act, having braids put in his hair. After years of “people trying to put me in a white space because of my light skin”, Eliabe de Freitas had come to terms with the beauty of his blackness and wanted to show this to the world.
The party he speaks of was one thrown under the banner of Batekoo, the unapologetically pro-queer, pro-black, pro-poor, pro-body diversity series of monthly events held in São Paulo and other cities across Brazil.
“We’ve had big editions before, but this year was crazy. Really crazy,” Artur Santoro, one of the organisers of São Paulo’s Batekoo events, laughs incredulously. Dressed in a bright yellow, ankle-length skirt , striped blouse and topped off by his signature look — a bold bush of blue and purple hair extensions — the bearded 22-year-old cuts a striking figure.
Miranda helped to create Batekoo and this alternative world, somewhat by accident, it would seem. In 2014, in the city of Salvador, Miranda decided to throw a birthday party. He approached his friend and Batekoo cofounder Maurício Sacramento to help him put it together. From the onset, he says, the pair “wanted it to be a black party, with black DJs”.
Says Miranda: “We always thought of Batekoo as just a monthly party. But actually we realised it’s bigger than that. It’s like a movement. We try to — and I think we do — create a safe space, mainly for black LGBTQ people and women to dance and express their identities and bodies. We have a lot of trans people who work with us and they see themselves represented. Today, this is our motto. To think about all these people represented with our movement and our parties.
Dressed in leopard-print jumpsuit and black crop-top, Andrade recalls how her second Batekoo party was a night of firsts.
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