Embodied Collective Choreographies

Listening to Arena Nightclub’s Jotería Sonic Memories

Bibliographic Data

ID22123775
AuthorsEddy Francisco Alvarez (California State University, Fullerton, corresponding author), Eddy Francisco Alvarez Jr
Year2022
Volume8
Issue1
Pages109-124
Publication date2022-06-09
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePerformance Matters (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2369-2537 • E-ISSN: 2369-2537
PublisherConsortium Erudit (PUBLISHER • CA)
DOI10.7202/1089682ar
OpenAlexW4281778501
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited15

Merging sound studies, performance studies, and jotería studies, this essay documents sonic moments and memories of 1990s Los Angeles at Arena, a nightclub frequented by queer Latinx youth. Building on Alexandra Vasquez's "listening in detail" and Karen Tongson's "queerly listening," the author argues that jotería listening is an auditory practice and methodology employed by queer Latinx communities engaged in world-making strategies. Through jotería listening, we are able to hear sonic memories of Arena, which map moments of collectivity, community building, experimentation and resistance against hostilities encountered by jotería youth in LA in the 1990s. Highlighting three soundmarks or recognizable sounds—whistles, foot-stomping, and clapping—and their meanings, this essay maps corporeal and embodied performances of self and community as it documents critical moments in jotería histories of nightlife in Los Angeles

Active listening · Aesthetics · Art · Embodied cognition · Epistemology · Media studies · Nightlife · Queer · Sociology · Visual arts · Communication · Gender Studies · History · Latin American and Latino Studies · Music History and Culture

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access