For weeks, thousands of people have been crowding the streets of Colombia to protest against inequality, increasing poverty and police violence. President Iván Duque deployed the country’s military and police forces and more than 40 people have died.
During a demonstration in Bogotá on April 28th, three young dancers confronted their fear of violence there through the ultimate expression of life: dance.
Piisciis or Akhil Canizales, 25; Nova or Felipe Velandia (25) – who both identify as non-binary – and Axid or Andrés Ramos (20) who is trans were recognized by other protesters in the crowd due to a viral video of them dancing in the social media posted two weeks earlier.
“We decided to go out in protest against our human rights, but also so that the LGBTQ and non-binary community could be seen,” said Piisciis.
As they neared the Capitolio Nacional, or national capital, in Plaza Bolívar, the main square in Bogotá, a woman from Piisciis suggested that the three go to the steps of the square and dance, as they had done in their viral video . There was a problem: the riot police were swarming at the top of the stairs.
“We were very scared because everyone in Colombia is afraid of ESMAD,” Piisciis said in an interview, referring to the Escuadrón Móvil Antidisturbio or the Mobile Anti-Disturbances Squadron. “You are violent and aggressive with us.”
Still they went on.
They wore a yellow warning tape that read “peligro” (danger) loosely wrapped around their torso as a top, and black pants, heels, a black ski mask for Nova and a long blonde wig for Axid. They went up to the landing.
“We went up there so scared,” said Piisciis. “The truth is, we were scared at that moment because we didn’t know when someone was going to throw a stone or an explosive at us, or if the police were going to beat us.”
When Nova, Piisciis, and Axid reached the top landing of the Capitolio, music began to play. It was “Por Colombia Hasta el Fin”, a guaracha song that Piisciis composed for the protest. By the time the riot police noticed, they were already in fashion.
During the song’s first break, as seen in a video that was also widely circulated, Piisciis, Nova, and Axid began waving their arms and hips at the same time. left, right, left, left. It was the classic fashion runway. Then they shook their heads in time and vigorously twisted their hair.
As officers in riot gear surrounded the trio, they cunningly slipped past and approached the crowd while making sensual gestures. The crowd burst out cheering.
As more officers circled the group, Nova ducked and began shuffling to the beat, approaching the officers. Her arms and hands stretched elegantly and crossed each other in rhythm, the fingers fanned out in front of her face like baroque decorations. It was the duck walk in the ballroom.
Axid was presented with a large Colombian flag by a stranger and began to wave as Piisciis also moved closer to the demonstrators. Then Piisciis stood up and whirled their body violently, with their hair furiously following. Suddenly Piisciis stopped in the middle of the vortex, bent one knee while the other stayed straight, and fell on his back directly on the floor. The iconic dip.
The duck path, the vortex, the hand movements and the diving all came from modern ball culture, a world away.
The drag ballroom was first built in Harlem in the 1970s. It was a haven for LGBTQ blacks and Latinos who had been excluded from mainstream white society. The ballroom was a great world that they imagined and brought to life.
Competitions at drag ball events fostered community between different fringe groups. While many were not welcomed to nightclubs or bars at the time, they could show up at a ball as they were, and a few more, and show it off.
At the protest in Bogotá, dancing in this tradition allowed Piisciis, Nova and Axid to claim international visibility in a country hostile to their identity, they said.
“At that moment we were all connected in the message of struggle, resistance, empathy, strength and love,” said Piisciis.
Nova said, “We resisted with art and fashion. We were scared, but the people and the public love were our fuel to go up there and confront the police. “
Piisciis learned to dance this way by watching videos on YouTube. They started learning the modern New York style in 2014, they said. They watched videos of Leiomy Maldonado, a judge on the HBO Max Ballroom Competition TV show “Legendary,” and many other modern day dancers such as Yanou Ninja and Archie Ninja Burnett. At the beginning of the year, Piisciis held a dance class where they met Nova and Axid. Piisciis then taught Nova.
Modern ballroom culture in Colombia is growing, Nova said. “It’s very new, only five years old, but over that time it has grown and expanded into cities like Medellín, Cúcuta, Pereira and other cities.”
Even so, they are often denied the space to perform, said Piisciiss. The group hopes to break down barriers and spread fashion in their country.
“We want everyone to talk and ask about fashion,” said Piisciis. “They think it only exists in the United States, so we’re here: to show that it’s not just on TV or in fiction.”
“It exists here in Bogotá.”
