Paris in Ibiza (2010); click for more

Billionaire party girl Paris Hilton announced this week that she’ll soon be joining the ranks of pop-dance superstar DJs David Guetta, Tiesto and Afrojack, kicking off her career with an 1 hour set before 30,000 revellers in Brazil.

Promising that her show at the Pop Festival will be ‘the first of many’, she told reporters she’ll be spinning ‘custom-made remixes of the best tracks’ (presumably made by boyfriend Afrojack or regular collaborators Manufactured Superstars) and told Billboard she’s ‘very excited to share all of my hard work with the world.” (http://bit.ly/KYGR7j )

“Electronic music is a huge passion of mine and I’m finally letting the world experience it with me,” she told reporters.

“I have been working in the studio for a long time and ready to take deejaying to the next level. I chose Brazil for my debut because it is the country of music and dancing.”

Somewhat predictably, deep house legend turned Twitter scourge of Swedish House Mafia, DJ Sneak was unimpressed.

‘PH sucks at everything, she is wealthy she should stay out real DJ business. this is 4 pros,” he advised.

“Like once PH realizes how much work this really is she’ll give up,” he predicted, “she doesn’t belong in this business this is for grown folks.”

https://twitter.com/#!/PARISHILTON

Jonty Skrufff: http://listn.to/JontySkrufff

Brazil’s number one EDM radio network Dance Paradise FM is adding Germany Calling to their schedule and will be broadcasting the Berlin produced show every Thursday afternoon from June 7 (17.00 local time, 22.00 Berlin time).

The Curitiba based station reaches millions of listeners via a network of 55 terrestrial FM radio stations.

Sérgio Maslowsky from Dance Paradise FM chatted to Skrufff this week about the story behind the fast growing Brazilian radio network and recalled how they started 8 years ago ‘just as a web radio station broadcast from a small room here in Curitiba.’

“Initially we began broadcasting a few trance and house radio shows from some international artists and during that period times were really hard but after a few months we got in touch with some huge artists who supported and believed in the idea and the concept of the radio station- people like Markus Schulz, Matt Darey and Menno de Jong,” he recalled.

“Back then the radio was 90% trance and some other EDM songs, then over time we connected up with lots more new artists and we became so full of DJs and musical styles that we launched another channel, dividing up the genres. So we had just one for trance, and the other for house and techno. Nowadays we have 4 different channels and each is broadcast across 55 FM Stations around Brazil.”

Germany Calling specialises in delivering exclusive upfront underground house and techno tracks from labels such as Kling Klong, Soma, Crosstown Rebels, Turbo, Culprit, Punch Music and Great Stuff and is produced and presented by Jonty Skrufff and Fidelity Kastrow. Each week’s one hour show also includes one or two classic cuts and rarities and is also broadcast on BLN.FM (Germany), Underground FG (France) and Ukraine’s leading dance music radio station Kiss FM.

For Sergio, who handles Dance Paradise’s international and artist relations, Germany Calling’s inclusion on the Concept Channel fits a programming schedule that already includes shows from Carl Cox, Yoshitoshi and Get Physical. (This is Dance Paradise; on Youtube: http://bit.ly/KQQ3tI )

“Dance music has always been a global phenomenon and we reflect that on Dance Paradise FM,” he says.

“How many of the shows are in English? Well almost 99% of our output is either in English or foreign languages,” says Sergio. “We have a handful in Portuguese but that’s all.”

Fidelity Kastrow & Jonty Skrufff - Click for archive shows

Skrufff (Seb Mortimer): How do you decide what styles of music and DJs to support?

Dance Paradise (Sergio): “We’ve always maintained good relationships with the DJs who provide us with radio shows, and we’re always looking for good stuff, whatever the genre. The key issue for us is to have good quality programmes and be open minded to new trends and styles. Sometimes these can seem aggressive and weird at first, but when you look into it and see a lot of different material and so many people following that genre then we’ll experiment and put it right in the middle of the schedule and see what feedback we receive.

The artists decide the music they play on their shows of course, and we already have huge numbers of listeners who are addicted to trance, house, techno, deep house and even chill-out so we’re not relying just on numbers, we feel it.”

Skrufff: What’s your assessment of club culture and EDM in Brazil; how much is the country now embracing EDM in the mainstream?

Dance Paradise (Sergio): “Brazil’s EDM scene is growing constantly these days, thanks to both the internet and global communication in general. We need it here too. If I can use myself as an example, I personally hate samba and I hate with all my heart performers such as Michel Telo and that country style music, so I really miss that Europe atmosphere and culture about e-music.

In the past, and I’m talking about not longer than ten years ago, if I told someone I liked Paul Oakenfold or Cris Liebing they would turn to me and say ‘what the fuck? Who are those guys, I’ve never heard of them.’ Or ‘so you use drugs or have a mental problems?’ But nowadays most people in Brazil are familiar with these names and many more and though people aren’t 100% into dance music, it’s changing. We think we’re helping this happen because dance music is our passion- we love what we hear and what we do.”

Live @ D-edge (Sao Paulo)

Skrufff: How about places like Florianopolis; how much do you cover that scene: how much does it have the potential to become an Ibiza style destination (over December to March)

Dance Paradise (Sergio): “We have strong partnerships with clubs such as Pacha and Stage Music Park, they’re excellent clubs and partners, and that city is such a beautiful place. We’re always doing special events there, whether it’s live broadcasting or events or even doing our own special events.

But Ibiza is Ibiza, nowhere in the world beats it. Armin van Buuren once said ”every year we have a new Ibiza, and it burns for that season, and sometimes in the next season it’s gone, but you cant compare the magic of that island, its unique”; Florianópolis has a long way to go still but I think Floripa already has its space at the sun.”

Skrufff: You broadcast to 57 affiliate radio stations: what kind of audiences do you attract: for the mainstream shows and the underground ones?

Dance Paradise (Sergio): “We try to attract both Greeks and Trojans because we have both types of artists on the crew, but let me answer you with another question: What is underground these days? Even in the underground we have mainstream artists and with information now available everywhere you don’t really have underground scenes anymore; certainly not in the way it used to be.”

Dance Paradise; click for more

Skrufff: How do you see Dance Paradise developing- in the next 6 months- in the next 3 years?

Dance Paradise (Sergio): “It’s hard to say even what we’ll be doing tomorrow, but I think it’s definitely our moment, our time to shine even more. Expanding to 57 station was a big jump, and we’re starting to get these fruits now, so I think Dance Paradise will be bigger than it is now, and I can expect huge events and festival partners and more conference tie-ups in the future.”

Skrufff: Anything to add?

Dance Paradise (Sergio): “Thanks to everyone, even our enemies – if we have any . . .”

Listen to Germany Calling every Thursday afternoon from June 7 (17.00 local time, 22.00 Berlin time).

http://www.danceparadise.com.br

http://www.mixcloud.com/jontyskrufff/ (Listen to archived Germany Calling shows on demand, here)

Seb Mortimer: http://listn.to/JontySkrufff

Gee- click on the picture for more

Launching daytime party club Bora Bora in ‘an old run down empty beach bar’ in Ibiza in 1996, Gee Moore is famed for routinely playing 12 hour sets each day throughout the summer season, gradually transforming it into one of the wildest- and best- party spots of the whole Ibiza scene.

Squeezed out by the island’s often internecine clubland politics in 2006, he quit and set off on a global DJing tour that last year saw him reinventing Bora Bora as a premium destination on Brazil’s luxury costal clubbing area of Santa Catarina. Chatting to Skrufff this week about Bora Bora’s successful progression he’s clearly happy in his new home, though sensitive about the reasons he ended up leaving Ibiza for good (he was last there in 2007 for a visit).

“I felt when I left that the unique sprit and general feeling of the island that was so strong was evaporating very fast, I believed that once that was destroyed it would never come back or be the same,” he sighs.

“The island had become a parody of itself, packed with real-life Kevin and Perry’s running around desperate to be a DJ and play one record to nobody just to say they were an ‘Ibiza DJ’. (

Ibiza documentary film Kevin & Perry Go Large:

“Some people that I mistook as friends, that I had given a start and many opportunities to, started to show their jealousy and their true pathetic egos to be DJs at any cost,” he sighs.

“But it was good to know as actually it was a plus in the end, like getting rid of the dead wood. If I had taken those people and their problems with me things would not be good as they are now.”

That things are good, is clear given that as well as running his Brazilian beach club he’s also shortly setting up a Bora Bora in Tunisia, hosting an open air venue in the Mediterranean city of Souses from June 16. Though sensitive, he’s also philosophical, and upbeat about his new life and direction since leaving Ibiza six years earlier.

“Many people told me not to go at the time but I know I made the best decision, I didn’t want all those fantastic years of memories to be tainted with any bad ones,” he says,

“I feel I stayed there a year too long anyway, but I was always the last one to leave a party,” he laughs.

Bora Bora needed to progress and it was not going to if we stayed there any longer. I had done all that I could do on the island. Including being resident Dj in all the man venues.”

Bora Bors Brasil

He’s also firmly committed to Brazil and the nightlife community he’s found more than welcoming.

“Of course with any business there is an inherent rivalry and competition to survive and make more money, and that’s true all over the world. That’s why the monetary system is such a bad and outdated one,” he says, “But the differences between here in Brazil and Ibiza are many.

I know that the other club owners here are not so stupid and understand that Disneyland with only Mickey Mouse is not a good enough attraction.”

Instead, he says, clubs including Warung club, D-edge and Sky Beach all routinely swap DJs and help each other out, to the extent of cross promoting parties in each others’ venues.

“To give you an example we had Nick Warren play as our guest DJ on New Year’s Eve,” he recounts.

“We booked him through a friend of an agent and so didn’t realize that he was also booked to play in Warung club as their headliner only three days later. We had posters, billboards etc printed before we found out about the Warung club date. Their contract was in fact made before ours and so could have meant that we had to cancel the date, loosing a lot of money and not having a guest for the big day and night of the year.

But Rassi and Conti at Warung club were fantastic in their response. They understood the mistake and what the consequences would be for us and said that we are friends and that it was OK. That would not have happened in Ibiza! And that’s the big difference I’m sad to say.”

The only place I see a real rivalry, is between the commercial clubs and the good concept and underground ones, because those clubs and their followers know that the commercial venues have nothing to offer for the progression of the scene and are actually killing it, as we have seen everywhere else.”

Skrufff (Jonty Skrufff): It’s the 2nd year since you officially opened the new home of Bora Bora in Santa Caterina Brazil: How much has this year gone to plan?

Gee Moore (Bora Bora): “As you can imagine, an immense amount of hard word and dedication has gone into getting the new home of Bora Bora up and running. Now after the end of our 2nd year we can really get some perspective on how things are. We are very happy to see such great improvements and progression, which have surpassed our expectations.

Last year was really all about getting people to know we are here. We were quick to see where any problem areas where and make corrections and changes as fast as possible. The venue is so unique and beautiful that the word soon spread through the close season and the scene was set up perfectly for our 2nd year.

What was most impressive was to see so many people returning many times, this was a great indication that we were doing things right and that people liked the experience. Actually daytime clubbing here in Brazil is a relatively new concept but they are catching on fast. There are some other great beach clubs here as well so we are very happy about also. We had some fantastic guest DJs, including Nick Warren, Layo & Bushwacka, Ricky Ryan, Christian Smith, Ernesto Ferreyra as well as some great Brazilian artists such as Anderson Noise, Fabricio Pechanha, Emmy, Aninha etc ..

Skrufff: How much is the concept the same as in Ibiza (ie daytime beachside clubbing for free)

Gee Moore (Bora Bora): “The main difference is, of course, the fact that the people are not contained inside a relatively small distance on an island, even though in this area alone we have something like 26 major club venues, some of them holding up to 13,000 people. They are open all year round and very popular. There are some weeks in what’s known as the summer season (new year and Carnaval), where the people are in full on party mode, so we are mainly open at the weekends for parties and the week days for lounging around the pool and beach.

Most of the day-clubs here are free entry, or like us they adopt a system called “consume” This is where you pay a small fee to get in but are given vouchers in return for that same amount to spend on drinks and food in the venue. Once the customer has spent the value of the vouchers they continue to buy drinks and food as normal. It’s a good deal for the customer as the guest DJs and venue running costs are not cheap, even here in Brazil.”

Skrufff: Bora Bora in Ibiza started very low key in ‘an old run down empty beach bar’: how much does the new Brazilian club share a similar low key, underground ethos?

Gee Moore (Bora Bora): “I conceived Bora Bora as a music concept rather than a regular club set-up that just brings in DJs and promoted events. Being the owner of the concept as well as the DJ playing sets of 12 hours a day for 4 months each year in those first years has meant that I have been able to develop and keep the music style and its progression under control. Over the years I’ve heard people talking about, and asking for “that Bora Bora sound”. So as far as the concept, the vibe and sound are concerned it’s of course the same. That’s the whole point of Bora Bora. Basically Bora Bora is me and I am Bora Bora, Music, heart and soul.”

The guest DJs that I choose add another dimension, and are chosen to be in keeping with my music structure. The venue and its construction itself is a massive progression. I have made notes of all the things that I considered needed improving and changing over the years and now I’ve had the chance to make them right.

The first thing was to position the DJ stand so that everyone facing the DJ and the DJ had a good view of the sea. I mean that’s the whole point surely, we were very restricted in Ibiza as we never had a music licence and so I as a DJ was forced to be tucked away in a corner and the people were always facing those ugly apartments, I was the only one with the good view and that always bugged me.

The DJ stand itself is also a massive improvement. It’s large and fully equipped including Traktor sound card so there’s no need for DJ’s to start messing around pulling cables in and out of the mixer. The stand also has a private DJ lounge off to one side. We have an infinity pool mostly at a depth of 30 cm, perfect for dancing in.

The whole construction and furniture are made of wood. The decking is great for dancing on; it has a good spring to it. The wooden structure vibrates a nice warm sound and the furniture is strong enough to dance on, of course. There’s a lounge area full of Jacuzzis and a very large restaurant. Three large toilet areas, the women’s have a lounge area with mirrors and sofa.”

Skrufff: How conscious are you of being an outsider ‘gringo?’

Gee Moore (Bora Bora): “I am conscious of it only when asked about it, after all it’s not the first time I have lived in a country outside of the UK. I like to think that the world is one, we are only separated by nationalities, invisible boarders and crazy traditions that are all man made in the first place, so what’s to be concerned about? I have a lot of friends here that I made in a short space of time. They are all very cool and I have learnt a lot from them all.

They like English speaking people here for some reason and always try to speak it however little they know. In Brazil there’s the largest population of Asians outside of China, and in this particular area most of the people are 1, 2, or 3 generations away from Italian and German decedents. The woman that helped me with my papers here told me that in this area 300 or so people from the UK move here each year and with this being the number one destination for Argentinean holiday makers it has pretty much a cosmopolitan feel to the place anyway.”

Skrufff: How good is your Portuguese?

Gee Moore (Bora Bora): “I do speak the language now but I still understand even more than I speak. I have for the last year tended to become a bit of a recluse as I love the nature here as well as making music in my studio most of the time. So I’m now making an effort to get out a bit more. I also started to surf now and so that helps to meet more people to converse with.”

Skrufff: Why did you pick Brazil as opposed to somewhere closer to home? (eg Croatia? Italy? Or mainland Spain?)

Gee Moore (Bora Bora): “I had considered places like Italy and Croatia at first, but maybe I felt at that time that Bora Bora and I needed a real change. I don’t think anywhere else around Europe would have been enough for me at that time. I was fortunate enough to have a Bora Bora world tour set up that continued for a couple of years. It allowed me to spend some months in places I thought could possibly be right for Bora Bora. I also stayed longer in places where I got to do other things that were on my wish list, such as exploring and even acting, which I was fortunate enough to get a taste for in Hollywood. I spent almost a year in the USA altogether.

Once I arrived in Brazil, there was never any doubt it would be here. I remember being on the beach in front of Warung club, within half an hour, four different people from four different directions came up to me and asked me what I was doing there. ‘Was I going to make Bora Bora there?’ etc. That kind of sealed the deal in that one afternoon. I’m happy that Brazil was the last place on the list of realistic locations for Bora Bora that I had visited because I had a lot of adventures in other parts of the world getting there, I saw and I learnt a lot.”

Skrufff: When was the last time you visited Ibiza? What do you make of the island today?

Gee Moore (Bora Bora): “The last time was in 2007, I did not want to go back at that time as it was too soon after leaving but I had a new girlfriend and other friends that I’d made here in Brazil that wanted to go as they had not been before. So I rented a house for us all to stay in and spent my time throughout the summer at my friends’ recording studios making music and hanging out with people I knew at each other’s homes. I didn’t go to many venues except to Underground, KM5 to see some people I knew and to see my girlfriend briefly a couple of times, as she was a dancer in most of the clubs as well as a Manumission girl. I was in great company with my friends so it was good, they got it out of their system and I made some good music.

I’ve not been back since so I don’t know what the island and the clubs like Ushuaia are like. There are some old friends that I have not seen for some years on the island so maybe I’ll pop over sometime . . ..”

Skrufff: Anything else to add?

Gee Moore (Bora Bora): “Yes I have some very big Bora Bora news. – We have a Bora Bora tour going on here in Brazil and are starting to put some dates together around Europe. The Bora music label is ready to start releasing loads of new tracks as well as putting together a couple of compilations to add to our long list in the series.

We have a Bora Bora radio show team including Dave Gallier, Alan Prosser (SLR), Dan Ferritto (SLR) and myself making shows for Manchester Global (MGR) and Pulse. But the main news would be that we are about to open a new Bora Bora venue in the Mediterranean City of Sousse, Tunisia on the 15 June 2012. Yep time to dip our clubbing toes in the Med again…It’s a big venue in a great location. Our partners there understand perfectly what Bora Bora is about and we have a great wish list of DJ’s to fill the summer weekends with”.

www.boraborabrasil.com

www.boraborabrasil.co/tour

www.boraboraworld.com

www.boraboramusic.com

Jonty Skrufff: http://listn.to/JontySkrufff

Click for more from Alisson

Gays and lesbians in Brazil have their own slang repertoire called “pajubá”. Well, actually “pajubá” is a real African dialect from olden times, but it got mixed up with Brazilian Portuguese and became the official second language of queers and gender-benders in this sunny land.

The success of gay slang is so big in Brazil that they have been adopted by straight audiences too – it’s not unusual to hear even small children saying expressions like “arrasa!’ or “aloka!”.

Here’s a quick guide to the most commons phrases and words you’ll hear in a club in Sao Paulo or Rio.

Arrasa!

That’s the most useful gay slang ever. Its literal translation is the verb “to raze”, but it used as to send someone positive vibes, like “kick some ass!”, and “go and get it!”, but also as a simple compliment, as in “awesome!”, “cool!”, “fierce!”. You gonna hear it everywhere and in all kinds of situations. Other meanings can also be “work it, girl!”, “right on!”, “sashay, shantay!” and so on.

“Fazer a egícia” – (“to give an Egyptian face”)

1) it’s like when you say hello to a queen on the dancefloor and she pretends to not see you just to keep her pose intact, so you say “Bitch just gave me an Egyptian face”, like the statue of Nefertiti, got it?

2) You’re talking to someone about something he did last night and he pretends he doesn’t have a clue about what you’re saying, even though everyone else does it, so he’s also “giving an Egyptian face”, an indifferent yet guilty look.

Boy Magia

Oh well, this is self-explanatory. A “magic boy” is that kind of man that makes jaws drop. He puts a spell on you and enchants you with his beauty. That’s why he’s magic.

Bate Cabelo – (“Whipping Hair”)

If you’ve watched a drag show in Brazil, you noticed that they almost always follow the same pattern: she comes to the stage in one outfit, lipsynch for a bit, then starts stripping, takes her head-piece off and last – but not least – starts whipping her hair like a crazy tornado. Seriously, they literally fight amongst themselves for the title of the best “hair whipper” of the clubs. It became a Brazilian trademark and this is called “bate cabelo” in proper Portuguese. Since 99% of these shows are performed under heavy tribal-house beats, this type of music also became known as “bate cabelo”.

See it to believe it:

Aloka! (also written as “a loca!” or “aloca!”)

Literally, “the crazy lady”. Used as an interjection with several meanings, mostly to express shock or astonishment about something in a funny way. It can also be used in the sentence “Não faça a aloka comigo!”, meaning “don’t go all ‘crazy lady’ on me!” (don’t pull tricks on me, girl).

Bicha Pão com Ovo – (“Bread and Eggs queer”)

It refers to a gay guy who pretends to be rich and highly cultured but in reality doesn’t have a penny in his pocket and barely knows how to write his name. It comes from an urban legend about an old gay guy who was always pretending to be the next Queen of England but in reality used to carry a sack with a bread and eggs sandwich to eat at the bus station after everyone was gone.

Boa Noite, Cinderela – (“Good Night, Cinderela”)

It’s the criminal act of doping someone to steal their belongings. A common act carried out  by trannies and prostitutes who work on the streets, with tourists as main victims!

Pocket dictionary of unusual terms:

Portuguese / English

1. adoro! – “I love it!” (the amount of “o” letters you put in the word are equivalent to your excitement, as in “adoooooooooro!” (meaning, “looooooooove it!”)
2. alibã – a cop (plural: “alibãs”)
3. aqüé – money
4. abalar – to do something really great, as in “Abala!” (“You rock!”)
5. amapoa – woman/girl (mostly positive slang)
6. atendimento – to have sex with someone, a hook up.
7. armário – gay closet (as in “out of the closet”)
8. bafo – something worth talking about
9. banheirão – to cruise in bathrooms
10. barbie – extremely muscled guy who always takes his shirt off inside the clubs
11. bofe – a masculine, hot guy
12. carão – to give face
13. colocón – dope, drugs, booze
14. colocada – someone on drugs/drunk
15. drama – well, “Drama!”
16. dragão – literally “dragon”. Someone really ugly.
17. elza – to steal. Used as “dar a elza” (meaning “to steal something”) or “me deram a elza” (meaning “someone stole something from me”)
18. E ai? – “Hello!”, a very common greeting
19. equê – a lie or something fake
20. ferver – to party hard
21. larica – hunger, specially after smoking pot and heavy drinking
22. mona – a gay man, mostly effeminate.
23. montada – someone who’s dressed-up
24. neca – dick
25. neca odara – hard dick
26. neca mati – short dick
27. otim – drinks
28. padê – cocaine
29. passivona – a strictly-bottom guy (mostly used in a derogatory way)
30. pegação – sexual acts, going from simple flirtation to hard sex
31. picumã – hair (fake or real)
32. pintosa – someone very flamboyant
33. racha – woman (mostly pejorative)
34. sapa/sapatona – dyke (literally, “woman with big man shoes”)
35. taba – weed, marijuana
36. traveco – tranny (extremely pejorative!!)
37. Tô bege! – expression meaning “I’m shocked!”. Also used as “Tô passada!”

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The Brazilian Committee for Education, Culture and Sports has just approved a bill that regulates the activities of DJs and producers. This bill will make it mandatory for a DJ to have a professional certificate in order to perform in public places, clubs and events. To get the certificate, the artist must have concluded a professional course in a DJ school.

With this certificate in hands, DJs and producers will be able to get a professional registry at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. This bill also determines that the work load for a DJ must be six daily hours and/or 30 weekly hours.

This bill, however, doesn’t apply for foreign DJs and producers who come to Brazil to perform –  as long as they don’t stay in the country for more than 60 days. Also, every public or private event with international DJs must have at least 70% of their line-up filled with local professionals.

Although sounding extremely beneficial, not all DJs are totally happy with this new law for a number of different reasons. For instance, they complain that DJ courses in Brazil are still very expensive and not available outside big cities like Sao Paulo or Rio de Janeiro. Also, it’s not very clear what DJs who have been performing for decades will have to do to get this certificate – should even they get back to school?

At the same time, most people see this as a great opportunity to stop the current wave of “celebrities pretending to be DJs” that is growing fast in the country, taking jobs from real DJs and, most of the times, ruining the image of their profession.

The bill is needs to be voted by the Committee of Social Affairs and the Chamber of Government before it becomes a law. Let’s see what happens!

Claudia Wonder

Brazilian civil rights campaigner and transsexual performance artist Claudia Wonder started her nightlife career in Sao Paolo in 1975, performing alongside iconic Brazilian drag queens including Andrea May, Thelma Lipp and Brenda Lee.

Running round Sao Paulo’s then tiny after-hours gay scene, she routinely faced arrest from the police controlled by Brazil’s then notoriously brutal military dictatorship and became an ardent activist in the campaign that lead to democracy in 1985.

Also championing gay rights and later on, HIV and AIDS awareness issues, she became a national celebrity around the same time when she fronted Brazilian punk band Dirty Trick. In Sao Paulo meanwhile, she became even more infamous for her show ‘The Vomit of Myth’, which she regularly staged at the Madam Satan club, stripping off naked in a bathtub full of blood.

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Moving to Europe in 1989 (where she worked as a cabaret artist and make-up stylist) she came back to Sao Paulo in 1999, returning to music in 2007 to record on a number of electro albums. She also became a columnist for GQ magazine the same year and in 2008 was the subject of a documentary “My friend Claudia’ directed by filmmaker Dácio Pinheiro.

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My Friend Claudia

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Continuing to fight for gay rights and AIDS issues, Claudia died of an AIDS related illness of November 26, aged 55. She chatted to Jonty Skrufff and Benjamin Ferreira several months before, in her flat in the centre of Sao Paulo close to Avenue Paulista (Benjamin acted as a translator).

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world AIDS day (december 1) click for more

Skrufff (Jonty Skrufff) How did the film of your life ‘My Friend Claudia come about?

Claudia Wonder: “I wanted to make the film for many years, actually even in the 80s because I had such a long career then before I moved to Europe in December ’88. But I ended up living in Europe for 11 years then when I came back to Brazil it was very difficult to pick up my career here because I wasn’t connected any more. A lot of people I’d known before had died of AIDS including many of my friends. Plus the people that used to go out at night before I moved to Europe weren’t going out any more so I didn’t know anyone on the club scene.

I always wanted to make a documentary because I wanted young people to know about my life and the history of Sao Paulo nightlife since the film I’ve really got back to business, which is great. It’s based on my artistic career since 1975. Das Piniero directed it. We started with a fictional text which became a five minute video then developed from there, it wasn’t made overnight.”

Skrufff: When you first started going out in the 70s were there many transvestites on the streets of Sao Paulo? How was the club scene?

Claudia Wonder: “There were very few transvestites compared to today. At the same time it was more difficult generally because we were living under a military dictatorship. Though having said that, it was also more romantic at the same time because we were all young. There was also a tangible sense of danger which was also exciting. There were just two clubs then around 1975 and ’76 one of which was called Nostro Mundo that still exists today. It’s been there since 1973.”

Skrufff: Were the police very dangerous then?

Claudia Wonder: “I was arrested many, many times. I’d be there at the police station regularly until 4am in the morning then people would come and release us (bail us out) and they’d say ‘let’s go’. The police used to raid the clubs regularly and usually they would arrest absolutely everybody inside. Being gay wasn’t actually illegal then but even so they’d regularly arrest gay people.”

Skrufff: When did you become political?

Claudia Wonder: “I became active in the early 80s, in particular in 1983 and 84 when AIDS first arrived. I decided to do a show because I was really upset that at the time people didn’t even want to come close to gay people, because they were so afraid of being infected. They didn’t know what AIDS was. So I decided to do a show to tackle this prejudice head on, to hit them in the face and show them that it wasn’t the right thing to do. The idea of having a band came up too because Brazilian rock back then was beginning to take shape and was becoming really powerful and strong in our culture. And then I also started doing my performances in the bathtub filled with blood. The blood represented blood infected with HIV.”

Skrufff: Madame Satan is now seen as one of Brazil’s most influential clubs, what was it like in the 80s?

Claudia Wonder: “It was more than just a club, it was a cultural landmark in Brazil. It was full of revolutionary people and those who wanted to express themselves artistically who weren’t happy with the conditions we had to endure then. People there had a certain attitude of being willing to do something different. It was about saying no to all those years we lived through dictatorship and prejudice. The dictatorship ended in 1985 and Madame Satan developed as a reaction to everything we’d lived beforehand.”

Skrufff: How much did your life change when the military dictatorship ended?

Claudia Wonder: “Everything changed (laughing). But we’re still fighting.”

Skrufff: Why did you leave Brazil in 1989?

Claudia Wonder: “Brazil’s economy was ruined, I couldn’t see any chance of maintaining a career in Brazil so I left. I went to Lausanne in Switzerland. I was hired by a manager to work as a cabaret performer (laughing). Before being in a rock star I’d had a long career as a cabaret performer so that’s what I did in Switzerland. I’m back at college now, I used to study theatre at University for two years in the past and now I’ve returned to education to study history. It has a lot more relevance to my social work these days. I’m studying international history focusing on hermaphrodites. There’s no research on it that’s been published in Brazil yet and the field is open just waiting for me.”

Skrufff: Alisson Gothz was advising us to stay away from Sao Paulo’s Gay Pride Street Parade warning us that it’s dangerous, what did you think of the parade last weekend?

Claudia Wonder: “I didn’t go to the parade for two years but this year I decided to go. The police went on TV beforehand to stress that there would be a lot of policemen on the streets ensuring people’s safety so the atmosphere was different.”

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Skrufff; We did go and arrived at 4pm and it was definitely a bit edgy, we saw a street fight later on . . .

Claudia Wonder: “If you’d gone there at noon you’d have had fun, the atmosphere was a lot better. I was on a truck, a float hosted by a gay NGO. Everybody was dressed in those 18th century costumes like Marie Antonette. Everybody was dressed in white.”

Skrufff: How big a problem is homophobia in Brazil today?

Claudia Wonder: “People certainly talk about it a lot more today but the fact people are talking about it may also have opened some wounds. Now that you see more gays in public, for example during Gay Pride on Paulista Avenue you also have a lot of homophobic people becoming more homophobic. Because there’s nothing happening here in Brazil to educate people that being homosexual is normal. It’s not enough to just put on a show and expect that everybody will accept you, there also has to be education to make people aware and to change people’s perceptions. Without that information it can still be dangerous.”

Skrufff: In London many of the transvestites I’ve known have been quite isolated from mainstream gay culture, how much is that the case here in Brazil too?

Claudia Wonder: “It’s the same here too. And I feel like slapping those queers in the face (laughing). Gays here don’t like transvestites, transvestites don’t like gays, nobody likes anybody else. Sometimes the prejudice from gay men towards transsexuals is even worse than from straight people.”

Skrufff: Has it always been like this?

Claudia Wonder: “Yes, I think so. You had the gays and the lesbians, then the transvestites were seen as gays dressing like women: when people started labelling and having so many categories for each other these categories separated people. In general most gays in my experience never really liked transvestites, instead they’d be more like ‘here comes this crazy gay with hormones and fake breasts’.”

Skrufff: What do you think of today’s alternative gay clubs in Sao Paulo such as A Loca and Vegas?

Claudia Wonder: “I like them. They’re underground, the music is good. I like rock music and electro but I don’t like this cheesy commercial house music people usually listen to in gay clubs. That’s why I prefer clubs like A Loca and D-Edge. I never go to those strictly gay clubs with commercial music unless there is a friend who’s going to perform there. Otherwise I don’t go.”

Skrufff: Looking back, do you have any key lessons you’ve learned?

Claudia Wonder: “the best way to fight prejudice is with culture and information.”

Skrufff: What do you mean by culture?

Claudia Wonder: “I mean any kind of culture whether it’s writing, movies, music, anything. You have to somewhere, some way, somehow, touch someone’s mind, so they click and start to understand what prejudice means. Somebody who obeys the law will follow the rules but just because there’s a law, that’s not going to change the way they think and feel inside. Their attitude.”

Skrufff: Did you have any periods when you became frightened of dressing as a woman?

Claudia Wonder: “No. never. Even during the dictatorship I never considered going out dressed as a man. Because it wasn’t prohibited, so I would be arrested anyway, whether I was dressed up or not just from being in the clubs.I learned that I’d be released early in the morning each time I was arrested and after that I’d simply go back home.

My family supported me. They weren’t saying to me ‘we’re really happy you’re living like this’ but they always made me feel welcome at home. I lived with my family for a long time so I always knew I could say ‘fuck off’ to people. I knew I wasn’t alone. Whatever it is, you can get it if you really want. It may be a cliche but I really believe it (chuckling).”

Skrufff: What advice would you have for a young transvestite starting out going out in drag?

Claudia Wonder: “Believe in your goals, go ahead and focus. And don’t try and run away from your problems using drugs and alcohol because you’re going to run away so much that you won’t come back. You have to face things and fight with your heart and most importantly accept yourself. You have to firstly fight the that’s inside of you. Once you do that everything else is possible.”

Jonty Skrufff (translation by Benjamin Ferreira)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_military_government