The musical kitty cats of Albuquerque will finally have a chance to strut their stuff in a night of performances dedicated to women in the arts and the inner power that fuels their talent.
“Gatas y Vatas” is the brainchild of Marisa DeMarco, a former Daily Lobo editor-in-chief. She was inspired by Titwrench, a women’s festival in Denver, to create something similar in Albuquerque. Taking place Sept. 4 at the Kosmos Coffee House, the night will feature female solo artists from Albuquerque and Denver, as well as an omnivorous potluck that everyone is invited to contribute to.
The name was carefully chosen to stimulate the imagination, provoking images of strength and confidence in females, musician Gena Lawson said.
“The literal translation is ‘female cats’ and ‘thugged-out women,’ but then it goes deeper into feminism and being more confident and hardcore,” she said. “You could even say it’s about the lady caves of women.”
Emma Crane, a musician, said that the music scene primarily spotlights men, and she saw this as an opportunity to show what women are capable of.
“The scene pretty much everywhere is male-dominated,” she said. “I think it’s good to get some of these women together to do some kind of musical witchcraft for a night.”
Performers will mix a variety of genres, including rap, experimental, folk, DJ, classical pop and avant-garde.
Lawson said the lack of an all-encompassing genre serves to eliminate labels associated with certain genres.
“A lot of genres breed classism or racism, and we’re trying to abolish that.”
Musician Mauro Kemmerer said this kind of show hasn’t been done before.
“It’s a psychedelic show-and-tell for the public brought to you by amazing women who wanted to share, hangout and be themselves for a night,” she said.
Kemmerer said she expects a male audience, as well, since her performance experience has shown men often react strongly to female performances.
“I think they’re the ones that are most blown away,” she said. “It’s like a surprised, sort of pan-over-the-head reaction, and I think they like that.”
Stripping down the music to focus on the ideas and talents of individuals is meant to show attendees that it is possible to encourage more involvement in the art community, specifically what Lawson described as a do-it-yourself scene.
“We’re trying to get that (DIY scene) pumped up. We want to see more performers instead of seeing the same thing. Hopefully, we inspire people to try and do stuff like this on their own,” Lawson said. “We really want to get more people to open up and not be afraid to show whatever talent they have.”
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