Poeta | Escritor | Antropólogo__________You can also watch this episode on Youtube where English, Italian and Spanish subtitles are available or visit the Metralla Rosa website for more details.__________Poeta, crítico literario y antropólogo, Alfredo Chacón es el especialísimo invitado de este, el episodio 52 de Metralla Rosa. Tal, y como es advertido al principio de esta entrevista, que tuvo lugar en el hogar de Alfredo en Caracas, esta es una conversación que se mece, entre la calidez y la espontaneidad de la tertulia afectiva, y el afán y la formalidad periodística, del siempre bienaventurado género de la entrevista de personalidad. Padre e hija, desnudan visiones, memorias, ideas y reflexiones, con la intención de encontrarse en el camino del medio, y reconstruir los trozos de una Venezuela atravesada por la narrativa pendular de dos generaciones.Pausada, sosegada, profunda y generosa, la visión poética de Alfredo, uno de los pensadores menos encasillables de la historia cultural de la Venezuela moderna, se hace disertación atmosférica en este documento audiovisual, solo apto para audiencias con disposición para recorrer los espacios intermedios, y sin prisa por llegar a conclusiones excluyentes. Desde los días de su infancia en un caserío a orillas del rio Meta, en el Estado Apure, hasta su próxima obra sobre la poesía de los años sesenta en Venezuela, aun por ser publicada, pasando por un sin numero de proyectos literarios consumados, de visiones políticas progresistas, de venturosas gestiones culturales, y de experiencias transformadoras basadas en el afecto, Alfredo se pasea por la memoria de un país que siempre fue, y que sigue siendo, frondosa posibilidad vital, gracias a su compromiso incorruptible con la vida como obra y a la creación como aspecto irrenunciable de la vida.Esta entrevista es un soplo de aire fresco que pone en evidencia cuan importante es la actitud que tenemos frente a los acontecimientos que nos alcanzan, y como el punto de vista es siempre un espacio de soberanía y una forma efectiva de resistencia. A sus 85 años, con un amplio curriculum de textos de poesía, de ensayos, critica literaria y gestiones culturales de envidiable éxito, Alfredo revela en esta conversación, cómo edificar una voluntad creativa fértil y longeva, tiene mas que ver con mantenerse interiormente abiertos, flexibles y permeables, que con la contención o el apoyo de los andamios institucionales de las supremacías sistémicas. Esta entrevista es un paseo por las posibilidades que habitan el compromiso genuino con el pensamiento, el arte y la cultura, con el ejercicio reflexivo de la existencia amena y con la vida como la manifestación inextinguible de la creación.¡Y ahora, disfruten la entrevista!__________Enlaces relacionadosWikipediaFor further information about this interview, including links to anything mentioned by Alfredo, or to continue reading this text in Spanish, English and Italian, visit the Metralla Rosa websiteSupport the show

Butoh Dancer | ChoreographerYou can also watch this episode on Youtube where English, Italian and Spanish subtitles are available or visit the Metralla Rosa website for more details.__________In Episode 51 of Metralla Rosa, Carla is in London, talking to Mai Nguyen Tri, a Franco-Vietnmese experimental Butoh dancer.As a self labelled Zen Punk artist, Mai exploits her natural affiliation to water in order to give her gestural expressions a fluidity of movement that flow directly from her unconscious mind – a source deep enough to have provided her with twenty years worth of inspiration for her improvised performances. Butoh originated from 1950s post-war Japanese culture and, although Mai draws on the anti-stylised fluidity and slow, controlled movement of this relatively contemporary school of dance, she also honours the very specific social context of its birth by injecting her own experimental fantasy into her performances.Mai left Brittany over thirty years ago, drawn to London by her fascination for English poetry, literature and culture, with Hackney Wick immediately becoming the base for her creative nest. It was in this eclectic and unorthodox side of urban London, her adopted city, that her soul finally found its home, where, from the moment she decided to put down roots, the contrasting sides of her expressive identity and artistic personality began to flourish.The source of Mai’s inspiration fluctuates between the rebelliousness of London’s punk ethos and the minimalism of her zen heritage, and, with her background in literature and a keen interest in mental health, she has created her own, unique language that precedes her and defines her. She is curious and visionary and, as such, has collaborated with artists from various disciplines, including the reggae musician Clapper Priest, the multidisciplinary Xuân Sinden, the Afro-Irish poet Grassy Noel Macken and the ambient-noise bands Ampersand and Fear of Fluffing. However, and above all else, one of her greatest achievements, has been managing to remain uncompromisingly truthful and uncomfortably relevant in a city filled with commercial art, trendy newcomers and an insanely competitive cultural scene.And now, enjoy the interview!__________Related Links: Mai Nguyen Tri: Instagram | Facebook | YouTubeFor further information about this interview, including links to anything mentioned by Mai, or to continue reading this text in Spanish, English and Italian, visit the Metralla Rosa websiteSupport the show

Editor | Fotógrafo | LibreroYou can also watch this episode on Youtube where English, Italian and Spanish subtitles are available or visit the Metralla Rosa website for more details.En este, el episodio número 50 de Metralla Rosa, Carla Tofano entrevista al editor y fotógrafo venezolano Carsten Todtmann en su casa en Caracas para celebrar, a su vez, los 50 años de Oscar Todtmann Editores, la casa de publicaciones que el fundara en 1973 para ampliar el concepto de librería creado por sus padres en 1951. Como buen heredero del espíritu explorador alemán, Carsten ha sido el responsable de concebir una cantidad asombrosa de libros de tapa dura y formato ‘coffee table book’, que forman parte ineludible de la memoria bibliográfica de un país rebosantes de bellezas naturales. Miles de familias venezolanas conservan, como joyas de una Venezuela impecablemente retratada por fotógrafos y escritores de gran renombre, estos volúmenes que Carsten comenzó e crear hace cincuenta años gracias a su ambiciosa visión editorial y a su incansable apetito creador.Los 50 años de esta emblemática casa editorial que contra viento y marea se ha mantenido de pie en un momento tan desafiante, no solo por la asfixiada realidad cultural que atraviesa Venezuela, sino por la crisis que aqueja universalmente al mundo del libro, se inició en noviembre 2023, con la presentación de los nuevos títulos de OT editores como parte de su colección de Poesía y de su colección de Narrativa. Y la celebración se extenderá hasta el 2024 con la presentación de los libros autobiográficos de Carsten Todtmann en la Asociación Cultural Humboldt de Caracas. Tres tomos titulados ‘Dos mundos’ I-II-III, publicados en español y en alemán, narran en clave de crónica-confesional, la vida de una familia de inmigrantes alemanes que se reintentaron en Venezuela, la historia social y política de un país petrolero en pleno auge modernista, y las conquistas culturales de un editor que se autodefine como un editor guerrillero y que Venezuela considera un editor insigne e ineludible.Compartir con el mundo esta entrevista nos llena de esperanza por el futuro del libro en Venezuela, y celebrar la publicación de nuestro episodio número 50, en el marco de la celebración del año aniversario de los 50 años de Oscar Todtmann Editores, confirma que el engranaje perfecto de acontecimientos triunfa siempre, mas allá de las distancias geográficas, cuando permitimos que la pasión cultural y la fe en el legado del pensamiento humano nos determinen.¡Y ahora, disfruten la entrevista!__________Enlaces relacionadosO.T. Editores: LinkTree | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | CatálogoFor further information about this interview, including links to anything mentioned by Carsten, or to continue reading this text in Spanish, English and Italian, visit the Metralla Rosa websiteSupport the show

Journalist | AuthorYou can also watch this episode on Youtube where English, Italian and Spanish subtitles are available or visit the Metralla Rosa website for more details.Having an intuitive, natural and organic relationship with the colours that surround us is considered to be the norm. While satisfying our daily needs by making conscious, deliberate and premeditated use of the wide range of tones and subtleties offered to us as joyful nourishment by the world around us, is the exception. Momtaz Begum-Hossain, our guest for this episode of Metralla Rosa, is a journalist and writer who has turned colour into her religion and, to demonstrate the importance of living her life whilst being fully conscious of how we use the colours that surround us, has published a book that we have received with open arms. Hello Rainbow: Finding Happiness in Colour is an invitation to realise that our daily chromatic choices can turn our love of life on, as well as off. Whether you are in love with riotous combinations of colour, curious about the physical phenomenon in which light is translated into clear and distinct chromatic tones, a scholar - or a novice - of chromotherapy, or completely oblivious to the interactive role that colour plays in the dynamics of our day to day communication, you will, in this interview, discover that it is possible to instinctively connect to a source of light, life and pure infinite energy, beyond the superficial observations we tend to make about colour. Momtaz has forged her own path when it comes to the discovery of colour and, along the way, she has discovered that not only is there an inner wisdom in her understanding of the colours that surround her, but also a vast ancestral legacy that she has dedicated herself to unearthing and sharing.  ‘Hello Rainbow: Finding Happiness in Colour’ is the result of an excavation into the importance that various cultures have placed onto the ethereal powers attributed to colour. It is also an accumulation of years of personal experiences gained in organising walks, talks, group activities, exhibitions and events that have brought together anyone, of any age, who has a love for life, and who is, unsurprisingly, also in love with colour. Discover, in this interview, rituals that help you tap into the magical power of the sun, light and colour as well as how to become a hunter and collector of rainbows. Discover too, the seven fundamental aspects of Hello Hue, the colour theory developed by Momtaz that, from an anti colonialist point of view, challenges the colour theories developed and popularised by a Eurocentric white, male perspective.And now, enjoy the interview!__________Enlaces relacionadosRelated Links: Momtaz Begum-Hossain: Website | Amazon | Instagram | TwitterFor further information about this interview, including links to anything mentioned by Momtaz, or to continue reading this text in Spanish, English and Italian, visit the Metralla Rosa websiteSupport the show

Cantante | CompositoraYou can also watch this episode on Youtube where English, Italian and Spanish subtitles are available or visit the Metralla Rosa website for more details.Juanita Euka tiene una presencia poderosa en la escena musical de Londres. Dicen que el gusto está en la mezcla y la suya, su muy peculiar mixtura cultural es una absoluta delicia. Juanita nació en el Congo, y gracias a las faenas diplomáticas de su padre viajó a Madrid siendo bebé y creció en Buenos Aires, Argentina, ciudad en la que vivió desde los dos años y hasta que se mudara a Londres, a los 14. Sobrina de Franco Luambo Makiadi, considerado el rey de la rumba congoleña y uno de los exponentes mas venerados del sonido moderno congoleño, para Juanita la música ha sido siempre un canal de expresión natural en el que convergen sus memorias, sus ancestros, la felicidad del presente, y las promesas de un futuro rozagante de posibilidades. Fue en Argentina que Juanita tuvo su mas significativa epifanía, en la que el canto se le reveló como su gran amor, su mejor talento y y como su principal aspiración vocacional, sin embargo, fue en Londres que Juanita comenzó a descubrir su propio latido musical, convirtiéndose en una de las voces más destacadas de la escena afro latina de la ciudad.Como vocalista todo comenzó con la agrupación afro peruana Malambo, luego pasó a ser parte fundamental de WARA, y mas recientemente su potente voz estuvo al servicio de dinamizantes proyectos cooperativos como London Afrobeat Collective y Animanz. Su arrolladora voz, su presencia decidida, enérgica y cautivadora, y sus variopintas influencias musicales que atraviesan un registro amplio y afortunado que no muchos cantantes pueden darse el lujo de honrar, hacen de Juanita una cantante difícil de pasar por alto. De hecho, en su recién estrenado primer álbum, Mabanzo, desde la rumba congoleña hasta el tango pasando por la cumbia, la salsa y el bolero coexisten, logrando una perfecta decantación de tantas y tan eclécticas influencias. En 2020 su sencillo ‘Alma Seca’ dió apertura a la tercera temporada de la serie Killing Eve, y a los días de haber sido finalmente lanzado el album al mercado, Elton John compartió en su programa de radio RocketHour el tema ‘Mboka Moko’ — una oda a sus memorias en el Congo.No hay dos temas iguales en este album lleno de fusión y experimentación, y así como este show, Metralla Rosa, abraza la posibilidad de crear puentes entre el ingles, el español y el italiano, Mabanzo, el album debut de Juanita en solitario, también abraza el multi-lingualismo como parte de su identidad cultural y presenta un delicioso compendio de temas en español, en ingles, en francés y Lingala. En esta entrevista verás a dos hermanas afro descendientes y sudamericanas reír y llorar, embriagarse con sentimientos de revendicación femenina y feminista, y planificar acciones acertivas movidas por el deseo de habitar un mundo mas consciente, congruente y altruista.¡Y ahora, disfruten la entrevista!__________Enlaces relacionadosJuanita Euka: YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Bandcamp | Strut RecordsFor further information about this interview, including links to anything mentioned by Juanita, or to continue reading this text in Spanish, English and Italian, visit the Metralla Rosa websiteSupport the show

Baterista | Diseñador de SonidoYou can also watch this episode on Youtube where English, Italian and Spanish subtitles are available or visit the Metralla Rosa website for more details.Baterista de excepción, músico, productor y diseñador de sonidos y comunicador social, Javier Weyler nació en Argentina, sin embargo creció en Venezuela, y fue en la ciudad de Caracas donde comenzó su carrera musical en los 90 con su banda Claroscuro. Después de alcanzar un éxito considerable en la escena rock caraqueña con su agrupación y de graduarse como comunicador social, Javier decidió mudarse a Londres para formarse como ingeniero de sonido. Poco después de entrar a trabajar a un estudio como asistente, se le presentó la oportunidad de mayor relevancia internacional hasta ese momento, la de pasar a formar parte, como baterista, de Stereophonics, una de las agrupaciones más sólidas y respetadas de la escena rock británica. Junto a Stereophonics, banda que llegó a tener 7 álbumes en la posición numero uno en los billboards en Inglaterra y que le ha abierto giras a agrupaciones legendarias como los Rolling Stones y Oasis, Javier viajó el mundo entre los años 2004 y 2012. Como baterista es certero, agraciado, preciso y poderoso, sin embargo, sus ambiciones artísticas no le han permitido la indulgencia de gozarse únicamente las mieles que ser un instrumentista fuera del montón. Sus búsquedas artísticas le han permitido reinventarse desde múltiples ángulos, perspectivas y facetas de la creación musical. Como compositor, al mando de los botones de una cónsola, frente a una computadora o armado de un par de baquetas, Javier logra moverse siempre como pez en el agua, sobresalir y despertar admiración.Incansable, estado de gira junto a Stereophonics, compuso y grabó “Lágrima” bajo el pseudónimo de Capitan Melao. Este su primer album en solitario vió luz en 2007, y fue este compendio de canciones de musicalidad poéticas y líricas muy personales, lo que le permitió reencontrarse con el español y colaborar con creadores musicales de la talla de Phil Manzanera, el guitarrista de Roxi Music y Natalia Lafurcade, aùn la voz femenina mas solvente de la escena indie mexicana. Javier no ha parado de crecer como músico y como creador de sonidos desde su llegada a Londres en 2001, de hecho sus clases magistrales de diseño de sonido han sido un éxito en Buenos Aires. Responsable de la banda sonora del film ‘El Yaque’ (2012), también dirigió la banda sonora de ‘Maradona en México’, la serie producida por Netflix (2020). En la actualidad, gerencia junto a un grupo de ingenieros y músicos de Londres, 5dbmedia, un espacio único en su estilo y oferta, creado con la intensión de generar oportunidades comunitarias para la conexión y el encuentro amigable entre músicos.Javier en esta entrevista nos facilita un vertiginoso recorrido a lo largo de su excitante carrera y sin escatimar en opiniones polémicas acerca de la industria musical, nos ofrece también una refrescante y optimista visión de la vida y la creación.¡Y ahora, disfruten la entrevista!___Enlaces relacionados5dB: Website | YouTubeJavier Weyler: YouTube | Instagram For further information about this interview, including links to anything mentioned by Javier, or to continue reading this text in Spanish, English and Italian, visit the Metralla Rosa websiteSupport the show

Músico | Activista CulturalYou can also watch this episode on Youtube where English, Italian and Spanish subtitles are available or visit the Metralla Rosa website for more details.Phaxsi Coca fue bautizada por sus padres como Jeanette Rojas al momento de llegar al mundo en su Bolivia natal. Sin embargo, siendo descendientes de una madre Quechua y de un padre Aymara, no le tomo mucho darse cuenta que ella merecía un nombre que abrazara su identidad como embajadora de la cosmovisión andina. Por ello, tras escuchar el llamado de sus ancestros, decididió bautizarse a si misma con el nombre que sentía apoyaría con mayor coherencia sus búsquedas artísticas y sus travesias hacia la reconstrucción de un pasado ancestral que requería ser reivindicado. Hoy por hoy Jeanette es conocida en el mundo como Phaxsi -que en el idioma aymara significa ‘Madre Luna’, y Coca, en homenaje a la hoja de coca, una planta de la región que es símbolo sagrado tradicional de la cultura de los pueblos milenarios andinos. Desde muy joven Phaxsi es intérprete de instrumentos de viento tradicionales andinos, tales como los aerófobos de la familia de los Sikus, Quenas, Pinquillos y Tarkas, e incluso yendo en contra de supersticiones populares que mantenían a las mujeres alejadas de estos instrumentos, Phaxsi se especializó en su estudio y constante divulgación a lo largo y ancho del mundo. Fue parte de varias agrupaciones musicales como el Taller Boliviano de Musica Popular Arawi, del grupo de mujeres de música Latinoamericana Warmi y del movimiento cultural de música tradicional Sikuris sin Frontera. En 2002 formó parte del renombrado grupo Bolivia y entre 2003 – 2008 formó parte de instituciones musicales bien establecidas dentro del panorama musical boliviano como la Orquesta Musica de Maestros y Bolivian Jazz, ambos proyectos con estilos muy diferenciados entre sí, que le permitieron consolidar su adaptabilidad como músico invitado, y su evolución y aprendizaje constante como instrumentista de la escena folclórica regional. Sin embargo, el hecho mas trascendental y relevante de su carrera llegó con la creación de la agrupación de mujeres Comunidad Sagrada Coca, de la que fue directora desde su creación en el año 2003 y hasta el 2008. Este agrupación rescató música autóctona Aymara y Quechua con un gran afán investigativo, y replanteó de forma positivamente transgresora el rol de la mujer como intérprete de instrumentos de viento. Asentada en Londres desde el 2008 y hasta el presente, Phaxsi es hoy por hoy integrante pilar de la agrupación de fusión de sonidos del mundo Lokandes, de la que su esposo, el conocido y carismático Kanti Qena es también integrante esencial. Por otra parte, también junto a su compañero de vida y de aventuras musicales, Kanti, y a su hijo Raymi – quien al momento de escribir este texto tenía solo once años- conforma la agrupación musical ‘Sagrada Familia’. Su vida privada y su vida pública ofrecen un orgánico homenaje al imperio cultural del cual Phaxsi se sabe heredera, mensajera y reina.¡Y ahora, disfruten la entrevista!_________________Enlaces relacionadosPhaxsi Coca: Instagram | YouTubeLokandes: Instagram | YouTubeFor further information about this interview, including links to anything mentioned by Phaxsi, or to continue reading this text in Spanish, English and Italian, visit the Metralla Rosa websiteSupport the show

You can also watch this episode on Youtube where English, Italian and Spanish subtitles are available or visit the Metralla Rosa website for more details.Born in Nairobi, the London based artist Julie Bloom grew up between Africa, Asia and Europe – or more specifically between Kenya, Hong Kong, Germany and the United Kingdom – and it is this concealed cultural diversity that can be found in both her work and personality, shaping her decidedly eclectic and modern visual language. Being the daughter of an architect and having been nurtured by such varied urban landscapes throughout her life, Julie explores an artistic language that is heavily influenced by the role architecture plays in the lives of those of us who allow ourselves to inhabited by the cities we inhabit.Parallel to this, Julie tirelessly develops collections of work created with various media. Her body of work contains an incredibly fertile mix of abstract pop paintings and drawings inspired by the graphic language of geometric shapes, as well as prints and lithographs which she creates in limited editions. With a frankly enviable versatility, Julie also allows herself to flirt with figurative representations of iconic characters from the pop world, as can be seen in her series of urban landscapes inhabited by Marilyn Monroe.An assorted amalgamation of influences in her work reveals a fascinating contrast between her admiration for the urban landscape and her thirst for nature, which is clearly derived from a life of travel and experiences in different parts of the world. In fact, the fusion of her life with her creative experiences can also be seen in her performances and interactions, in which she carries out an unapologetic and covert dialogue with the urban landscape, showing her work precisely where she wants it to be seen in the time honoured fashion of ‘guerrilla art’. In her work Julie not only reveals herself while hiding, but also plays at transforming herself as she dares to push the limits of art and its institutionalised conventions.One of Julie’s most recent artistic projects are her fantastic Translations – Interactive experiences in which she creates images during a dynamic real-time exchange with her subjects, giving their words and emotions form and colour. Indeed, in this episode of Metralla Rosa you will watch and see the results of Julie’s ‘Translation’ of Carla’s very own stream of consciousness.And now, enjoy the interview!_____________________Related LinksJulie Bloom: Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTubeTranslations: Website | YouTube_____________________For further information about this interview, including links to anything mentioned by Julie, or to continue reading this text in Spanish, English and Italian, visit the Metralla Rosa website.Support the show

Curadora de ArteYou can also watch this episode on Youtube where English, Italian and Spanish subtitles are available or visit the Metralla Rosa website for more details.La potencialidad multifacética de Elena Saraceni no es azarosa. Aunque nació en Argentina, desde muy temprana edad Elena se vió en la nacesidad de lidiar con un ecosistema tan variopinto, como culturalmente estimulante. De hecho, antes de residenciarse en Londres en 2010, Elena transcurrió su niñez y su adolescencia entre Punta del Esta en Uruguay, Buenos Aires, Paris y Caracas. De hecho, quizás se deba a esta feliz circunstancia marcada por continuos procesos de adaptación y dezplazamiento, que sus apegos idiosincráticos sean de una plasticidad asombrosa. Y quizás también gracias a todos estas fracturas con la ilusoria definición de pertenencia que a la mayoría nos condiciona, desde muy temprana edad Elena resuena vocacionalmente con las múltiples esferas del arte contemporáneo.Comenzó su carrera en el mundo del arte en el 2015 como Fine Art Consultant y como gerente de espacios de galería. Rápidamente pasó a ocuparse del desarrollo de la presencia digital de galerías en  Artsy, una importante plataforma dedicada a la venta de arte. De hecho, tras coordinar el manejo virtual de casi 100 galerías en Europa, India y Estados Unidos, obtuvo una comprensión estratégica de los múltiples aspectos vinculados con el mercado del arte y sus protocolos, convenciones, y manejos políticos tras bastidores, que de otro modo le habría tomado años adquirir. También estuvo involucrada en London Collective brindando asistencias curatoriales privadas a Vortic.art y tuvo la oportunidad de desarrollar iniciativas de naturaleza humanitaria y ecologista dentro de la escena del arte global, como Parley Collective, por la limpieza de los océanos, y Reprieve Colective, por los derechos humanos. Sin embargo, en materia de curaduría de arte, ningún acierto puede compararse con la satisfacción que para Elena significó concebir y desarrollar Female voices of Latin America: una exhibición virtual que logró convocar, y celebrar, el trabajo de más de 150 mujeres artistas vivas en la región, representadas por más de 60 galerías y museos. Esta ambiciosa exhibición virtual fue inaugurada el Día Internacional de la Mujer, el 8 de marzo del 2021, resultando ser la presentación más grande de artistas femeninas latinoamericanas en la historia. Diecinueve países respondieron a la convocatoria de Female Voices of Latin America, y entre las galerías y museos que participaron se incluyeron el Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá (MAMBO) en Colombia, el Museo Tamayo en México y el Museo de Arte y Diseño Contemporáneo (MADC) en Costa Rica.La respuesta de la prensa fue decididamente positiva no solo en Latinoamérica si no también desde importantes tribunas de cobertura informativa internacional como The Financial Times y, gracias a este episodio de Metralla Rosa, descubrirás porque Female Voices of Latin America ha sido para Elena la confirmación de que el arte y las visiones altruistas pueden ir de la mano.¡Y ahora, disfruten la entrevista!___________________Enlaces relacionadosElena Saraceni: InstagramFemale Voices of Latin America: Website For further information about this interview, including links to anything mentioned by Elena, or to continue reading this text in Spanish, English and Italian, visit the Metralla Rosa websiteSupport the show

You can also watch this episode on Youtube where English, Italian and Spanish subtitles are available or visit the Metralla Rosa website for more details.With more than two decades of experience as a music producer and DJ, Chris Inperspective, our latest guest for this episode of Metralla Rosa, is the founder of Inperspective Records, Eloisa Records and Black Junglist Alliance.Thanks to his ongoing stance against racism and his conviction that black artists must work to reclaim the importance of black culture in the history of the western world, Chris has constantly found himself in a position of being able to create musical experimentation and spaces in which the cultivation of quality and innovation are the only priority. With a successful career as an artist on the London Jungle and Drum’n’Bass scene Chris has, for many years, been an active voice within a movement that was born in the early nineties from the hearts and souls of young people living in primarily black and socially marginalised communities on the streets of the English capital. Culturally, these musical movements were responding to the limitations and anger arising from post Thatcher Britain, a spontaneous musical genre that promoted cultural diversity and social unification through dance. It was a musical scene that, with its priority of rhythm over melody and its acknowledgement of a musicality present within its sequences of accelerated breaks, inadvertently brought people together in their desire to positively destabilise the status quo in more ways than one. Join us to explore the artistic journey of a DJ who has touched several generations with his music and to see how political and business decisions within major record labels and the music world affect the day to day reality of the international Jungle and Drum’n’Bass scene. In this interview, Chris and Carla discuss, amongst many other things, the lack of representation for black women on the British dance scene, how the necessity for him to self-manage and self-promote led to the creation of the Black Junglist Alliance and how his passion for discovering new and emerging talents has allowed Chris to face the future with optimism and a spring in his step. And now, enjoy the interview!_____________________Related LinksChris Inperspective: InstagramInperspective Records: Website | Instagram | Facebook | Bandcamp | SoundcloudEloisa Records: Instagram | Facebook | Soundcloud | BandcampBlack Junglist Alliance: Instagram | Facebook _____________________For further information about this interview, including links to anything mentioned by Chris, or to continue reading this text in Spanish, English and Italian, visit the Metralla Rosa website.Support the show

You can also watch this episode on Youtube where English, Italian and Spanish subtitles are available or visit the Metralla Rosa website for more details.Adele Brydges’ ceramic creations sit perfectly and harmoniously at the crossroads between tradition and innovation. Her style and artistic projections live in a world that hovers between the tranquil inspiration of classical beauty and a vindictive voice that breaks the rules, whilst voluntarily placing itself in the absolute centre of the eye of a hurricane.Believing that Art can be therapeutic, pleasure can be healing and sex can be sacred, Adele creates dildos and other erotic toys that are eco-friendly and aesthetically refined, allowing you to explore the art of pleasure through creation. And by learning ancient techniques used to create durable, every day objects and applying them to her pieces made for self pleasure, whilst at the same time staying true to her own tastes and sensual preferences, she has elevated the creation of utilitarian ceramic pieces to a new level.To be welcomed into one of Adele’s East London workshops is to be invited into her innermost sanctuary, an intimate and sacred space, and the generosity implicit in this inclusive and welcoming gesture creates an immediate sense of gratitude and respect. Whether attending couples workshops, mixed sex workshops, or female – and female identifying – only workshops, your experiences will be enormously liberating, revitalising and healing. They will encourage you to go on a journey that reconnects you with creativity and self-pleasure, whilst helping you recognise that both are intrinsically intertwined and that neither of these life experiences should be seen as a final destination or a specific goal. The pleasure of creating and, in turn, using creation as a means of exploring the erotic self, lies in the journey itself – one of constant and continuous exploration and which is, according to Adele, full of seeds that will readily erupt into flower. It is for this reason that Adele’s stunning pieces are such elegant symbols of power, well-being, worth and beauty that will shamelessly open the doors to pleasure.Discover, in this interview, the connections between her creations, her childhood and her grandmother, what she feels her most successful collaborations have been and where she feels her future and current challenges lie, in the face of the conservative, patriarchal morality.And now, enjoy the interview!_____________________Related LinksAdele Brydges: Website | Instagram | Twitter | FacebookDecorate a Dildo workshops: Instagram | Facebook | Bookings_____________________For further information about this interview, including links to anything mentioned by Adele, or to continue reading this text in Spanish, English and Italian, visit the Metralla Rosa website.Support the show

You can also watch this episode on Youtube where English, Italian and Spanish subtitles are available or visit the Metralla Rosa website for more details.For more than forty years, Sue Dray has been communicating with her art in many capacities and on many levels – starting as an illustrator for pioneering feminist publications such as Spare Rib and The Women’s Press, both now considered cult magazines and historical treasures, archived and faithfully preserved as study material by The British Library.Throughout the 1980s, Sue illustrated book covers for renowned authors such as Fay Weldon and Margaret Atwood, put her talents to use illustrating cookbooks and magazines such as Gay News and Gai Pied, completed a master’s degree in art that led to her teaching at universities in the United States and produced some of her most personal work, inspired by her two young daughters. She has since drawn live alongside the catwalk during shows by designers such as Pam Hogg, Vivienne Westwood and Zandra Rhodes, illustrated behind the scenes for Andrew Logan‘s Alternative Miss World and appeared drawing backstage during the 2018 film 'Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist'. Her style is a combination of strong lines, painterly textures and intense, contrasting colours. Yet, despite her constant search for evolution and change, these characteristics of her artistic language have remained intact since the beginnings of her prolific career, during the golden eighties.Today Sue is regularly commissioned by magazines and designers for the drawings and sketches she creates during the unveiling of collections in all the major fashion capitals, throughout fashion season. In 2018 she was Fashion Scout‘s first resident artist for the Spring/Summer collection of London Fashion Week, during which we could see her standing in a sea of surrealism at her elegant easel, a mouth full of paintbrushes, surrounded by throngs of press photographers, all competing with her for the best images from each collection. Following an approach by Apple in 2015, she has also found time to experiment with digital drawing – a medium she has come to appreciate when working under the hectic conditions of fashion shows. Last but not least, it is impossible to ignore the extent of her teaching experience: Sue has taught in the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States and was, for eight years, course leader of the Fashion Illustration Course at The London College of Fashion. She continues to contribute to this renowned institution as a guest lecturer, nurturing future generations of fashion artists with her vibrant teaching style and a faith in the arts that exudes life, spontaneity, authenticity and innovation.And now, enjoy the interview!_____________________Related LinksSue Dray: Website | Instagram_____________________For further information about this interview, including links to anything mentioned by Sue, or to continue reading this text in Spanish, English and Italian, visit the Metralla Rosa website.Support the show

Músico | Cantante | SanadoraYou can also watch this episode on Youtube where English, Italian and Spanish subtitles are available or visit the Metralla Rosa website for more details.No cualquiera puede darse el lujo de tener un oido musical y una voz privilegiados, 21 hermanos, una familia excepcionalmente estimulante, y contar con la fortuna de ser de Lara, probablemente el estado mas prolífico desde el punto de vista musical de toda Venezuela. Originaria de Sanare, un pueblo en las montañas del estado Lara, considerado cuna del Tamunangue – una celebración devocional que incluye música en vivo, canto y baile- gracias a su precoz iniciación musical, Luzmira Zerpa desde muy temprana edad es considera reina del Tamunangue. Hoy por hoy Luzmira es una cantautora de voz potente, de formidable presencia escénica y de fama y reconocimiento internacional. Le ha dado prácticamente la vuelta al globo terráqueo con su cuatro, y compartiendo su sensacional voz sin mezquindades, ni divismos, ni recelos. El mismísimo Manu Chao la invito a tocar junto a él después de escucharla cantar en el desierto, en un festival en Sahara Occidental, confirmándole que tenía una voz imposible de ignorar. Con su agrupación Family Atlantica se presentó en un sin numero de escenarios internacionales, y grabó un par de álbumes que fusionan el folclore venezolano con sonidos del mundo europeo y africanos, tradicionales y contemporáneos. Estas grabaciones recibieron una excelente acogida por parte del público y de la crítica especializada. Luzmira es madre, es hija, es hermana latinoamericana, es una mujer incansable desde el punto de vista artístico, pero sobre todo es músico en mayúsculas. Su interés por las raíces sonoras de su país natal, Venezuela, la han hecho urgar incansablemente en la trascendencia universal de ritmos y sonidos de la Venezuela profunda – como el Tamunangue – y en la importancia de conquistar audiencias globales sin renunciar a su expresión auténtica. Descubre gracias a este episodio como Luzmira se ha convertido en la reina del folclore venezolano en Europa, y por que viajar de su pueblo natal directo a Londres fue lo mejor que pudo haberle sucedido al público de este lado del Atlántico.¡Y ahora, disfruten la entrevista! ___________________Enlaces relacionados:Luzmira Zerpa:  Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | TwitterFamily Atlántica: Soundway Records | YouTube | Bandcamp | FacebookFor further information about this interview, including links to anything mentioned by Luzmira, or to continue reading this text in Spanish, English and Italian, visit the Metralla Rosa website.Support the show

ArtistYou can also watch this episode on Youtube where English, Italian and Spanish subtitles are available or visit the Metralla Rosa website for more details.Visions of perfectly proportioned giant women, sitting amongst skyscrapers with red nails and fabulous platforms or walking through the night with glam punk hairstyles and faces made up in scandalous colours. Women without ethnicity, holding flowers that are daggers, fiercely dressed or proudly nude – sometimes with penis and testicles. Her painted protagonists are anonymous legends, rock stars and futuristic warriors – all visions of a controversial universe exuding pop art fantasies and Rock and Roll attitudes, whilst inhabiting the pictorial ecosystems that Susan Diamond has created from glimpses reflected back at her in the mirrors through which she lives her life – a life full of risk and adventure.Susan’s paintings – and subsequent limited edition prints of the paintings – are large format and high impact. They inevitably contain subliminal messages that, intentionally or not, seem designed to simultaneously awaken the troublemaker and the philosopher that lie within us all, awaiting patiently for some unexpected stimulus. Born in Montgomery, Massachusetts to a Polish father and Russian mother, Susan studied Fashion Illustration at the Boston School of Fashion and, shortly after, decided to travel around Europe before eventually settling in London, where she met Mark Charles who is, to this day, her accomplice in love and her closest creative ally. After years of dedicating herself to both music (with the rebellious electro-noise band Gobsausage) and fashion (with the highly successful glam-punk brand, Charles of London), Susan has returned, and is fully dedicated to, her former love of painting.This episode is a walk through the life and work of an explosively creative mind, a colourful journey through the experiences of an artist who has lived a career full of adventure and fascinating stories, and through which you will be lovingly guided by Metralla Rosa.And now, enjoy the interview!_____________________Related LinksSusan Diamond: Website | InstagramCharles of London: Facebook | Twitter | YouTube_____________________For further information about this interview, including links to anything mentioned by Susan, or to continue reading this text in Spanish, English and Italian, visit the Metralla Rosa website.Support the show

Actor | Writer | DirectorYou can also watch this episode on Youtube where English, Italian and Spanish subtitles are available or visit the Metralla Rosa website for more details.To sit in front of a young woman, full of energy and plans for the future and who has, at the same time, already achieved so much artistically and creatively, is incredibly inspiring. Gaël Le Cornec – our guest for this episode of Metralla Rosa – is a multi award wining actress, a tireless creator of dreams and a storyteller who places the value of good narrative above all else. Gaël creates works that use the immediacy and intimacy of theatre to delve into people’s stories and memories in order to explore themes such as gender, migration, displacement and stereotypes.Born in the Amazon, in northern Brazil, Gaël is a writer, director and actress who moved to London at a young age, having already qualified with a degree in environmental biology. Once in London she did a masters in cultural studies and took a course that used theatre to teach English, thereby igniting her vocation as a storyteller and her desire to create in order to bring communities together with her art, which was often developed in close collaboration with organisations dedicated to defending the rights of women, young adults and migrants.Skilled in the art of the monologue and widely recognised in London for her success as a one-woman-show, Gaël has not only played Frida Kahlo, Camille Claudel and Ana Mendieta, but also every female immigrant whose voice has been unjustly silenced. Despite her self-sufficiency as an artist and creator, Gaël’s strength lies in building alliances with other actors, activists and theatre companies and proudly assumes the mantle of representative to the community of Latin American migrants in the UK who fight against stereotypes that restrict, limit and pigeonhole us. The many obstacles she has come up against have only served to reinforce her need to develop her own theatrical style and defend her voice – and message – through thick and thin. Today Gaël continues to create a dignified reputation for herself within the world of international theatre and juggles to act, write and direct, whilst at the same time pass on the valuable lessons she has learned and which she knows she can translate into invaluable and constructive inspiration for future generations.And now, enjoy the interview!_____________________Related LinksGaël Le Cornec: Website | Instagram | Spotlight | VimeoFootprint Productions: Website | Instagram _____________________For further information about this interview, including links to anything mentioned by Gaël, or to continue reading this text in Spanish, English and Italian, visit the Metralla Rosa websiteSupport the show

DJ | Music Promoter | Events ProducerYou can also watch this episode on Youtube where English, Italian and Spanish subtitles are available or visit the Metralla Rosa website for more details.Latin American music owes a large part of its diffusion, promotion and continuous celebration within London to Callum Simpson. Mostly known as Dj Cal Jader, he has been the driving force behind the emotions and very existence of Movimientos – a project created with two clear and distinctive intentions: To offer spaces for fun, dancing and joyful recreation and to create political resistance out of the cultural reaffirmation of diversity and differences.Emma Goldman, the well known anarchist and writer, once said ‘If I can’t dance to it, it is not my revolution’ and it is almost as if this has served as the inspiration for Movimientos’ creation of its solid artistic agenda, in which the right to be different is a fundamental part of its fight against the homogenisation of predominant cultures. Movimientos, in addition to being the most active and productive non-profit organisation dedicated to the creation of Latin American music events in the United Kingdom, is also the most interesting because it combines club culture with the promotion of the live music. Movimientos has, for years, offered support to emerging Latin American talent seeking exposure within London, while offering the more established names the opportunity to connect with British audiences by performing in the English capital.Listen to this entertaining conversation in order to discover how a political student from the north of England and with Scottish roots ended up in love with Latin American music after taking an interest in South America’s political movements of the 20th century. Also discover what it has been like to co-produce Love Carnival, probably the best known and most fiery tropical party in the city, playing the musical fusions so loved by Cal. And finally, discover what it feels like to be a leading light of the scene he has embraced with his brotherly and multi-rhythmic beat, giving the Latin American diaspora his loyal support as well as his absolute commitment.And now, enjoy the interview!_____________________Related LinksDJ Cal Jader: Instagram | Bandcamp | Soundcloud | FacebookLove Carnival: Instagram | Soundcloud | FacebookMovimientos: Website | YouTube | Instagram | Bandcamp | Soundcloud  | Facebook _____________________For further information about this interview, including links to anything mentioned by Cal, or to continue reading this text in Spanish, English and Italian, visit the Metralla Rosa websiteSupport the show

Historiadora | Feminista | EscritoraYou can also watch this episode on Youtube where English, Italian and Spanish subtitles are available or visit the Metralla Rosa website for more details.Historiadora, escritora, editora, feminista interseccional, activista cultural y pentecostal disidente, Jael de La Luz es una mujer de un empuje, una convicción ideológica y una capacidad de lucha francamente admirables. Mexicana por convicción además de por nacimiento – Jael nació y creció en las afueras de la Ciudad de México – además de ser una intelectual que fomenta la resistencia del pensamiento y de las ideas, Jael es también una mujer comprometida con las luchas diarias de las comunidades latinoamericanas que se ven obligadas a sobrevivir situaciones puntuales de injusticia social y política, en Londres y el resto del Reino Unido.Desde la organización sin fines de lucro LAWA, Latin American Women’s Aid, ofrece ayuda y protección a mujeres y niños latinoamericanos que sobreviven condiciones de violencia doméstica – esta organización cuenta con el único refugio para mujeres y niños víctimas de abuso doméstico de este país y Europa creado por y para mujeres latinas. Desde LAWA dirije el programa Change Makers – The power of our Ancestors, creando así las condiciones idóneas para que mujeres lésbicas, transgénero, queer, negras, o de cualquier otra minoría étnica, se atrevan a resignificar su posición en la sociedad y a contar sus propias historias, sin miedo, y como un acto de reafirmación cultural, auto validación personal y disidencia política. Su propia historia está llena de abusos y de luchas, pero también de formidables victorias auto gestionadas. Su voz tiene la autoridad y la ecuanimidad de quien ha logrado desafiar los obstáculos que los estados y las sociedad patriarcales siembran al paso de quienes son blanco certero para la perpetuación de modelos de poder corruptos, violentos y desiguales. Y a nosotros en Metralla Rosa nos fascinan especialmente las victorias de Jael vinculadas a su rol de editora y escritora, y sus invaluables contribuciones culturales como miembro de The Feminist Library, como fancinera impenitente, y como fundadora de Feminopraxis. Este último, un espacio digital creado para la discusión de los feminismo que Jael gestiona junto a otras tres autoras mejicanas, y desde el cual publica Militancias, una columna que debería ser lectura de rigor para comprender las disidencias feministas del mundo, con una mirada latinoamericana y en español.¡Y ahora, disfruten la entrevista!___________________Enlaces relacionados:Jael de la Luz: Instagram | YouTube Feminopraxis: Website | Instagram Latin American Women’s Aid: Website  | Instagram For further information about this interview, including links to anything mentioned by Jael, or to continue reading this text in Spanish, English and Italian, visit the Metralla Rosa website.Support the show

Artista plásticaYou can also watch this episode on Youtube where English, Italian and Spanish subtitles are available or visit the Metralla Rosa website for more details.Enriqueta Ahrensburg es la cabal personificación del artista que existe inmerso en el proceso creador y casi totalmente desapegado del resultado que su obra podría generar en el mundo que la co-crea. Es la personificación del artista que respira, vive y produce experiencias visuales consecutivas y continuas, con la única y genuina finalidad de preservar su esencia vital y su sanidad mental, y sin esperar necesariamente el aplauso o la validación de un mercado que no siempre se alinea con su proceso. Estando en un momento histórico en el que todos estamos reconciliándonos más que nunca antes con la existencia como espacio para la evolución y la transformación constante, y no como un destino repleto de certezas, nos pareció justo y necesario conversar con Enriqueta e indagar en su práctica artística, fecunda, íntima, vital y libre de compromisos de mercado y de etiquetas.De ascendencia alemana, Enriqueta nació, creció y se formó como artista en Venezuela, y hoy por hoy vive en Londres donde cada día de su vida se aferra con mayor sentido de fusión a su imparable producción plástica. Su lenguaje pictórico es abstracto y expansivo. Sus lienzos son un viaje que parte del caos, de una chispa inicial capaz de crear capas de materia física cuya comprensión no debe ser lineal ni vertical sino en espiral. Capas de geologías pictóricas en las que la materia, como la naturaleza, se entrelaza, se encuentra, se manifiesta y se hace presencia. Por otra parte, sus dibujos realizados con el seudónimo Juana De Monch, ensamblan alegorías simbólicas repletas de eclécticas mitologías y arquetipos variopintos. De expresión figurativista, sus dibujos son sincréticas expresiones de cosmológicas en las que el Tarot, el folclor medieval, el ocultismo y la metafísica se unen para crear obras que podrían ser ilustraciones antiguas o estampillas provenientes de realidades paralelas. Bajo este alter ego, estas visiones mágico religiosas aterrizan, se circunscriben y dan vida a una de las facetas más prolíficas de su obra. Este episodio de Metralla Rosa es un viaje hacia el mundo interior de una artista que a pesar de los obstáculos que supone la vida en la diáspora, y las limitaciones generales de la vida moderna, inhala inspiración y exhala creación todos los días de su vida. Esta conversación es un viaje hacia el corazón de una artista que crea por la misma razón que respira, y cuyas visiones de futuro están impregnadas de dinámicas humanas y convicciones del mercado del arte altamente revolucionarias.¡Y ahora, disfruten la entrevista!___________________Enlaces relacionados:Juana De Monch: Instagram | Facebook | TwitterEnriqueta Ahrensburg: Instagram | Saatchi Art | LinkedInFor further information about this interview, including links to anything mentioned by Enriqueta, or to continue reading this text in Spanish, English and Italian, visit the Metralla Rosa websiteSupport the show

ArtistYou can also watch this episode on Youtube where English, Italian and Spanish subtitles are available or visit the Metralla Rosa website for more details.Carl Randall is an artist who dedicated an important part of his adult life to the practical and theoretical study of the arts, graduating from temples of academia such as the Slade School of Fine Arts and Tokyo University of the Arts, to name but a few and, in doing so, succeeded in developing an exceptionally personal voice which combines his fascination for urban spaces with his interest in those who inhabit them. His paintings usually depict people and places, passersby and locations, all intersecting without merging in a strikingly whimsical way. His ultra-detailed depictions of the world around him are brought to life with a genuine modesty, while the reality he describes with such a clear narrative intention is overwhelmed by his personal and unpredictable creativity.Within his large canvases both subject and object are presented with equal prominence and with the same luxurious detail, capturing the attention of his viewers in an almost hypnotic way. His scenes of everyday life present urban ecosystems with playful perspectives and oblique, divergent dynamics in which human beings and inanimate objects coexist with a certain detached nature, as if their respective universes were destined to remain oblivious of each other, never to meet.Ten years of living and studying in Japan gave Carl the opportunity to delve deeply into his role as an observer of reality and student of life, cultivating his passion for environments in which life flows in multiple directions simultaneously, creating scintillating and exhilarating visual stimuli. Both London and Japan have allowed his work to respond to the realities of overpopulation, ostracism and alienation present in the daily lives of strangers within these great metropolises.Full-time artist, part-time art tutor and winner of awards such as The Nomura Art Prize, the Sunday Times Prize for Watercolours and the prestigious BP Travel Award in conjunction with the National Portrait Gallery, amongst others, Carl is an ambitious painter with an enviable CV. And in this interview we managed to delve into his stylistic visions with a delightful dose of refreshing honesty, seasoned with some unexpected twists and turns which we hope you enjoy when you watch this episode of Metralla Rosa.And now, enjoy the interview!_____________________Related LinksWebsite | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | Twitter | WikipediaSupport the show

Artist | Art Tutor You can also watch this episode on Youtube where English, Italian and Spanish subtitles are available or visit the Metralla Rosa website for more details.Known across London - and now the world, thanks to the rise in popularity of online sessions - for being an artist who is actively involved in the life drawing scene, Frank Gambino is a superstar of portraiture and figurative drawing. And although, as an artist he is energetically expressive, uses large-scale formats and practices constantly and uncompromisingly, Frank is also a creator who greatly values the benefits of anonymity, preferring to pass on to his students what he has learnt through his constant process of trial and error, than to see his work displayed in art galleries and salons. With a reputation for being a Master of Charcoal, Frank draws almost every day of the week; in his studio, during life drawing sessions throughout London, in colleges and in independent groups - for which he also teaches and passes on, with an absolute passion and generous dedication, all that he has learnt over the years. In his experience, Frank believes that an artist's apprenticeship is never over and, with this in mind, he makes sure that his lifestyle reflects this. His early experiences within the art education system taught him to distrust any process that leads a student towards creating a business from their art, rather than focusing on the discovery of their artistic voice and style.Frank's relationship with his creative process could be seen as an affectionate alliance - a friendship that walks alongside him - allowing his artistic freedom to grow without imposing any conditions or restrictions. Thanks to her experience as an art model, Carla is incredibly familiar with Frank's creativity and altruistic spirit, and it is precisely for this reason that she feared she would be unable to do justice to this elusive aspect of his character which is, after all, the one that keeps his visions so unquestionably alive. We wanted this interview to shine a light on the tireless creator who lives within Frank, continuously expressing himself in a visceral, independently playful process that is seen in both the creation of Frank's work and the work itself. We will leave it to you to judge whether we have succeeded or not.And now, enjoy the interview!_____________________Related LinksWebsite | Instagram | FacebookSupport the show