9 Latina DJs Spinning At Parties From LA To Miami

Here’s something that’s not up for debate: Latines know how to party, so it makes sense that we have DJs all over the world bringing fire to clubs, venues, and salas.   

After all, we grew up staying up till the crack of dawn at family gatherings or falling asleep on top of coats in someone’s bedroom until our parents were done dancing to a salsa or cumbia classic and socializing the next morning. Let’s be real: Some of us even mimicked the video vixens in Daddy Yankee, Tego Calderón, and Wisin & Yandel’s music videos in our salas. Wasn’t just me, right? With the rhythmic sounds and dance styles of Latin American and Caribbean music, hailing mostly from the African diaspora, our little feet were unable to stay still and our hips could not contain themselves from swaying.

Now that we’re all grown up, many of us seek to find spaces with similar vibras as those house parties when we go out for a night en la calle with our amiguis. I've found this through Latina-led parties. These DJs and hosts transport me back to my youth by mixing hits from ayer with new drops while creating a setting where I feel safe and free.

To help us all enjoy that good-good feeling, we’ve rounded up some Latina DJs who throw parties across the country that you can attend all year long. Keep reading, find your city, and tell an amiguis to tell an amiguis. 

Co-founded by DJ Undocubougie, born Diana Chacon in Lima, Peru, and her best friend Mateo, Arrebato is a New York party by and for queer Latines and people of color that spins everything from cumbia, salsa, and merengue to bachata and reggaeton. 

Dominican-Mexican DJ Erika Altagracia has been throwing her monthly party Gyrate in Chicago for a year now, bringing isla vibes to the Windy City. According to the DJ, the party is inspired by her Caribbean roots as well as the Black diaspora. 

Founded by Dj Sizzle Fantastic and Normz la Oaxaqueña, Cumbiatón is a Latina-led party merging classic cumbias with reggaeton, hip-hop, salsa, and more. Established in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, Cumbiatón branched out to cities like San Francisco, Seattle, and New York. Regardless of where the party is at, though, the dance floor and DJ booth center women, trans, and queer immigrants and people of color. When they’re not putting on parties, DJ Sizzle Fantastic runs a restaurant and event organizer Normz Fajardoin co-hosts Venimos A Triunfar, a podcast that documents the multifaceted lives of two undocumented women.

In Miami, Dominican-Cuban DJ Bonnie Beats and Puerto Rican host Aidy Yanick organize the women-led jangeo Perreito 305 at Blackbird Ordinary every Thursday, playing reggaeton, dembow, y más. Once a month, Bonnie Beats also hosts the 2000s-themed pari and drag show Clueless305. 

Since 2018, Black Boricua artist and resident DJ AgentDMZ and her partner Wil Suárez have been putting together Perreo 2 The People, a New York-based get-down spinning reggaeton, playero, and more inspired by the paris de marquesinas they grew up attending in Orlando, Puerto Rico, and New York. Together, the pair also use Perreo 2 The People to create compelling and engaging visual content as well as live activations around New York.

In Atlanta, La Choloteca is a queer Latine dance party and brand that connects Latine culture to social justice issues. Founded in 2016 by two dope peruanas, DJ Josephine Figueroa and Monica Campana, La Choloteca builds community through electrocumbia, old-school reggaeton, salsa, and Spanish-language rock and pop.

Throughout Texas, Mexican immigrant Val Garcia blends reggaeton, hip-hop, R&B, house, and everything in between at her VryLatin parties. Garcia, who goes as VRYWVY, began exploring her love for music by curating playlists. After getting her first DJ controller in 2014, she began curating mixes and uploading them to SoundCloud where she accumulated more than 1 million streams. Today, the 25-year-old DJ’s VryLatin is one of the littest parties in the Lone Star State.

Los Angeles’ Scam and Jam was co-founded by BFFs Lala Romero and Natalia Durazo — who also founded the apparel and lifestyle brand Bella Doña, which celebrates West Coast Latine culture and sisterhood — alongside James Solano, who runs a weekly lowrider event. The two Latinas teamed up with Solano to recreate the sounds they grew up listening to at backyard parties: oldies, funk, freestyle, and rock en español.   

Esther Anaya is a Colombian DJ and the first mujer to hold residency at Zouk Group in Las Vegas. A violinist, singer-songwriter, and composer, Anaya mixes her background in classical music with Latin pop and electronic music.

Launched in 2009 by Jazmin Venus Soto, more commonly known as DJ Venus X, GHE20GOTH1K (pronounced “Ghetto Gothic”) is a Manhattan-born project that is now globally recognized. Raised in Washington Heights by Dominican-Ecuadorian parents, the Afro-Indigenous DJ samples everything from Dominican dembow and salsa to South African house music and rap.