Chulita Vinyl Club (CVC) is an all-vinyl, all-genre DJ collective whose members are self-identifying women of color and non-binary people of color. The CVC was formed to provide a safe space in which its members can embrace their heritage through collecting, sharing, and playing music that is culturally significant to them. Since its founding in 2014, the CVC has grown, to seven chapters throughout

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. The CVC, like other all-women DJ collectives, seeks to shatter gender barriers prevalent in the male-dominated DJ scene.

Origins

The Chulita Vinyl Club was founded by Claudia Saenz in 2014. "Chulita" is a diminutive of the Spanish slang word ''chula'' meaning "beautiful", "cute", or "sexy." Using social media to find women interested in joining her, Saenz formed the first official chapter of Chulita Vinyl Club in Austin, Texas in 2014. Today there are a total of seven chapters in Texas and California. Ever since its formation the CVC has had news media coverage from local publications, mostly focused on the cultural and gender aspects of the CVC. On November 13, 2017, Univision 14 aired a special report called "Las chulitas de la Bahía" ("The Chulitas of the Bay") that featured members of the Bay Area chapter.

Music and Gigs

The CVC has performed a wide range of musical

genres Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other form ...

, such as

yé-yé ''Yé-yé'' () or ''yeyé'' () was a style of pop music that emerged in Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe in the early 1960s. The French term ''yé-yé'' was derived from the English "yeah! yeah!", popularized by British beat music ban ...

pop, garage girls,

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

northern soul Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the Midlands in the early 1970s. It developed from the British Mod (subculture), mod scene, based on a particular style of African American music, Black American ...

, new wave,

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

riot grrrl Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington, and the greater Pacific Northwest, and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. A subcultural movement ...

motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...

, diy pop,

oi! Oi! is a subgenre of punk rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The music and its associated subculture had the goal of bringing together punks, skinheads, and other disaffected working-class youth. The movement wa ...

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...

, twee, chicano

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

, 1960s soul,

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

, chicano soul-dies,

tejano Tejanos ( , ) are descendants of Texas Creoles and Mestizos who settled in Texas before its admission as an American state. The term is also sometimes applied to Texans of Mexican descent. Etymology The word ''Tejano'', with a ''J'' instead ...

, mexican rock, mexican punk, latino punk,

rocksteady Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor of ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was the dominant style of music in Jamaica for nearly two years, performed by many of the artists who helped establish ...

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

reggae, 1970s funk, 1960s psychedelic Peruvian cover songs,

cumbia Cumbia refers to a number of musical rhythms and folk dance traditions of Latin America, generally involving musical and cultural elements from American Indigenous peoples, Europeans, and Africans during colonial times. Cumbia is said to have com ...

, spanish rock,

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

, r&b,

norteños Norteños (, ; ''Norteñas'' for females) are the various affiliated gangs that pay tribute to Nuestra Familia while in California Incarceration in the United States, state and federal correctional facilities. Norteños may refer to Northern ...

, corridos, and conjuntos. Each member brings a unique sound into the collective based on her personal record collection, whether inherited from family members or purchased at thrift stores, record stores, or flea markets. The CVC strives to support local members of the community and typically plays gigs that support local artists or non profit organizations, especially those that seek to preserve minority culture and eliminate the plight of people of color. The CVC also performs at large music and art festivals such as

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival Coachella (officially called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and sometimes known as Coachella Festival) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colora ...

, Demon Dayz Festival,

Primavera Sound Primavera Sound (commonly referred to as Primavera) is an annual music festival held at the Parc del Fòrum in Barcelona, Spain, during late May and early June. It was founded in 2001 by Pablo Soler as "a showcase for Spanish Noise rock, noise ban ...

, and the annual 20th Street Block Party. In addition, CVC chapters have residencies at various bars/clubs in their respective cities. In an effort to have their music reach a larger audience, the members of CVC post mixes from their personal collections on the collective's

SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...

profile.

Membership

The CVC is an inclusive collective and welcomes people who identify as "women, gender-non-conforming, non-binary,

LGBTQ+ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group i ...

and people of color." While each member identifies with an individual nationality or culture, many of the members are "

Latinas Hispanic and Latino Americans are Americans who have a Spanish or Latin American background, culture, or family origin. This demographic group includes all Americans who identify as Hispanic or Latino, regardless of race. According to th ...

, Tejanas, Chicanas, Xicana and more." There are chapters in: * California: Bay Area, Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Ana * Texas: Austin - First chapter (2014), Rio Grande Valley, San Antonio

Accolades

In 2017 the weekly alternative newspaper

The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogra ...

named Chulita Vinyl Club the Best All-Vinyl DJ Crew. Chulita Vinyl Club's SoundCloud profile won the 2018 MORA (Mixcloud Online Radio Awards) for Best Online Music Show, Eclectic category.{{Cite web, url=https://www.rolandus.com/blog/2018/06/05/2018-mixcloud-online-radio-awards-winners/, title=Winners Announced for the 2018 Mixcloud Online Radio Awards - Roland U.S. Blog, last=U.S, first=Roland, date=2018-06-05, website=Roland U.S., language=en-US, access-date=2019-06-02

References

External links

Univision 14 (KDTV) special report ''Las chulitas de la Bahía'', November 13, 2017

Live DJ session of Bay Area Chapter members at Fault Radio, Oakland, CA, November 17, 2017

Interview with CVC founder Claudia Saenz, MalEducados Podcast, April 25, 2017

Chulita Vinyl Club official website
DJing American women DJs Organizations established in 2014 Organizations based in Texas