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Join on Telegram Rabat- The DJ industry is still male-dominated, as women are underrepresented compared to men. This lack of representation of female DJs is rooted in societal stereotypes and gender disparities, as a result, women struggle to carve out a place for themselves in the industry.
According to a study, ‘’roughly around 10 percent of DJs are female, and they are confronted with a range of personal and social obstacles in acquiring relevant know-how in essential social networks to build a successful DJ career.’’
However, women are no longer afraid to enter the spaces which were earlier earmarked for men. DJ Maria Malasangre, is looking to change the narrative.
In a conversation with Morocco World News , Maria spoke about her trip to Bocas Del Toro, an island in Panama. She noticed that 99.9% of the DJs were men, with Deluxi, an Argentine woman who resides on the island, being the sole female. She shared her views with her friends and decided to start the first female DJ course to teach females the art of DJing.
Her inspiring teaching journey reached Taghazout, where she fell in love with all she saw and discovered in Morocco’s surfing capital. She started a free female-only DJ course there, to share her passion for music while empowering and encouraging many women.
Falling in Love With Music
Born in Brazil, Anna Castro’s (Maria Malasangre is her artistic name) passion and interest in music began at an early age. She learned to play the electric piano during her childhood and attended music theory classes for nearly 8 years. As she grew up, Maria joined her first punk band where she played the bass.
Maria’s curiosity about Latin American music and its origins prompted her to conduct extensive research about different styles of music. These styles included Argentine rock, cumbia and its variations in each Latin American country, reggaeton, Spanish trap, salsa, bachata, dembow, dancehall and a plethora of musical genres.
Maria graduated as a publicist. She moved to Argentina when she was 20 and worked as an advertising copywriter for more than 8 years.
Maria told MWN ‘’I worked with several brands such as MTV, doing marketing campaigns for all Latin America, and I also worked in the organization of the Lollapalooza event.’’
She added, ‘’Music has always been linked in some way to my personal or professional life.’’
When Maria returned to Brazil, she wanted to organize a party with a Chilean and an Argentinian friend, but they couldn’t find a DJ in Sao Paulo who could play Latin rhythms and mix Brazilian music with music from Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, and Peru.
Maria said ‘’ I decided that I would become a DJ and that would be my musical research: a musical meeting point between the varied rhythms of Latin America, focused on historical and cultural similarities.’’
She planned to visit countries she had never been to before. ‘’On this voyage, which was also a journey of self-discovery, Maria Malasangre was born (my artistic name) and my authorial musical project,’’ Maria revealed.
A Community of Supportive Female DJs
Female-only Dj course in Taghazout
During her trip, Maria realized that female-only DJ classes provide a safe and peaceful learning environment. ‘’When we are among women, we are not afraid of being judged, and we feel free,’’ she told MWN.
When she first arrived in Morocco, her major aim was to surf in Taghazout, but she quickly fell in love with all she saw and discovered. ‘’I’m grateful every day for listening to my intuition that told me to come here,’’ she remarked.
She then made the decision to do something to repay the place that had so graciously welcomed her.
She started a free DJ course for women in Taghazout, as she did not wish to charge for sharing knowledge with other women. In an incredibly short period of time, more than 20 women expressed their interest in learning about being a DJ.
‘’It’s the creation of bonds, connections and networks between women, it’s support. For me, when a woman grows, the whole society grows, that’s what I believe in and support. I usually say: I have no competition, because I don’t want to beat anyone, I want to grow together,’’ she argued.
Female-only Dj course in Taghazout
While these female-only DJ classes teach women how to DJ, their aim is to support and encourage women in music.
The course is designed with a wide range of activities, including learning music theory, operating DJ equipment, and practice.
In an attempt to bridge the gap between cultures, Maria searches for commonalities between Brazil and other parts of the world. She is currently producing a song in Morocco and learning different Moroccan musical instruments, including the “Oud,” “Guembri,” and “’ Krakebs.”
