\nHEADER DESIGN BY YOSEF PHELAN<\/strong>
\nPHOTOGRAPHY BY JONATHAN IVAN\u00a0<\/strong>
\nSTYLE BY JOSHUA ALAN CLARK<\/strong><\/p>\n
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\u201cLet’s do it even if it\u2019s in the car,\u201d Alfonso La Cruz says smiling.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s 9pm in Madrid when I connect with La Cruz, who performs under his surname. He\u2019s attentive, answering questions while balancing an iPhone on his steering wheel. The Venezuelan reggaetonero exudes Scorpionic charisma as he details a breakthrough year, one that included a hit single, recording sessions in Miami with <\/span>Oscarcito<\/span><\/a>, and several magazine covers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The 28-year-old Caracas native has been billed as \u201cthe first openly gay reggaetonero,\u201d though queer artists like Spain\u2019s Jedet and the late Puerto Rican trapero Kevin Fret were making their voice heard from the genre\u2019s margins years before La Cruz\u2019s \u201cregayt\u00f3n<\/a>\u201d popped off. Despite being far from being the first queer voice in <\/span>El Movimiento<\/span><\/a>, La Cruz is notable \u2013 perhaps ironically \u2013 for his stereotypically masc gay aesthetic and radio-friendly reggaeton sound. See viral single ‘Qu\u00edtate La Ropa’ (‘Take Off Your Clothes’), a classic top 40 popet\u00f3n complete with a booming dembow beat. The accompanying music video has male dancers in skin-tight jeans throw it back in two well-known sites of homoerotic desire: the boxing ring and the locker room. It\u2019s not groundbreaking music, but that\u2019s not the mould La Cruz is trying to break.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cA lot of people told me the queer community wouldn\u2019t 100% accept my project because visually it\u2019s not <\/span>\u2018queer\u2019<\/span><\/i>,\u201d he says. \u201cThe reality is that inside of queer culture everything exists, and I represent a very specific part of it. My sound gears more Rauw Alejandro or Justin Quiles: melodic club reggaeton. It\u2019s a bit more mainstream. I want to give visibility to those boys grinding on each other and making out on the dancefloor.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n I want to give visibility to those boys grinding on each other and making out on the dancefloor<\/p><\/blockquote>\n It wasn\u2019t always viral smashes for La Cruz, though he never had trouble finding an audience. Singing since age 12, he was soon opening for more established acts like Reykon during Venezuelan tour dates. He moved to Spain with his former partner in 2015, and took part in popular talent competition <\/span>Operaci\u00f3n Triunfo<\/span><\/i> in 2018<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 A glasses-clad ing\u00e9nue covering songs by Luis Fonsi and Beyonc\u00e9, he was the first to be eliminated. Transforming into an absolute stud, he dropped baile funk-tinged track <\/span>‘Nadie te va a querer’<\/span><\/a> (‘Nobody Will Love You’) a year later.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Despite the initial outbreak of COVID and the global lockdown that followed, La Cruz released a string of well-received singles, from tracks in line with his current sound like <\/span>‘Efecto’<\/span><\/a> to tenderqueer reggaeton rom\u00e1ntico like <\/span>‘Fotos’<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>‘Desnudx’<\/span><\/a>. A lot of these would be compiled into his 2022 debut <\/span>Hawaira<\/span><\/em>. The title is a portmanteau of two tropical paradises: the Pacific archipelago, and the Venezuelan<\/span> port capital city La Guaira where La Cruz was raised.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/em><\/p> La Cruz\u2019s world turns reggaeton signifiers on their head. He wears big chains and puffers while riding around in Ducatis full of shirtless twunks. Boys in ass-fitting briefs and backwards caps play video games together while La Cruz holds court smoking joints. This subversion of El Movimiento\u2019s symbols, traditionally used to objectify video girls, and the way he dons the hyper-masculine aesthetic <\/span>making a comeback among gay men<\/span><\/a> stands in stark contrast with neoperreo. A goth queer-femme subgenre of El Movimiento, its wide umbrella encompasses artists like Ms Nina, Isabella Lovestory, Yajaira La Beyaca, Tomasa Del Real, and other experimental alt-reggaetonerxs whose work has made ripples from margin to center.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI loved Ivy Queen and Arc\u00e1ngel as a kid; Don Omar too \u2013\u00a0everyone from the old school,\u201d he says of his early inspirations. \u201cIvy Queen really broke ground as a woman in the genre. Don Omar gave visibility to gay culture within reggaeton on <\/span>\u2018Mu\u00f1ecas de Porcelana\u2019<\/span><\/a>. We all see what\u2019s happening now, but people who were paying attention in the moment took note: nobody really talked about it because it was another time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Every reggaetonerx has their sonic signature. Most opt to shout out their own name, like Pok\u00e9mon (here\u2019s looking at you, Bad Bunny). Others shout out their homelands. Early songs see La Cruz opt for the latter: <\/span>Venezuela en la fucking casa.<\/span><\/i> He last visited last December after five years away. Including La Cruz, most of Venezuela\u2019s most prominent acts come from the societal margin. Superstar act Arca is set to <\/span>perform in Caracas this month<\/span><\/a> for the first time since her transition. DJ Babatr<\/a>, the Afro-Venezuelan founder of electronic genre raptor house who grew up in the western Caracas Propatria neighbourhood, was only recently given his flowers. La Cruz\u2019s positionality as an out gay man is a notable continuation, especially when Venezuelan society at large seemingly hasn\u2019t caught up<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/La-Cruz-Jonathan-Ivan.png\")
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