Maque

Together with auto_timer, she co-founded Choka, a party and performance platform that amplifies sounds and practices from the global south. She enjoys being on stage, traveling and meeting new people as well as she enjoys being cozy with her loved ones. We sat down to chat with Maque about her upcoming EP Baba release party, Choka’s one year anniversary, Yoggaton, and more!

Hey Maque! Can you tell our readers a little bit more about yourself? Where are you from, how long ago did you come to Berlin, and what brought you here in the first place?
Maque: Hi YEOJA Mag and thanks for this interview! I’m from Bolivia, from a small city called Sucre. I started studying dance when I was eight, and at 19 I moved to La Paz to continue my dance studies. While doing that, I also studied psychology. At some point, I began creating solo performances and dance pieces, and became curious about the MA Solo/Dance/Authorship (SODA) program at HZT Berlin. I eventually applied, got accepted, and that’s what brought me to Berlin nine years ago.

What came first for you personally and professionally—music, visuals, or dance? And how do you think all three work together? In what ways are they sometimes at odds or in competition with each other?
Maque: Dance! Dance is my first passion, and I think it always will be. Not just dance in terms of steps or styles, but movement as something that connects everything. I see my music, audiovisual, and curatorial practice through the lens of expansive choreography. It helps me avoid separating them or feeling like they’re in competition. That said, as a freelancer I’m constantly multitasking, so I don’t always manage to keep that balance 🙂

Your work combines three of the five senses. Have you ever thought about ways in which your work could also incorporate taste and smell?
Maque: I’ve had a couple of workshops where we ate different fruits after moving for a few hours. Those were very sensual experiences. After moving, the body is open and receptive, and the senses are heightened—so it definitely felt like a holistic experience. I’d love to explore that more for sure.

You have an upcoming release party for your new EP Baba! Can you please tell us more about it?
Maque: Sure! I’m very excited about the release party. Baba has been out since February, and really close to its release, I went on tour in South America for almost three months, performing live in different venues. Now that I’m back, we’re doing the official release party together with the one-year Choka birthday bash at Fitzroy on the 21st of June, from 23:59 until 07:00.

The line-up includes key boundary-pushing DJs and producers from LATAM [Latin America]: Cimarrón, MAAY, auto_timer, Gadutra, DOLL.fin, and DJ LOUI FROM JUPITER4. We’ll also have Slvt Riot performing with me on the pole for the live EP presentation. It’s such a badass lineup—I couldn’t be happier!

What inspired you to found Yoggaton, and what kind of power does communal movement hold for you?
Maque: Feeling good in my body after practicing yoga to reggaeton [music] is what led me to coin the term “Yoggaton” and then share it with more people. I felt energized, fully in my senses and my body, with a deep sense of connection to something bigger.

Communal movement is connection—and when verbal language isn’t the focus, like in this case, I believe it’s deeply energizing and comforting. The nervous system regulates itself in resonance with the context we’re in, and when a lot of people are moving and feeling themselves, it helps the nervous system to calm down.

Releasing ourselves physically can cause us to confront our insecurities. People are often shy to dance in public—similar to how folx can be shy about singing—possibly due to a performative aspect or the idea that we must be good at these things to legitimize doing them. How do you break through these barriers with your students?
Maque: I always start my classes with an introduction to what we’ll be doing—from the warm-up to the origins of the different practices that shape the class. I want people to feel like the class is a space where they are the ones listening to their bodies and following [my instruction as the facilitator, but] according to their own needs.

The warm-up is where I lay the foundation for the rest of the session, focusing on movement that comes from within—specifically from the pelvic floor—as a result of breathwork exercises designed to improve pelvic floor awareness. So yes, we start slow and very informed, and from there we build toward bigger, sweatier movement options.

You are also the co-founder of Choka! Can you tell us a little bit more about how this party and performance came about?
Maque: Sure! Choka has really been a dream come true. In 2023, together with Brazilian DJ and producer auto_timer, we decided to create a space for experimental formats—connecting club culture, performance art, sustainable design, music production, and adjacent expressions like nail art. We focus on sounds, artists, and practices from the Global South and diasporic communities, especially from LATAM (Latin America).

We started with a residency at Hellerau, supported by Musicboard Berlin. Last year, we launched the party series with club nights featuring DJs and performers, as well as more wholesome daytime events that included workshops and pop-ups. Now, together with Meta Rave—and once again with the support of Musicboard Berlin—we’re launching the first edition of Suena LATAM this coming August: a festival that celebrates LATAM’s diverse club culture in Berlin.

In what ways has living in Germany made you more connected to your roots and your community?
Maque: I often think about the snail when reflecting on migration, roots, home, and community. This little animal’s wisdom inspires me to stay connected to what’s within—to what I carry with me, wherever I go.

In this ongoing practice of ‘being’ the snail, of carrying home with me. Living abroad has made me look inward even more. I try to make sure that what I create resonates with what feels like home, while also allowing space for movement and change. I also feel more connected to others who have chosen Berlin as their home. There’s a shared story there. These are often the people I think of when hosting spaces like Yoggaton and Choka—so they can hear music and dance styles they’re familiar with, and feel a sense of belonging.

We often hear the term ‘pleasure activism’—and it’s clear that without it, activism can become another site of exhaustion, pain, and unpaid labor, especially for those already most marginalized. Without joy, we risk reproducing the very systems we’re trying to dismantle. What makes pleasure a meaningful part of activism for you? And do you think intentionality—actively cultivating joy or pleasure—matters in this work?
Maque: Pleasure activism is about creating and protecting spaces and practices that bring joy—whether it’s through dancing, walking, taking photos, cooking, or lying in the sun. It’s about making time for those moments and treating them as a vital part of everyday life—as the part that helps us move through the less pleasant aspects of it.

Actively cultivating joy and pleasure is something I do very intentionally. I hope I can offer people a moment to connect with their bodies, joys, sensualities, and pleasures in any of the spaces I host and co-host.

Lastly, can you give us more details about your upcoming events so we can be sure to bookmark them? We also heard you’ll be doing a PASS IT ON with YEOJA (us, hehe) in a few weeks—can you drop some hints about your workshop?
Maque: Yes! I’ll be hosting weekly Yoggaton classes at 90MIL —check Yoggaton’s website and IG to stay updated. On 27.06 the Baba Remixes will be dropped via Lustpoderosa, including remixes by Brenda, Rattlesnakke and Genosidra, a.o. incredible Latin Club artists. I’ll be playing a Live + DJ set at Qommunity Festival in Antwerp on 27.06, at Fuego in ÆDEN on 11.07, and at Hi BOSSI! in SO36 on 12.07.

From 23.06 to 18.07, I’ll be teaching the Perreo in Performance workshop at HZT Berlin. Choka x Viciosa is happening on 02.08 at ACUD, and on 21 & 22.08 we’ll host the Suena LATA festival at 90MIL and ÆDEN

The PASS IT ON workshop with YEOJA will be a Perreo and Pelvic Practices session at Not Too Sweet. We’ll start gently with grounding exercises, then move through different pelvic techniques made to help us enjoy pelvic movement and connect to the creative energy that lives at the base of the pelvic floor.
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Maque @maquepereyra
photographed by Rae (Mee-Jin) Tilly @raetilly
Stying: Mané @mamagdalena
Clothing: ESSAI @essai.project
Sandals (look 1): Stylist’s own
Boots (look 2): CVW Vintage @cvw.vintage.berlin
Jewellery: -.YEAH.- @ahyeahyeahyeahyeahye

To keep up with Maque on Instagram, click here. For more interviews with Berlin-based artists, click here.