"This is a space for freedom;" "Freedom defines my experience within these parties;" "I feel free. I can actually be myself." These are just some of the few sentences that Ale, Lina and Sebastián, a few attendees of the series BULTO—which last took place two weeks ago—told me when I asked them about their experiences at these parties. These may be familiar phrases for describing raves in many places in the world, but when you enter BULTO, a Bogotá-based queer party founded in 2017, the atmosphere is striking. Heat, radiant lights, lots of skin, a diversity of bodies and the rhythm of fast-paced, fierce and brilliant techno pulsate alongside other genres. The whole place vibrates with an erotic energy that's usually hidden behind moralistic views of our bodies and how they should behave in shared spaces.

Even though every party has a different venue, this vibrant spirit persists across each iteration of the event. Bulto translates to 'package' or 'bulge' in English, so fittingly, the party started at a sex club before moving to warehouses all over the city. Video Club, a retro-industrial venue in Chapinero, was one stop, as well as an unlicensed venue for Pride this year, in which they outfitted the space with rainbow lights, platforms for live performances and a dark room. For a precious couple of hours, BULTO presents an opportunity for attendees to engage with their bodies through a collective experience. A few words that come to mind when describing BULTO are "sweat," "frenzy" and "sex," but also "collective care," "respect" and "consent."

These associations are subversive. Between 2019 and 2020, more than 501 LGBTQIA+ people suffered violence in Colombia, and about 98 were murdered for their sexual orientation or gender identity in 2021. BULTO's founders, long-time ravers Alejandro Arango (AKA Hypomania), Jesús Flores (AKA Jesuz.X) and Luis Porras, set out to create a temporary utopia for bodies, sexualities and gender expressions that can’t safely exist in daylight.

Colombia’s culture involves constrictive and dominant masculine ideals, and there is continuous violence against women and queer people throughout the country. This is why electronic music scenes such as BULTO deepen the range and potential of a political freedom for marginalised bodies. However, the predominance of normative bodies and male gay experiences at the party can leave out the struggles and lives of queer, bisexual or trans women. While we should question this lack of representation, the party has made efforts to bring these omissions to light, especially through their alliance with Bogotá Exotérmica—a platform that provides psychological first aid to gender-based violence and discrimination.

BULTO’s guiding motivation is the belief that all ravers deserve liberation given the emancipatory roots and history of electronic music. Arango, Flores and Porras all share the experience of writing and engaging in the communities outside the spaces of the parties themselves. "We travelled and experienced clubs and festivals within Europe and the United States. So, this is not a matter of pure colonialism in which we aspire to be like every white rave of the so-called First World," says Arango. They feel satisfied after their global travels to return to a scene with equality at its core, which is how BULTO came to life. "It is a simple formula. We are not inventing anything completely out of the blue. [We want] good music with an environment in which people can do whatever they want," Arango adds.

During our interview, I ask the three of them about the widespread idea of LGBTQIA+ communities being hyper-sexualized, or only gathering for sexual encounters. "We come with an extreme sex ideology. There's a stereotype that all our parties as a community are about sex. And we wanted to appropriate that, make it our own and mix it with techno—with what we consider good music," says Flores. Porras adds, "We wanted a space of our own to enjoy our expressions and what we enjoyed listening to."

That is why BULTO offers much more than the opportunity for sexual freedom on the dance floor. Local artists are not just a quota, and names like Nina Naranjo, Amantra, Fiona Beeson, Juana Valeria, Marea, Wannabe, VJ Rabbeat and Verraco have built the sonic landscape of every party. While the presence of international guests isn't the main priority, they've also booked notable DJs like Juana, Akua, Umfang, Mama Snake, Boris, MARRØN, Gerald VDH, Schacke and Saoirse. In addition, their podcast series, Espectro, showcases new participants and a mix of well-known artists in the Colombian and international scenes.

Due to the party's no-photo policy, it collaborates with illustrators at every event so that afterward, partygoers can see the night through their eyes, in turn building a diverse, intertwined visual narrative of BULTO. "Initially I was clear that I wanted to portray the diversity of bodies and gender expressions at the party, since BULTO reads from the outside as a party of cis-gay men, and it's really not like that," says the illustrator Lina Restrepo. "Fat bodies, women and nonbinary identities are present. I also wanted to show a consensual, free and erotic sexuality." See her work and meet a few of the other artists below.

Edd Eduardo

Edd Eduardo is from Valledupar. "I found BULTO's proposal interesting when Hypomania wrote about it on Twitter, and I offered to work as an illustrator at that first party," he says. At that time, he did almost everything on paper and ink. "In my Instagram account sometimes I upload stories of what I illustrate, but I also have an alternate account where I upload what I do, and it's very varied work. I take inspiration mostly from movies, some pop culture and drag queens."

Jander Franco

Jander Franco is a Colombian queer artist based in Bushwick, Brooklyn. His work focuses on black work, illustrative tattoos, anime and ero-guro, an artistic genre that focuses on eroticism and sexual decadence. Franco used the solid lines and fills of his flash tattoos as inspiration for Schacke's debut in Bogotá, encapsulated in the sketch here.

El Chico Sin Cabello de Pan

A student of plastic arts at the Universidad Distrital, Bogotá-based El Chico Sin Cabello de Pan is a young talent who uses critical humour and creativity to showcase the city's sociopolitical ails. He does so by reinterpreting pop culture in his illustrations and by using his favourite colours, pink and black.

March Posso

March Posso is a Bogotá-based graphic designer and illustrator, as well as the owner of the sustainable accessories brand No Tan Cute. In her illustrations, she focuses on social issues, animals, nature and music—all important facets of her life and sources of her artistic inspiration.

Lina Restrepo

Lina Restrepo, from Cali but based in Bogotá, is an illustrator and tattoo artist. In constructing her visual identity, she has developed work from a profound reflection on melancholy and how it influences and is part of her creative processes. She participated as a co-founder of the cultural house Tres Cruces in Cali, and from there, she has worked in constructing spaces for cultural participation.

Carolina Urueta

Carolina Urueta is a designer, illustrator and artist from Barranquilla. As a Black and Latin American woman, she uses illustration to portray and make visible the different struggles of minority groups, which is why her work is associated with anti-racist activism, gender equality and LGBTQIA+ rights.

Yourdough

Yourdough is a tattoo artist and illustrator in Bogotá who describes themselves as "fat, Latine and queer." They perform drag with the queer collective Un Oasis.