Interview: Maria, the woman in the "boy’s club"!
The year ended and, by now, everyone has a list of things they once took for granted but now miss dearly or things they’ve discovered and fallen in love with during this period of staying at home and maintaining safe distances from those outsides of their quarantine circle.
People, places, and things for which we have a newfound or renewed appreciation. We didn’t appreciate them before the pandemic, we’re sorry for that, and we swear to ourselves we won’t make that mistake again when things return to normal-ish. Nothing is more important than our friends and family.
Calm, elegant, and skillful, Maria tells a story from music to music leading the dance floor with mastery. She really knows how to throw a party and show people a good time. From Bass to Acid House, from Electro to Techno, from Disco to Dance. She started in 2009 and has shared the stage with Daniel Avery, Xosar, Bonobo, Helena Hauff, Nina Kraviz, Lindstrom, and Clara 3000!
(I always remember one of the best nights I had ending with “Beautiful Life” from Gui Boratto, one of my favorite songs. “Make the last song the best one, since listeners will remember that the most." High fidelity playlist rules.)
We’ve known each other for years and I always admired how imaginative, grounded, focused, and driven she was. At only 28 she was managing and booking at Passos, one of the most prominent nightclubs of electronic music that since its opening in 2004, with its intimate atmosphere, has been a second home for people in Porto related to the arts, design, and cinema. She’s responsible for bringing some of the biggest names of electronic music and also giving a platform for local emerging artists that she supports and cherishes to show their work. As for herself, she’s earned a place at all the meetings whenever a music event is being planned.
Despite the serious face, Maria is the nicest person and has the kindest smile that she reserves for her close friends. She was, in a way, my quarantine buddy. During our long walks, we talked about the past, the present, and how we would deal with the future in the midst of this pandemic. Even though she is one of the busiest persons I know, she always finds time to be there for her friends and to lend a hand when needed. I can't remember how many bottles we shared and emptied until dawn while we danced and poured our souls out. She is undoubtedly the best unpaid therapist and her long dark hair has more of secrets than Gretchen Wieners’s.
Now back to business!
So tell me, when did you begin playing?
It was back in 2009. My interest in dance and electronic music began in my early teens while watching compulsively VH1 and MTV Dance, and later when I started going to clubs to see the DJs play. Attending these kinds of events eventually led to meeting people with the same interests, some of them already young DJs who started to invite me to play at their parties.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
There are two important things. First is to be patient, nobody starts at the top and I think is very important to spend the first years playing to empty dancefloors and in different types of bars and clubs, it gives you skills that you can never learn with home practicing. And this can be hard if you don’t have true passion, my second advice. It’s the kind of job that it’s only going to work if you have your mind, body, and heart into it.
What album did you buy that made really happy?
The Ambient Collection by The Art Of Noise
How did you start working at Passos?
After more than 10 years as a customer and a few as resident DJ and promoter, I wrote a “love letter” to Becas (the owner, my boss) saying how much I loved Passos and that I was pretty sure I was the right person to help him. It’s one of those love stories with a happy ending, he said yes right away.
What’s the best part of doing what you do? And the most challenging?
As a manager, it’s to bring people together in a free and safe environment, see them having fun, and lose control. But as a booker, it’s very important to keep up with the international scene and give our clubbers the opportunity to see artists that are hard to catch in festivals or in a more mainstream circuit. But, safe to say, my biggest commitment as booker of Passos Manuel is to support our local scene and emerging young artists. There’s so much creativity going on, a very good one, and they need a stage or a platform to expand and show their work. It’s amazing to see them grow.
The most challenging is definitely being a woman. We all know that this is a "boy’s club" (as many other workspaces) and it was strange to move up in this world that has almost no female references. I deal with men on a daily basis, in 90% of my work meetings I’m the only girl, and sometimes It’s hard to make your voice be heard in this kind of environment. But this definitely gives me the strength to carry on and to encourage other girls to do the same.
How is Passos dealing with these new rules?
It hasn’t been easy, I must say, especially with no clubbing at all, which was a huge part of our program and also the most profitable one. But we adapted! We were very lucky to have the chance to have a terrace outside that’s been working since June with DJs, cocktails, and pizzas, alongside our auditorium with cinema and concerts.
After a reasonable and promising summer, things are getting harder again with this second wave of lockdown, but our team is fully committed to keep working, even though the financial situation is haunting us every day. But it’s bigger than that, it’s more important than never to make things happen, not let the cultural sector die, as in a pure act of resistance.
Can you tell me a funny story?
I have quite a few, especially while DJing, but this one will always be my favorite.
I was playing in a local club and this guy was dancing like crazy right in the front, suddenly he just starts throwing money at me, literally "making it rain". I asked him what was that about and he said he was loving the music so much that it was his way to say thank you. I immediately started to gather up all the scattered bills all over the booth (it was a considerable amount of money) to give it back and explained to him that I was already being paid and that DJs didn’t work like strippers. He was not convinced with my explanation so he just threw the money again and left. I went home with quite a bonus that night.
From where did you order your last takeaway?
I ordered "papas com rojões" from Tabique, a restaurant in Braga owned by my dearest mate Gonçalo, who is also a very good DJ.
What music did you choose to go with it?
I listened to “Bonfim”. The first LP from a very special local duo, Pedro Tenreiro, and Hugo Passos.
What is your go-to Karaoke song?
I’m a huge karaoke fan and this list could belong, but I think the one I sang the most is “As Long as you Love Me” by The Backstreet Boys.
How did you kept busy during lockdown?
Apart from the weekly radio show I had for East Side Radio, I have to admit I did nothing at all, and I’m not ashamed of it. I just listened to loads of music, danced like crazy in my living room and binge-watched TV series.
What are you most thankful this year?
This year has been so intense that I think the answer to this question will only be clear in my mind in a few years. But, for now, I would say family and friends. They are what really matters.
Three songs for Darkside!
Peter Philippe Weiss - Subway (Intenta Version)