La Gozadera DMV hosts dance parties at the National Monuments to enjoy life

While many people saw the pandemic as a time of pure isolation, DJ Lidius and Andrea Bauzá, the creators of La Gozadera DMV, found an opportunity to plant the seeds of a new community. 

DJ Lidius, also known as Lidio Juarez, is originally from Mexico and works as a construction foreman. Andrea Bauzá is a former elementary school teacher who now works as an HR director. Even though these two co-founders do not come from formal dance backgrounds, they have still been able to curate a fun, welcoming and culturally rich dance scene.

DJ Lidius says he knew back in 2020 that the residents of the DMV needed fun. He came up with the idea to bring a small speaker to the Jefferson Monument and create a space to dance. Conveniently, a few months before the pandemic, DJ Lidius started dancing and fell in love with it. He describes dance as it being “all about connection, freedom and happiness — it’s a lot of things [put] together.” 

La Gozadera DMV is built on the principles of fun and enjoyment. DJ Lidius and Bauzá have created a community filled with dance, joy, freedom and inclusivity. These passionate founders bring all the equipment and other necessities for a party so guests can immerse themselves in the experience. They strive to help people understand the language of dance and find new ways to express themselves. 

Since 2020 La Gozadera DMV’s community has grown rapidly, but Bauzá and DJ Lidius have learned to take it day by day, whether it’s balancing their commitment to being inclusive while understanding they cannot cater to everyone or finding ways to sustainably manage larger events. 

We spoke with La Gozadera DMV’s founders about their innovative dance community and what they are doing to keep it flourishing. 

Could each of you talk about yourself and how you came to found La Gozadera DMV?

Bauzá: I haven’t been with La Gozadera since the very beginning. I’m one of the co-founders. However before it was La Gozadera, it was actually Lidio who really got it started.

DJ Lidius: We started with the concept in 2020 during the pandemic. The main thing about this concept was just having fun in times of uncertainty when nobody knew what was going to happen. I love to dance. I started dancing a few months before the pandemic, and I fell in love with it. After a few months, the pandemic came, and everything closed. You couldn’t do anything. The main idea [was to] do something fun and try to be safe.

I started doing this project without knowing how it would develop… I couldn’t imagine how big this project was going to be in the future. 

When I started, it was just a small speaker. Now it is different. It takes a lot of work to put these events together. It’s crazy, but by the end of the night of every event that we do — it pays for itself. I mean, you can’t pay with money for this feeling of everything. Seeing a happy face or people dancing, having fun, being joyful, smiling… It’s incredible.

What does “Gozadera” mean, and why did you choose this word to represent the organization?

Bauzá: You have to go back to [the word] “gozar.” “Gozar” is the Spanish verb for “to enjoy” or “to enjoy life.” “Gozadera” is a party, a gathering, a get-together and a fun time. That’s what it’s all about — having a great time with other people by dancing. Whether you’re indoors or outdoors, it’s all about loving life and enjoying it.

What makes La Gozadera DMV different from other Latin dance communities in the area?

Bauzá: A lot of the dance communities are interconnected, but at the same time, they can get siloed — the salsa community sticks with the salsa community, [and] the bachata community can do the same. There are all these different styles of dance and ways of expressing yourself. While we focus on Latin music, we really welcome people from all cultures, walks of life and levels of experience. You don’t have to know how to dance, whereas [with] a lot of Latin or other social dances if you don’t know anything, you feel a little lost after a while. 

We want to provide people with an outlet to go and learn something. We always have a class, so you’ll be able to use the steps you just learned to express yourself and make friends. We do have indoor events, but our hallmark events are at the monuments. Where else are you going to get to dance in front of a national monument, [like] the Lincoln Memorial or the Jefferson Memorial? We can’t go to all of them because there’s limitations on where we can get permits, but if it were up to us, we’d be doing it at all of them. It’s [about] the setting and truly bringing people together. We usually play salsa and bachata, but we also incorporate kizomba and zouk [dance styles with African, Caribbean and Brazilian origins]. We’ve also played Bollywood songs that people have asked for.

What does the language of dance mean to you? Why does La Gozadera DMV value this concept so much?

Bauzá: The language of dance is an outlet for expression. It’s going to be whatever it means to the individual. If I don’t speak your language, but we’re on the dance floor, we speak the same salsa beat or the same bachata beat. You can communicate with people who you wouldn’t have a way to communicate with otherwise. You leave there with this feeling like your heart is lighter. You’re happier, more joyful.

DJ Lidius: Dance is another kind of expression, another type of language. At least [it’s like that] for me because I’m a shy guy, but whenever I’m on the dance floor, something in me is liberated. I feel free. I can express myself in ways that I can’t by talking. I feel a lot of joy. It’s about a connection with your partner as well. Whenever you ask somebody to dance, you’ve welcomed them to enjoy a little bit of life. Dance is all about connection, freedom and happiness; it’s a lot of things [coming] together. That’s why I started doing this.

Can you tell me about your approach and creative process to planning events?

Bauzá: There’s a lot to it. My least favorite part is social media, which is the tool that allows us to get the word out. The planning process is deciding on the dates and the locations. There’s the logistical side of things, like finding the right partners. We bring in dance instructors. We want them to represent different dance styles or communities. Then there is the music side. 

DJ Lidius: As more people started coming to the events, I started to think about bringing more professional equipment. I decided to buy a DJ controller, and now I consider myself a DJ. I am still learning, but when you do it with love, you can create beautiful events. It’s incredible.

What have been the challenges you faced while building this community?

Bauzá: The challenge has come from different areas, but probably the most challenging is trying to give people an outlet and a place to come together and build a community. There are pressures that get put on you from the outside; people want it to be a certain way, or the dance community is used to doing things a certain way. We don’t do this for money. We do this for the love of dance, community and fun. We’re trying to find that right balance to continue doing it while making it sustainable and not excluding people, but we can’t cater to everybody. Finding that balance is what’s been the most difficult for me. At the end of the day, people always end up sending us messages or telling us how much they loved it and how much fun they had.

How would you like to see La Gozadera DMV evolve in the future?

Bauzá: One of the things that we’ve talked about doing is incorporating other styles of dance from other cultures and communities. [There] might be one Latin event and then one cross cultural dance event. That’s what we want to do because while our background is in Latin music and dance, there are so many other kinds [of dance] that we want to learn how to do. Why not bring it to the rest of the community? We want to see [La Gozadera DMV] evolve. Last year we had around 5,000 people come to our events over the course of the season. Now we’ve already had more than 5,000 people come, and we are just barely halfway through our season. It’s growing, and that’s how we want to see it evolve.

What kind of impact do you hope to have on others who are involved with La Gozadera DMV or come to events?

Bauzá: We want people to get joy out of this. We want people to feel like they have been given an outlet to express themselves, meet others and share something with a community, whether they build on that and take it outside of our Sunday event, or it’s somewhere they end up meeting at once a month with friends they just met. We want more people to be happy and have fun.

Could you tell me one of your favorite memories from an event or one of your favorite memories connecting with a community member who came to an event?

Bauzá: This past event was maybe one of my favorites because it ended up being the culmination of a series. I had someone come to me very excited. She said, “Andrea, I found you.” I’m usually running around taking videos and pictures. I’m not always easy to pin down. She was like, “I just wanted to say ‘Hi, I came.’ I’m having so much fun. I’ve been taking classes, and I’m getting so much better.” This is someone who happened to be walking by at the end of last season and stopped in at the DJ booth. We explained what it was and told her it was our last event for the season, but we’d be back in the spring. I shared our social media and she followed us. Then in our first event in April, she [went and told us], “I made it. I’m here.” She had never taken a dance class in her life, so our class was her first. She just told me, “Thank you so much. This feels so good. I feel healthier, and I’m moving.” She found a passion; she had an experience. It might be a lifelong passion or one for just now, and that’s okay. It was awesome to see her come, and she was so excited. 

– Story by Olivia Drey

– Edited by Michelle Benitez