“Rosé wine, hair down, thong, fat ass”
Chama, the latest track by the divas Arca and Tokischa, was released this past Friday – and has been our total weekend obsession. We’ve been (literally and metaphorically) impregnated by beat blending trance and reggaeton, full of affirmations “vino rosa, pelo suelto, tanga, culo grande” ([ Rosé wine, hair down, thong, fat ass ]) sung by Tokischa. The Latinx queer collab finally fed us, after starving for months since it was teased at Arca’s Boiler Room set in Barcelona.The music video shot by director and photographer Stillz lured us in by blurring the boundaries between the body, nature and technology, accentuated by our two mothers lying down with their legs intertwined.
Dedicated to “all the dolls, the queens, and the good little witches,” the track continues themes from Arca’s Kick pentalogy, such as the embodiment of the post-human cyborg as envisioned by Donna Haraway. This concept seamlessly aligns here with Tokischa’s “perra” ([bitch]) persona. Arca fearlessly reformulates the concept of the body, playing with its boundaries with references that go against what is socially acceptable for a pregnant woman. The stumbling metallic tune so foundational to Arca’s musical style is also perfectly complemented by the video’s freeze glitches and glowy visuals. The line between the self and the machine is blurred, as is that of the self and imagined self within the use of lighting. For the full effect of Arca’s mesmerising “toma-toma-toma-toma-toma-toma-toma-tómalo-lo-lo-lo,” listeners are advised to use headphones.
