Papi Juice is the QTPOC Party With a Purpose
From Harlem drag balls to downtown parties, queer New Yorkers of color have long fought for—and created—spaces where they and their communities could come together for fun and self expression in safe environments. And Papi Juice, a party dedicated “to being an intentional space for queer and trans people of color,” is the proud successor to that lineage. Earlier this month, O.N.S hosted Papi Juice founders Oscar Nñ, Mohammed Fayaz, and Adam R at our SoHo photo studio to snap some pics and talk community, inclusion, and of course, fun. 
What were the three of you doing before Papi Juice?
We were all in our early 20s, bopping around New York City amongst all these different avenues of art, music, and nightlife.
How’d you all meet, and what was the driving force behind starting Papi Juice?
We all met on Tumblr! Separately at first, and eventually together at the start of Summer 2013. Oscar and Adam co-founded Papi Juice after years in the city not finding spaces that catered to us or our many communities; we saw and felt an opportunity to create our own space, and have been going strong ever since.
As one of New Yorks’ first LGBTQIA+ POC parties, what difficulties did you face getting Papi Juice up and running?
We’re definitely not one of the first parties like ours! Spaces dedicated to our communities have existed since the 1920s, and we’re proud to be in direct lineage of them through the ages. Some of the difficulties we faced were handled by learning as we go and staying humble and intentional. To this day we tell everyone that we’re still learning and that every event still is a new experience for us.
Whether you’re Latinx, Black, Asian, etc., there seems to still be a sense of hierarchy between POC and white clubgoers in the LGBTQIA+ club scene, what do you think is propelling that currently?
We’re happy to say that this doesn’t really apply to scenes we’re supporting and attending. Our collective aims to affirm & celebrate the lives of queer and trans people of color; this affirmation is important to us and we’re divesting from whiteness and conversations that tend to center it. We encourage allies of our community to consider the space they take up at our events and believe it’s a conversation to have amongst themselves for once.
Within the past three years or so there’s been a lot of energy injected into movements and significant strides in pop culture that have helped empower POC youth. How did that help Papi Juice grow into to what it is now?
The way these movements push language and consciousness helps people understand what their needs are in terms of the spaces they’re seeking. When that work is happening at home and with yourself, you can bring a really beautiful energy to a space like Papi Juice whether it’s one of our nightlight events or a free, daytime, sober, and all ages block party we’re throwing. It’s exciting to be part of a culture that reflects our realities.
You guys seem to be constantly beaming with Papi Juice pride! What makes this easy for you guys to continue doing this party despite the struggles you may face?
You’ll always find us describe Papi Juice as our baby and nothing is sweeter than watching our community build and grow with us over the last six years. We all work super hard on the work and creative energy that goes into this, and collective work is not easy. Despite these obstacles it’s worth every bit when we see the love and happiness thousands of folks are feeling at our events.
What kind of experience do you want people to take away with them when they leave that Papi Juice dance floor?
Often folks leave the space with an enchanting mix of love, joy, inspiration, and are probably a little sweaty from all that dancing. Or maybe you had a pretty chill night, came to see your favorite DJ in town from Toronto and dipped after their set, sober and in a Lyft Line and that’s 100% okay too! Our community is complex and unique in that you can have whatever kind of night you wanted even if you never made it to the dancefloor. Shoutout to the wallflowers!
How does the pleasure of dancing the night away make you feel closer to Papi Juice partygoers and fans?
There’s a real special moment when a DJ is killing it on the decks and the entire crowd is screaming and dancing and giving it right back to them; it’s this pure exchange of energy that feels like magic. It’s at once intimate, between you and the DJ, and also a collective moment when you realize the two dozen people around you are riding the same beat, and zoom out just a bit and you see the bartenders feeling the groove, too! That’s an energy that fills the room and we all soak up every time we transform a space.
Anything exciting coming up for you guys this year?
So much! We have our next event coming up on April 26th, and it’s gonna be a very special collaboration with one of our favorite crews. And then our big 6 Year Anniversary party planned on Friday June 28th, the weekend of World Pride! Both events will be at Elsewhere in Brooklyn and we can’t wait to show our folks what we have in store for them.
If you liked this story, check out more from our Urban Transplants issue.
