Some weeks ago Dominic Alvarado (23), better known as “Chapter 4”, was the winner of the contest Dancehall Queen DHQ Chile 2022, dance competition that started in 2007 and which developed its thirteenth version this year after two years of inactivity as a result of the restrictions of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Viñamarina and journalist by profession, the young woman expressed Reggae Chalice his love and passion for this culture that shapes practically his entire life.
“I live for dancehall, my life is dancehall, what I eat, how do I breathe, how do i dress, how do i express myself, How am I, how do i comb my hair, everything i do is dancehall, it's my religion”, ensures.
Since she was a child, she was close to the hip hop world due to the influence of her parents., but Dominique says that in 2016 -after attending a discoteque in Valparaíso- was amazed by dancehall and began to learn in a self-taught way, as well as took classes with Santitas Killah, pioneers of this dance in Chile.
In 2018 entered and won the contest Kings of the Dagga, and with it, in his words, began her career as a dancer, although there also began a greater search in dancehall in terms of studying and learning more about this cultural expression.
“Chapter 4” recounts that together with his partner at that time he studied and learned several things. “There I began to see the meaning and I began to see that in the end it wasn't just a dance either”.
“dancehall saved my life”
However, the separation with this couple caused health problems.
“(back then) I had a super tragic moment of my life and for me dancehall saved my life. I fell to the hospital I was super ill, but never stop dancing”.
“I have a group called peach training and now we are the 'Peachy Gyals', It consolidated. And at that time I knew I had to get up because I had to go dancing I knew I had to get up because there were people who were going to need me”, adds.
dominique represses: “That's why I love him so much, love and respect for culture and everything because it saved my life, so it's the least I can do to give back to dancehall all the beauty it has given me”.
DHQ 2022
Thus we arrive at 2022 and his victory in the DHQ, of which she said she felt very proud and hopes to be a contribution to expand this culture in the country.
“It is a super comforting and deserving feeling (the triumph). Many times I was rejected, judged many times, so having demonstrated all this with my work makes me feel great. i feel bakan, why this is just the fruit of my effort and I am glad of what I achieved and of having presented a show with quality and content”.
The presentation with which the DHQ won 2022
“I spend most of my life on this, so i think i deserve it because a dancehall queen has to be a person to move this forward. Many times the contest is won just for you to teach and finally what you have to do is make a contribution to the culture that is coming to the country.”, stressed.
“Life in the dancehall”, your documentary
And as Alvarado said earlier, who is also a journalist, his life revolves around culture, and in fact he recorded a documentary that was his work for the degree.
“I am also a journalist and I have always done all my university work and practice, everything has been dancehall. I have a documentary on my instagram that I made, what is my title thesis, who talks about dancehall, because I see the sense in it because I see that it helps them to save their lives like it helps me”, concludes.
DHQ Chile: the mission of uniting women has been achieved
At the same time, the organizer of DHQ Chile, Souling Labbe, highlighted the return of the event that was suspended for two years due to the pandemic, since he feared that the project would collapse.
“(we had) fear of losing this beautiful annual meeting after more than 10 years of work cleaning the public to provide a space where female dance is valued, to give a different concept to the word 'competence', I mean the unique and magical experience that only happens when women are together”, poses.
Likewise, It showed itself “very happy with the transformation and the concept of competition of DHQChile, the mission of uniting women who can respect each other has been achieved, love each other and accompany in the processes being loving for the achievements, either because of the crown or because of the very fact of being and living the experience, in the same way it is nutritious both for an internal transformation and for growth at the dance level”.
in their already 13 years of history, the Dancehall Queen Chile competition has crowned 13 women, only one has been crowned twice in a row, 3 have been from the Valparaíso Region and the other, of the Metropolitan Region. A novelty of the contest is the incorporation of the Princess category, that started in 2019 and that this year crowned for the second time.
