Miami Beach, FL – January 16, 2014 – You may not know her personally or be able to recognize her face, but if you’ve set foot in any South Beach club, you know Martika Guerrero. This talented chameleon is the impressive performer dancing on stage in elaborate costumes at clubs like LIV and STORY. From one night to the next, she transforms from a neon butterfly ballerina to an icy cool Nitrogirl. Not only is it impressive that she wears all these different masks in a given week, but also the fact that she’s an entirely self-taught performer who creates the concept and costume from scratch for each act.

Martika’s story is one that embodies the American dream. She came to this country from her homeland of Ecuador- fleeing for the freedom to be an independent woman and refusing to ascribe to traditional female roles. Choosing to leave behind her home, car, family, and native tongue, Martika came to the States on her own hardly knowing English and without having much money in her pocket. She took the first job she could get, which was babysitting at $60 a week. Because she chose to leave, her father refused to help support her decision financially. But with some saving, Martika was able to take lessons and learn English slowly. She moved to Miami in 1998 and got her first job at Mango’s as a bartender. With a natural talent and ability to move, she quickly became one of the dancers on the bar, and once she learned that nightclubs hired girls to do this, she seized the opportunity.

Taking a dramatic decrease in pay going from bartending to gogo dancing, Martika didn’t care because she was doing what she loved and could not be happier. It wasn’t ever about the money for her- it’s about doing what she loves and turning that into her profession. She quit all of her bartending and personal training pursuits to dedicate her life to being a dancer. From there she took things to the next level when one day, while she was dancing, she saw a guy climbing a piece of suspended fabric and fell in love with the wonder of it. Turns out, he was a former Cirque du Soleil performer, and Martika begged him to teach her the ways of aerial silks. Finally he agreed and gave her a month’s training before he left town. After which time, she bought CDs of Cirque du Soleil shows to continue learning and practicing on her own. There were no schools for aerial performers, so she built her own routine little by little, teaching herself with internet videos. And this is why Martika is a singular act who takes the utmost pride in what she does. Her passion, strong work ethic, and ability to reinvent herself constantly have all contributed to her 15 years of success as one of the most entertaining, unique performers in the scene.

Did you really teach yourself everything? Fire, swords, trapeze? How?

Martika Guerrero: I got on the Internet, Googled a couple companies who do fire, and I started practicing without fire in my apartment with YouTube videos. Then I would go in the parking lot of my condominium around 12:30 or 1 in the morning when everyone was sleeping and practice with fire. I had a fire extinguisher with me each time. I burnt myself a lot- my eyelashes, hair, everything. Now the obsession I have is to just keep creating. I’ll be up until 4:30 in the morning creating my costume, and I cant wait to wake up to finish it.

I had a fire extinguisher with me each time. I burnt myself a lot- my eyelashes, hair, everything.

Martika Guerrero

 

You give each of your acts and costumes a name- where do you get the inspiration for them? 

I go to the clubs to be inspired by the girls- to see what looks good, what looks bad, what the crowd reacts to. That’s how I learn. I don’t have a teacher. I just watch other people. I admire them, it’s not jealousy, because they have something different than I do. I look for ideas and characters, and what people don’t realize is that sometimes it takes me three months to come up with a perfect costume. I buy something, it doesn’t look right, add makeup, and it takes me awhile for it to look perfect. I’m a professional. The details of the makeup, the details of the costume have to be perfect. What upsets me sometimes is that it takes me three months to make a costume, and somebody out there sees it and copies my stuff, after I’ve worked so hard for three months to create it. I have to stay on my toes and always do something different, so by the time they catch up with me, I’m already on to the next.

The details of the makeup, the details of the costume have to be perfect.

Martika Guerrero 

 

 

Mariposa

Do you take on a different persona for each performance?

Absolutely. Every single costume has a different personality, and it’s never the same makeup. The Butterfly has the neon-colored eyelashes and she’s very soft and ballerina-like because I do it with pointe shoes. Nitrogirl is very hardcore, kind of mean, and getting ready to throw ice at you. Sparta’s a fighter- she’s always fighting and moving, and she has a mask because she doesn’t want to be recognized. That’s the whole point- I don’t want to be recognized. It’s not easy to be in this industry for 10 years and still work because I’ve been turned down from so many places that say I’m old and they’ve seen me before. So I have to keep coming up with different looks. They know it’s me, but at the same time they don’t. I like to surprise everyone. Now I’ve earned their respect.

 Martika Guerrero & Calvin Harris

Nitrogirl

Nitrogirl is very hardcore, kind of mean, and getting ready to throw ice at you.

Martika Guerrero

 

Sparta

Sparta’s a fighter- she’s always fighting and moving, and she has a mask because she doesn’t want to be recognized.

Martika Guerrero

 

Mirrorsa

There’s so much detail that goes into each costume- how long does it take you to complete them?

Two to three months to put it all together. Sometimes I switch things because I’ve found something better, so I go back and redo it to make it better. For Halloween last year, I did a Disney theme and my boss asked me to come up with something like Mickey Mouse. I decided I would do Tinkerbell, so in four days I came up with the whole costume for her. Poor Tinkerbell is sitting in my garage now. She was a one time use. Sometimes I use them a lot, and sometimes people don’t want it after the first time.

Martika Guerrero & Cazzette

You’re based in Miami, but where else do you travel to perform?

I used to go a lot to New York City to perform at Lavo. I’d also go to Nikki Beach in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico twice a year. I used to go to Europe more before, and now the economy isn’t so good there, so I stay in the States. A lot of times I don’t leave because I have more work here than outside of Miami. I have to be loyal to the people who pay my rent.

What’s been your biggest success as a performer?

I feel very blessed and very proud to work for one of the best clubs in the States- LIV. It is not an easy club to work in because everybody wants to be there and work there. So the fact that I am able to work there, makes me feel very blessed and happy. There are so many people knocking on their doors to work there and offering less money, but the fact they’ve been loyal to me has been amazing.

LED Angel

What’s the hardest part about your job?

If you leave, the next day you turn around, and someone takes your job. There’s a line of people dying to take my spot. You leave for too long, and someone is going to come in for less money. Clubs don’t really care about quality, just quantity. If you’re not on top of your game, you’re out. The club industry is tough.

Robotika

After 15 years, this is your last year- what will you do next?

I’ve been saying this for about five years that it’s my last year. It’s just really hard to leave something that you love so much. The thing is, every time I decide that’s it, I need to leave, I’m getting too old to stay in the clubs until 4am, it’s not the life for me, then somebody else calls me and offers me something I can’t refuse. Do I go back to a regular 9-to-5 job and make almost the same amount that I make in two nights dancing? It’s hard. When you love something so much, it’s no longer a job, and money comes in because you’re willing to do it and get paid for it. What I would love to do is work a little more with kids and teach them how to do hula and other things. It’s kind of crazy, believe it or not, but that’s what kids are looking for now. I would love to open a company that deals with birthday parties for kids.

There’s a line of people dying to take my spot.

Martika Guerrero