In this series, How I Move, we explore sports in leagues of their own and hobbies that do more than keep us moving — ones that foster joy and community as much as a little competition. Previously, we spoke to actor Celine Dam about the climbing sport bouldering. Here,
Macarena Carrascosa sails across Hobson Wharf on a warm autumn afternoon, soaking in a symphony.
In the absorbing blue, Macarena’s fluid roller skating is scored by seagulls squawking, the friction of her wheels and the portable speaker buzz of Boogie Wonderland.
The music plays choreographer, as Macarena slides, dips and dances with strength and control. She shouts out the name of each move — there’s the kick (out to the side), the compass (an orbiting spin) and shoot the duck (crouching with one leg pointed forward). It’s impossible not to mimic her disco disposition, as she grooves around the sunny wharf.
“It looks easy!” I shout.
But then, Macarena has been on wheels for almost as long as she’s been walking.
“I started skating in Argentina because it was the only sport I was allowed to do as a 4-year-old. I was a go-go-go kind of a kid.”
When Macarena was 8, her family immigrated to Aotearoa. She tried other sports, including hockey, volleyball, football, swimming lessons and rhythmic gymnastics. Nothing stuck like roller skating.
Staunch in her love for the sport, Macarena’s parents found a club in Mount Wellington and began travelling over the bridge from the North Shore three times a week (“my poor parents,” commiserates the skater). By 2011, at 16, the commute was entirely justified — Macarena was competing in artistic roller skating at the World Championships.
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Advertise with NZME.Artistic roller skating is a competitive performance sport in which professional judges award scores based on technical skill, artistic interpretation and overall performance. There are a few varied disciplines, including figures, dance and free skating.
It’s comparable to ice skating but definitely distinct (the blade of an ice skate demands a different centre of gravity and presents a different level of friction to roller skate wheels).
Macarena theorises a cosmic influence in her athletic preference.
“I’m an Aries and Leo, so very fiery and very performance-based. No other sport really has the spotlight on you like skating.”
She notes she’s also drawn to the promise of glory.
“Like, team sports are not for me. With skating, if I stuff up, it’s on me. But if I win, that is also on me.”
There’s a mindfulness evoked by the unique demands of the sport, as the precarious setting requires a keen focus as the risk of bailing through inattentive movement on skates is high.
“It’s quite meditative because you’re going to fall over if you stop concentrating. You’re constantly focused on one thing. It really keeps your body engaged, but the important part is that your brain is engaged in the activity you’re doing.”
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Advertise with NZME.In 2019, Macarena concluded her competitive career in roller skating. She shifted her focus to co-founding the North Shore Artistic Roller Skating Club (shortening the commute for the new generation of young skaters). The skater also focused on coaching through Hey Macarena, her namesake organisation that had been growing since 2016.
Then, as the Covid pandemic hit in 2020, curiosity about recreational roller skating began to grow (perhaps due to its nostalgic associations and capacity for solo exercise). Vogue reported a worldwide skate shortage and Business Insider pointed to a struggle to meet demand. Macarena, who was also rediscovering a love for the sport after her many years in competition mode, says it’s easy to see why popularity boomed.
“When you get a move and you do it over and over, you get into that flow state where everything just comes together and the adrenaline is pumping.”
Responding to the growing affection, Macarena cheekily convinced a generous friend with “money in the bank” to purchase a container of rental skates. Fifty fresh pairs arrived in New Zealand and they held a roller disco to mark the occasion in the summer of 2021.
“The roller disco was supposed to be a one-off celebration for everyone to come and try the new skates. But everyone loved it so much, so we had to do it again.”
It led her into a new era. Now, Hey Macarena is largely dedicated to hosting recreational skating. She’s established classes open to young skaters and adults just beginning but has also turned to party planning, holding roller disco events that bring skaters together for a dance.
For Macarena, these disco-themed events are an opportunity to spotlight an oft-overlooked but crucial historical heritage.
The birthplace of roller disco is most often attributed to the famous Empire Rollerdrome in Brooklyn, New York City. Bill Butler, named the Godfather of roller disco by The New York Times, spearheaded the genre-specific skating style.
In the late 1950s, Bill Butler urged the Empire to stray from their reliance on second-hand church and theatre instruments or tunes with steady tempo. Instead, he encouraged the spinning of records with disco-preceding rhythms (Night Train by Jimmy Forrest and Count Basie was his first win with the DJ).
Another offshoot of roller skating, roller derby, also has had ties to various feminist and queer communities since the 1930s (queer artists have also been pioneering within disco).
As the popularity of skating has seen a resurgence, there’s been a push to catalogue the cultural histories of skating. Macarena is among the advocates.
At these recreational skating nights (sometimes titled with Studio 54), Macarena blasts tunes from Black and queer artists who have been impactful in shaping the sport and scene. She also focuses on fostering and creating space for new connections within Auckland’s scene (Pride Nights have been a huge part of her programming).
“It’s really big with the queer community. I did a Pride roller disco — I’m also queer. When you’ve got a bi woman leading the classes you’re also attracting same-same.”
She says there’s a sense of freedom at the roller discos and that skaters occasionally pick up a groove and move together. It’s inclusionary in its DNA.
“If you’re doing it for fun, you don’t need to be anything. All you need to take part in roller skating is to strap on a pair of skates. That’s the only requirement. That really attracts people from all walks of life.”
Madeleine Crutchley is a multimedia journalist for Viva and premium lifestyle and entertainment at the New Zealand Herald. She covers stories relating to fashion, culture and food and drink, from her hometown of Auckland.
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