If you are looking for a place to let loose, be yourself and hear great music, with the added bonus of free admission, La Cocina’s Coming Out: A Queer Dance Party this Friday is it.

Born and raised in Tucson, Jaime J. said, “My heart and soul has always been attached to the queer community in Tucson.” So when a friend who worked at La Cocina approached him in 2011 about having his own show at the venue, it seemed more than fitting.

Jaime J. said his first memory of relating to music was listening to K.T. Oslin’s 80’s Ladies.

“I matched pitch … and I remember being amazed that my voice could do that,” he said.

But performing was difficult as he often struggled with extreme stage fright. However, entering his 20’s he said he wanted to care less about how people perceived him and just perform. For Jaime J., being on stage now is about “living in that moment, moving past all the expectations and putting on some tiny shorts. It is about making a connection with the audience.”

J originally declined to play, but once his friend, Robert Lopez, also known as DJ Raw-B, agreed to help, J finally accepted La Cocina’s offer.

“I knew when we first started that Raw-B would be in charge of the music and I would be in charge of performing,” J said.

Together they were able to conceptualize a party for people of all ages, races and sexualities to come, dance and hear great pop, J said.

Coming Out: A Queer Dance Party has been at La Cocina on the last Friday of every month since March 2011.

“Expect a lot of great pop music … I have no guilty pleasures I’m proud of everything I love,” J said.

Featuring artists like Big Freedia and the signature closing song Robyn’s “Dancing on my Own,” with raffles benefiting Fluxx Productions and Tucson Latin Pride, La Cocina’s Coming Out: A Queer Dance Party promises nothing short of a wildly fun time. But more than that, Jaime J. said, “I want people to walk into the coming out party and know they will be accepted.”