Carmelita Tropicana: The Accidental Queen of Downtown Performance Art

Carmelita Tropicana was created almost by accident: a made-up name, blurted out at a radio broadcast in the 1980s. But Carmelita, and the woman behind the character, Alina Troyano, went on to become one of the pillars of downtown New York theatre. Alina talks about the ongoing evolution of her iconic camp character, spoofing both masculinity and femininity in her work, and her relationship with the queer theorist José Esteban Muñoz. LGBTQ&A⁠ is an independent, listener-supported podcast. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to check out our ⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠ and learn more about how to support our work. LGBTQ&A features interviews with the most interesting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people in the world. Hosted and produced by Jeffrey Masters. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@jeffmasters1⁠⁠⁠