Born in 1944, El Daña holds the Guinness World Record for the oldest performing drag king in the world. “I bring fantasy to the stage,” he says. “When I perform a Tom Jones or Julio Iglesias number … I inhabit their essence through a devoted study of performance and theater.”
El Daña has performed drag for 60 years and sees his work “as a bridge across different eras.” When he started in the 1960s, “it was not called drag but pantomime. And I was known not as a drag king but as a male impersonator.” In subsequent years, El Daña applied “regality and glamour” to his performances. The drag legend now feels pride and joy in “seeing so many talented drag kings” and hopes that “they will have the opportunities I was denied.”
The LGBTQ+ community needs “love, kindness, and respect now more than ever, not only from the outside world but also within” the community, El Daña says. “Our greatest asset has always been our ability to care for and protect one another against all odds.”
Keep an eye out for El Daña, who’s starring in two upcoming documentaries and looks forward to booking more performances. @elsiesaldana0
