“I Am a Meme”: Interview with Gad Yola, Drag Artist

Founder of the collectives Casa Drag Latina and House of Gad, Gad Yola is an Afro-Peruvian multidisciplinary artivist based in the city of Madrid. As part of a trans-Atlantic Latinx queer media history, Gad Yola’s career allows us to inquire about what can be described as transvestite, antiracist, and transfeminist drag “positioning” against injustices happening on both sides of the Atlantic. Be this their rejection of state violence in Peru, their support for the massive regularization of migrants in Spain, their critique of the racist gaze, or their celebration of brown bodies, Gad Yola’s interventions significantly contribute to the cultural articulation of antiracism in Spain. The following interview will consider the digital and feminist interrelation by focusing on Gad Yola’s identification with antiracism, transfeminism, and their references, as well as on the use of social networks as identity and community resources.