This week on Locatora Radio, we’re joined by the fierce and fabulous, Salina Estitties, former contestant from RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15! Salina opens up about her journey to the Drag Race stage, her connection to her Latinidad, and how her primas and homegirls inspired her drag persona. Plus, we hear about her exciting new project, Homegirl Hotline, where she’s making space for community, empowerment and love.
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Welcome to Season nine, Love at First.
Listen, Olao la Loka Motes. Welcome to season nine of log A Tora Radio. I'm the Ossa and I'm Mala Loka Tora Radio is a podcast dedicated to archiving are present and shifting the culture forward. You're tuning in to Capitulo dos Cientos Ventno to twenty one.
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A lot of people in the US when you mentioned Elean Gonzales, they remember some of the case. They remember a specific picture that was so important in the case. But we haven't talked about him in a while. But this year, this November, we're turning twenty five years of that case and that case. In that moment, I know that we're.
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Today is so exciting because it is our second to last episode of season nine.
Unbelievable.
We have made it through another season, our ninth season of Look At Our Radio, and we're also approaching our eight year anniversary.
We have like a lot of milestones coming up, and the fact that we are like getting ready to close out yet another season of Look at thot Our Radio is really mind blowing to me. We just keep pumping out episodes.
I know, and they're still so much more and we'll be talking more about that in our final episode of the season. But today we have the honor of sitting down with Selena stittis. She's joining us in the studio today. And what's so special about today's guest is that we met Selena when we hosted the Purple Lily Awards. We were introduced to her by our friend and Pascuaso lok At our Radio, Curly Velasquez, and she was also receiving quite an award that evening. She was the honoree of the night, and we connected with her then we heard some of her story and just thought she would be a fantastic guest for Lokat to our Radio.
She's got a lot going on. In addition to being a past contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race, Selena also has a new podcast out that she she tells us all about it. It's a really fun, exciting show. She's also making her debut at the Pasadena Playhouse this fall. So we talked to Selena about all things, including the life cycle of a drag queen and what life is like after her time on Drag Race. All right, look on what is We're here in studio with that one the only Selena s Titties welcome to look at what our radio? Can you please say hello to our listeners?
Hey, baby.
A jump scare.
How are you guys?
Yes, since we just said, I'm so happy to be here, thanks for having me. You guys are like iconic and like the reason my whole drag persona exists is because of women like y'all, you know what I mean, my cousins, my theas, my sister, my mom. It's like, y'all literally are that to me. And I don't even really know y'all that well, you know, but I just it's there, you know, it's like this unspoken like my girls, you know what I mean. Like it's very that and like my drag is inspired one thousand percent by you guys, and Latino women is like my heart. So I appreciate you guys for everything you've built. The podcast has been going forever, y'all. So I'm very very honored to be here.
Thank you, thank you.
And I think that's a good jumping off point to tell our listeners how we met you. We hosted Latino Equality Alliances Quinsana the Purple Lily Awards, where Selena was awarded a pretty iconic award.
Yes, what was the award?
Selena?
You were the honoree of the night. The final presentation. You were like top billing and everybody was so excited to hear from you.
I didn't even know. Like my manner was like, hey them, le Leah wants to present you with an award, and I was like, oh cool, like sickning. And then I show up and I'm like, oh shoot, this is like a really big deal.
It's a full on galla gala.
I was like very honored and like, I'm more upset that I didn't know more about the organization beforehand, because like you know, I don't know if y'all understand this, but like being in Hollywood and trying to make it in this industry, it's very like for me personally that it was a big journey of like whitewashing a little bit and like you know, very much like disassociating from my latinist because I thought that's what was going to get me booked, right, And it wasn't until I started owning it that I started getting really booked and like you know, people started really respecting what I did and really seeing something in me. So I had a whole journey with that. So to be in that space and be awarded with this purple Lily award. It was like a full full circle moment that really just like I couldn't believe I was there, and like it was such an acknowledgment of everything I've worked towards the past twenty years being in Hollywood in LA that I was like this, like any Emmy award, any Grammy, any being on TV, Like that's great, but like to be recognized from you know, the people that raised me basically, like I said, again, it's like this familiarity is this family that just exists among us. To be acknowledged by that, by that community just really is like it feels my heart and it makes me feel so seen and so like acknowledged, and because in life I don't really do feel seen or acknowledged or accepted, especially from other Latinos most of the time. It's very interesting.
And you touched upon this in your acceptance speech.
Which I was just on a rampage. I don't know what happened. I was just like letting my heart see it was.
A beautiful rampa. I wasn't a rampage at all. It was a beautiful speech. It was a soliloquy if you will. It was great.
I know, right, I was very like Shakespeare.
You nailed it, and Curly brought you up and presented you with the award, and so you talked about the Latino women in your life who have inspired you and made you feel seen and safe growing up. And then you also talked about meeting Curly on set and like having this conversation about your Latino identity with Curly.
Yeah, Curly really like opened up the gates for me, you know. Like that was about I don't know what nine and a half years ago that I was booked to be on set for Vida on Stars, and it was like when I got to set, it was like Latin Latina woman, director, Latina writers, Latina producers, and like it was all a room full of Latinos. And I was like, up until that point, I had just been surrounding myself with white gaze, you know, So it was just a shift all of a sudden. I was like, wait, I know, no, this feels like family, this feels like home. And then I was Curly really like was talking about something they were talking about, like the conversation behind LATINX and lat like table X, like you know, or like like I don't know monson X, like like it's they're having that conversation. And I was like, oh my god, work like people are having these conversations. I don't even know right because I'm over here in West Hollywood trying to like buddy up with the muscle boy, you know what I mean. Like the priorities were just very off at that young age for me. So Curly really showed me like, girl, look you know, and I and I asked him, how do I become more proud and like really own you know, where I come from? Because I had a lot of internalized racism and shame behind it being in you know, just trying to navigate being a gay boy in white West Hollywood is where I was. So he really opened up the gates for me to really learn how to accept that and and pursue the like research, right, like asking my family, like where we come from? How did we get here? What's the tea? You know?
And is that where you started by just talking to your family?
My mom, well, my mom got cancer and that really started to like, you know, the hour glass started with his flipped So I was like, oh, shoot, like, how have I never asked my mom what Honduras was like? You know what? I mean, so that kind of started to open up the conversation and what.
Was that experience, Like hearing from your mom about what home country was like, you know what.
That's so interesting. It's like I'd be dressing up as a woman for my career, my job, right like. And it wasn't until I started asking my mom these questions and I'm learning, like how she came over here and like how much strength and resilience and like bravery that takes to come here and do that journey that she did at when she was seventeen years old. And I'm like, when I was seventeen years old, I was a hot mess, you know. So I'm like I look at that and I see strength and I see resilience, and I think, oh my god, like this is what I want to exude and embody. And It's like, wasn't until had those conversations that I kind of learned that that's what I could be doing with my art, you know, like I'm dressing up as this Latina woman, and how can I bring and honor my mom in my art? And that's kind of what that's kind of starts to transform my art form a little bit and give it more meaning and like power behind it instead of me just like look at my big chee cheese.
You know.
So it was a it was a very cool shift for me personally with my creativity, my art and just you know, I think pride with my mom, honoring her and her legacy and like, you know, at the end of the day, I'm her American dream, you know. So how do I take that dream and make it something beautiful instead of like a nightmare?
Don't go anywhere, look a Mortes, We'll be.
Right back, and we're back with more of our episode. I'm very curious about, like the life cycle of a drag queen. How did you start? What was your first step?
Oh my god, So I was out here. I graduated with a BFA Musical theater and then I did a professional dance program, and I was out here trying to be a male dancer. And in La it's like for male dancing. I was auditioning for like j Lo Tours and Lady God Got Tours and Selena Gomez and I would show up and the first thing they'd say, take off your shirt, and baby, I don't. I got a little band che cheese. Okay, So that's like my man boobs were not cutting it for j Lo or Lady Gaga, so I would always get cut and I'm like, before I even dance, you know, it's all like very physical based. And I just wasn't booking anything. So I was helping a friend who wanted to be a drag queen. I was making her mixes, I was teaching he choreography, I was teaching her dances, and then she was kept losing competitions. So I was like, girl, why are you losing? I'm creating good stuff for you. So I was She's like, why don't you do it? So I did it one time and I won, and I want some more. And I was able to dance and perform and I looked crazy, like I literally, oh my god, can I just show you. I have a photo that I just found of one of my first times in drag and I just looked like a monster, like such a creature. She's she's crazy. Look at this girl right here. Oh my god, let's see. I mean my face, my face looks kind of nice, but like she's just a hot, sweaty mask. I have another photo when I did my makeup for the first time, and it was just insane. But I looked crazy, but my talent would shine through regardless of that.
Okay, someone else in twenty sixteen.
This was twenty and twelve.
Okay, I had I'm asking because of the lip twenty thirteen.
Okay, yeah, oh the makeup vibes.
The pink lip like a nude.
There is one photo that I just need to show you because I am the have y'all ever seen like the horror movie The Thing? Do y'all see the substance?
No more?
Oh you all, don't say it was so good.
It's not scary you it's such a fun ride. Oh hell yeah, Okay, it is so good. Okay, hold on, I just I just feel like it's worth watching. Oh here she is. This is the first time I ever did my own makeup. I mean, just a hot mess.
You're the the eyebrows.
We all had those brows at one point, okay, Anastasia. No one taught us how to use it.
Oh my god. So you know. But even though I look crazy, like, my talents were showing through my dancing, my performance, my stage presence, and people were acknowledging it, tipping me, paying me. So then I just started doing it here and there, and then I would quit because it's so expensive with the makeup, the hair, the patting, the heels, the and like I was broke. I was like twenty three years old, twenty four. I was working at In and out Burger at the time, the one in Hollywood right here. I worked there for five years, and I was like working there, then leaving and going to do drag show and then going back in the morning, and just back and forth, back and forth. It was just too expensive. So I quit, and then it always found its way back into my life somehow, even when I would quit, like somehow someone asked me to do a fundraiser or something, and I'd be back in drag. So I think I started to find a little niche when I was like, Okay, well how do I make How do I do what I wanted to do originally, like be TV and film stuff, but with this drag thing. So I started making my own parody videos on YouTube and stuff. Because one of my favorite movies is a scary movie and I just started to recreate like scary movie scenes basically with Selena as like the idiot girl, like oh my god, like don't put your you know, knife inside me? Like, you know, just stupid things. And I had some videos go viral and people really catching on to it, and I started booking stuff, and then I booked Vida on Stars, and I would do some extra work in drag and then yeah, I would just audition for Drag Race cause I was like why not? And then eventually five I auditioned five times. Then I got on Drag Race, and uh, you know, in Pandemic, I decided to like, you know, we were all out of a job, so I stopped my little day jobs that I had and I just did drag full time from there on, and I was hustling in the clubs and creating my own shows. And then I got on Drag Race and here we are. Now, Wow, it's been a wild journey because you know, not everyone gets on drag Race. So like for me, I always thought like, well, what would I be doing if I was on Drag Race? So I would just do that, you know what I mean? And I think that goes for any artists anywhere, Like whatever it is you're trying to achieve, like what would you be doing after that? And just do that? Is how I like kind of navigated my career. And now everything I used to do before the show is what I'm doing now. So it's like that hustle on that drive to just keep pushing and creating is it's kind of what's keeping me going fantastic.
And what was that experience like being on drag Race? Because it was so significant, Your you as Selena in Drag Race was so significant, It was historic iconic in so many ways. And why do you think that representation of you or Latino Latina latine representation hit so hard on Drag Race?
You know what's wild? What I just realized was I was having a very self discovery experience that I decided to take onto TV and share with the world, which should have been and maybe not should have could have been a private experience for myself, right Like, like I'm talking about the exploration of my pride, of my Latinists. I decided to take that exploration onto Drag Race before really flushing it out for myself, you know what I mean. But I was willing to let that bear itself on national television. And you know, there's a lot of backlash and there's a lot of like haters whatever, But there's a lot of people who were very touched and very felt very represented by what I did, and all I all I aim to do was to represent Latinist as I experience it, as I know it. And that's not gonna be true for everyone. It's not gonna be true for how everyone experiences Latinist for themselves. But I was experience. I was showing it and showcasing it as I've experienced growing up. So there was a lot of people who are like, oh, you know, she's cosplaying, or she's not Mexican, or she's not Latino enough, or she's so white, or she's whitewashed, she's got a fake access all this stuff. But I'm like, okay, but this is my experience of my Latinist is real to me, so you can't tell me who I am. But what I was happening was I was discovering who I was in that moment, and I didn't realize that in the moment, I just I didn't think there was anything wrong. But when I look back, I'm like, oh, I was like really exploring my Latinists within that mom I decided to share that with the world, you know, which left me very vulnerable and very sensitive when it came to all that feedback, but it's like I'm an open book at the end of the day. You know, I've been through so much in my life that like I'm willing to take the hits if that's what it takes for me to just like try to own myself. And I don't think it's a bad thing for me to try to own myself. And if anything, there's people who did feel represented, and like, like I said, getting that award was like a beautiful acknowledgment of the work that I was aspiring to do. So it felt nice to be acknowledged and like trust that what I'm doing is working something somewhere for somebody, you know, and at the end of the day, I was working for myself.
We hope you're enjoying this interview. Stay tuned.
We're back, and we hope you enjoy the rest of the interview.
I love that reflection so much. I mean, now, looking back, would you do anything differently, like, given maybe what you put out there and then also the feedback you receive.
I think, just my if I could do anything differently, it would just be my reaction to the feedback, you know, Like I felt so like this was my art. What do you mean you don't understand? So I'm just something about my shit, and like we all are. I think my reaction to everything that had happened is probably what I would have adjusted. But at the end of the day, everything happens the way it's supposed to. That's how I feel, and I feel like I'm just happy I have the insight today that I have to like move forward with everything and to approach everything how I'm approaching it today. Does that makes sense? I might making sense?
Oh oh yeah, plenty of sense.
Crazy, not at all, because also like, okay, I appreciate y'all that y'all like are you even listening and understanding? Because you know, I don't know a lot of people were just like girls shut up, you know, like they don't want to hear it. They don't want to explore with me. They didn't want to like take the time to understand my perspective or might come from with it. They just wanted to be like, eh.
You know, well, it sounds like you were on your self discovery journey, and so let's go back to the beginning. Actually, like you expressed, maybe growing up when you had when you had your own gay or queer community. It was like a white community and then you found like your Latino queer community later.
Well, you know what it was. I grew up that the white gay stuff didn't happen until I was like nineteen twenty twenty one. Before that, I grew up with actually my gay uncles in the Castro, San Francisco, and we like my parents had me when they were eighteen twenty one, so they were always working. They both worked two jobs on first generation on my mom's side, so like they were just trying to survive life. And me and my brother my brothers are year younger than me. We grew up basically with our uncles who took care of us and they drive us down to La to Micocmpias in South central like every other weekend. We're always driving down go to the polgas by Conscio sox, you know what I mean. And then we drive back up and then go hang out with my parents on the weekend, they go back to work and we do it all over again. My uncles were gay, and we lived in the Castro in the nineties, which at the time was a very like hub for people to run away. Two during like right after the AIDS epidemic, like people would co like looking for their community, would be go to Castro s Francisco. So it was very gay. My uncles were very gay, always playing Donna Summers Alina, you know Madonna, and like, I grew up in a very like gay environment. I don't think that's why I'm gay, but it definitely helped, you know, I don't know, you know.
What I mean, It like fostered a safe environment for you to be yourself.
And then my parents also were already gonna be accepting because I always had in back my head like if you don't accept me, I'm gonna blame y' all because look at who I grew up with, you know. So I was like ready to fight them, but they didn't fight. They loved me at the end of the day. And like with that said, we'd always have, you know, our parties every weekend. It was always someone's birthday, someone's graduation of another baby's born, and like these Latino parties. But I was always so ashamed growing up because I would see what was on TV and that didn't replicate what my experience growing up. So I would always like be so anti my Latin experience growing up, you know what I mean, looking for like the way out because I'm like, Okay, y'all be proud of being broke, and you know what I mean, Like in my mind, that's how I saw it, because I would see what was winning out in the world and that wasn't me and my family, you know. So I would be so ashamed that I had all that internalized racism building up for me in the very early age. So when I moved out to we to like La, I was like, we're gonna break, We're gonna get out of this, you know. And I would only find out later that owning my experience in all of who I am, having pride in that would make me, you know, who I am today and like help me succeed, you know.
Yeah, I mean it sounds pretty like common right where if we're like growing up in poverty or maybe low income, and we see the way to get away from that is like to get as close to whiteness as possible. So it sounded like that was maybe your defense and the way you saw like out quote unquote.
And I still like I'm learning the verbiage of that, you know what I mean, And then like I it's it's wild to say out loud, you know, And I get what a lot of feedback I get from a lot of other people, and like my friends who are super proud to be Mexican or Latino are always like you know what I mean. But I'm like, this is just my experience. I didn't know any better, you know, So like it's I try not to be a shamed in my experience. It is what it is. It's brought me to this point. And like, at the end of the day, I'm like, I feel like we have like sometimes I approach this thing where like people are more proud than me and I'm less than because of it. Does that make sense?
It is?
And I'm like, wait, we have like a common goal. My goal is is I think the same as yours. So can we work together to like uplift each other instead of like trying to hierarchy ourselves.
Yeah. So sometimes I also feel like, you know, Latini that as we talk about it, it is a construct, a social construct, and so it also kind of depends on your personal amount of like buy in to the construct. I feel you I think about Latini that and you know, like some people have their home country's flag on everything. It's hanging in their car and it's on their phone case, and it's you know, it's like and we do that and we love doing that. But I think about it sometimes like having school spirit. Like we're all registered at the same school, in the same classes, We're walking the same halls.
You know, you go to every football game. I don't, you know, But.
It doesn't mean that I'm not a student, correct, I'm still I'm here with you.
That's such a beautiful analogy, you know what I mean.
And so I think that's that's part of it too. Other people are just way more intense and vocal about it. And I think sometimes like it's like a grass is greener on the other side thing, Right, So did you have an experience where like you went and you were like around like a suburban white family and you realize, like, oh, this actually isn't any better, Like my my folks are cooler and more fun and I have a more unique experience and I'm so grateful for where I come from. Did you have that like turning point mm hmm.
And that happened when I, like I was asking my mom like all those questions and stuff and becoming a little more like, ooh work. She we had to work to get here, you know what I mean? Or she had to, my family had to. I just was born. But like that made me realize, oh snap. And when I was out here, after I quit my day jobs and created, I was like, let me create a show for myself, like my own drag show. I was like, how can I do that? And how can I bring in my latinists and how can I like help use that to help me own it more a little? So I was like, let me create a party that was like the parties I grew up with. So I created a drag night called because my family loves Lothia, so we always play Lotia and bitch I love a so I can never find the man. So I was like, let me, let me create a night where like I have the club make a lot and we play Lotidia. And I created a night called Elia, and I changed the drawings on the boards to be more gay and drag queen, and like, so I was combining my Latin culture with my gay culture and my drag queenness, and like I created this night called Altria, and it's like a celebration night a yourtha's house. Basically is how I presented it, and it became the best actual Los Angeles in twenty twenty three. I per formed it in like that every week. That was what I did. I was like hustling, and then I got on the show and I just brought it back two weeks ago for the first time since I've been on the show, and I'm now making a documentary about it to like kind of because of all the backlash I got while I was on the show from you know, a lot of people. A lot of people just happened to me the other day. This girl was like, uh, You're not Mexican. And I was like no, but like I basically like grew up in and out of LA and like I've been here forever and my my theas all live in South Central so i'd always be down here. And she's like, oh, well okay, and I was like, well, yeah, what are you Then just what she said, I said, Well, my family's from Hndreas, Panama, Icaragua, and she's like, oh, so you're not Mexican. It was like this was this whole thing and it was very interesting and so I was like Okay. Because of this conversation alone, I was like, let me make a documentary about like, you know how even though we're all different, like we share similar you know, we're all the same. We're not We're not the same, but we're different with the same, you know what I mean. So I was like, I'm working on documentary because I want to take my show and take it on tour and bring other drag race girls who are Latino and into the show. And like, you know, the biggest stars that we love from drag Race, Bianca She's from Hoduras, Valentine's Mexican, Candy Muses, Dominican Zunami's Panamanian Morphine, loved dion Is, Nikolai Wentz. So like I can bring them all into my show and then when I do a documentary where they share their experience and like, you know, we're not all Mexican or you know, and there's nothing wrong with that. We're not just Puerto Rican.
You know.
It's like we're a whole melting pot of different we come from everywhere, but we're all still share similar you know, at the end of the day that that heart, you know. So I kind of working on a documentary right now to like make that happen. And that all came from my little show he and my little shit show downtown by skid Row, Like is now going to flourish and blossom into the beautiful thing that you know I struggled with so much. When I got all that feedback and stuff, I was like, well, let me put it back into my art and let me see how it can like help and like create something for people that's a learning experience, but also not like this bad like like y'all are wrong type thing. It's more of like, let's celebrate ourselves in a way. You know.
It sounds like you took the feedback and actually did something constructive with it, like you applied it.
That's my goal, right because I could sit here and complain and be like oh more for me, you know, but like, don't get me.
Nowhere and question going back to the girl that mentioned or questioned if you were Mexican or not? Was this because of the lot? Like was she taking issue with that or like what was where was that coming from?
I think for her or personally, because you know, the drag race girls are struggling right now because there's a lot of drag queens, there's a lot of drag race there's queens everywhere. The market's very saturated. So like, I just released a new podcast coming out, and I just think personally, she's like, oh, she sees me winning, and she's she called my drag cosplay. She's like, you're cosplaying. I was like, okay, do you know what you're saying when you say that? And then when she's like, oh, you're not even Mexican, I'm like, you're not Latina at all. So it was a little in the moment, I was like, this is a learning experience. Let me teach her. But at the same time, I was like, bitch, calm down.
Wait, no, you don't have to say the name. But wait, this was non Latina. Was this a white person?
No, she was black, but which even more so, I was like girl interest. It was very interesting, but I was like, in my face, I'm used to that online in comments and stuff. But I was like, and I thought she was my sister, you know what I mean. So I was like, it was giving a little bit of like jealousy because she sees me out here hustling and making shit happen. Sure, Loki, that's then underlying thing. So I think she was wanted to knock me down a couple of pegs. But I was like, girl, this is exactly why I want to work on this documentary, you know.
Yeah, so the documentary, the podcast, you have projects.
You have to the word I have to. You have to stay relevant with these kids and the content of the fifteen second tiktoks. You got to make sure that, oh god, it's a lot.
It's expensive.
Yes, it's expensive, totally.
And at the Purpo Lily Awards, when we were chatting with you, Curly introduced us and you started talking about your show, The.
Homegirl hot Line.
Tell Home Girl hot Line, tell us all about it. What did the idea come from? How are you making how are you putting it together?
Were first talking about that. Yeah, yes, well basically, so I'm sober. I was a hot mess when I was nineteen twenty twenty one. I was out here running the streets, you know, because of my insecurities, because of I didn't know how to fit in with these people trying to I was really doing drugs and drinking and running the streets out here. And I got sober and I was twenty one years old, and so I'll have thirteen years next month and November twentieth, that's my sobriety day. And you know, I got sober through the Rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous and there, you know, it's a lot of what we do there is just we share our story and you try to relate and then you share your experience and there's a lot of like just talking and relating, right. So in that I have a beautiful community in LA especially in the queer community. There's a lot of there's a big sober queer community and they've shown me how to be a man and grow up and they're the ones who taught me drag and be of service and you know, and how to be an adult. And I was just thinking, like how can I bring that energy into a podcast space for myself because there's a lot of drag queens of that podcasts, but they're all about drag race, so they're all about being you know, shady, or they're all about just like opinion based about what's happening in pop culture. And I'm like, what can I do to create some healing within our community and then even more so with you know, my POC community, because that's who's watching, right, that's who's paying attention to me. So let's create a dream of consciousness and like, you know, mindfulness within our community. It doesn't have to be all like g girl, grawl girl. You know that's in there, in there, because that's entertaining. But I really want to like create something a little more deep rooted that can help the kid who's listening in Oklahoma who just happened to come across my little podcast because he likes drag Queens.
You know.
I'm like, oh, well, maybe this can help them, you know, be a little more mindful and conscious about what's going on with their own thinking and their own selves. Because I feel like I love like reading a book, like a self help book and like universe God stuff, Like I love that stuff. So I'm like, how can I bring that into a space for podcasts within the Drag Queen Realm platform that I have.
I love it. You described the show also as sort of like an audio drama or like a radio.
Play a little bit. Yeah. Yeah, so it's like.
Tell us, tell us.
Well, it's just like, how can I create this world? I love world building, right, Like I'm a theater girl. At the end of the day. I love writing scripts. I love creating experiences. So in this experience of this podcast. Selena works at this radio station and she is getting calls in like remember I don't know if y'all do y'all know ninety four point nine it was a area radio station, Wild ninety four point nine. It's the same as like what they have out here. It's the one O three two point seven Kiss FM. Yes, you know, like when you're listening in the morning or just even like the breakfast club, like like people call in and like Ryan seacrests on the radio. Like I remember going up listening to that, and it's like I was like, what if it's a radio station and people are calling in and with their problems and Selena's just like talking back to them. But what I've created in this world is Selena has this THEATA and she's the producer of the podcast. And so she's on the other side of the wall and she it's me an old lady Drag and she is my grandma and my thea and she's just like, ah, get pass up with that, like you know, she's so like my Drag is truly inspired by like actors like Robin Williams and Eddie Murphy and John Leguizamo. Remember like Missus Doubt Fire and Resbutia, and like those movies from the early nineties where these comedians where drag were in drag playing these characters and these iconic movies. That's very much what it inspires me. And then like the humor comes from like Scary Movie and Hot Chick and like those movies White Chicks, like very crass. That's like where I get my humor from. That's what inspired my drag right initially, and then I found really like who Selena is by looking at my family and my mom and my sister's mythas and so with all that combined, I was like, how can I bring that comedy into this, Like she's like the comedic relief is miscone cheat that and this? And then what I'm building now too is like I created a theme song for the podcast and it starts out with like this trio because I'm like, have y'all ever heard, like y'all know the Supremes, right, yes, of course? Like is there Latina Supremes.
In Spanish?
Well, like in American pop culture, you know what I mean? That doesn't really exist, not well, you know what I feel like existed.
There was there were girl groups in the sixties and seventies that maybe we just are not familiar.
With correct right, And I'm like, where are they?
Yes?
Because I love so when you think of like oldies writ like low writer oldies, it's like it's like angel baby, right, And I'm like, Latinos love these oldies. My dad listens to old these while theys like working on the sync, you know what I mean. So I'm like, why are we so attracted to oldies? And you know these doop groups and these crooner songs, like why is that the vibe? Right? You know? My parents love song is like always in Forever by heat Wave, And I'm like, what if there was a Latina version of like a Supremes. So in my I'm working on a movie, musical, like writing a script and so so many products I'm just like always working on. So I'm like, what if there's these three girls and you know, my grandma passed away recently and Maria Kathman and her sisters all came here from Nicaragua and their grandma or their mom used to make all their clothes. And my dad just sent me some photos of them and they are jo lads but like pristine and these beautiful outfits walking down the street with the cars behind them, and I'm like, these girls are sickening in badass, like my my grandma was a you don't mess with hers what it looked like, right, but cunty and just beautiful. And I'm like, that's Selena is titties. Like that's literally me. So I was like, what if Gonchita in my podcast world was a part of this girl group that existed, and that used to be the recording studio they used to record in back in the day, and now she works there and Selena, their granddaughter, is doing a podcast. So I'm building this entire world, and I'm building this musical about these three girls from the sixties and I'm calling them. I'm Selena s Titties, so I'm gonna call them lost chee.
Cheese, Selena s chee chee cheez.
I love I love this world. I'm building a world so we'll see what happens.
You know, that is so fun.
I love this. Okay. So that's what I love, love love about podcasting and audio. It's that you can really do what you want. You can create your own everything, right, Okay, So the podcast Homegrow Hotline you're are people calling in and so are these real stories or are these scripted stories?
No, they're real. So the stories are real.
So the stories are real, but the characters the world that we're listening to that is like fiction.
Yeah, like scripted, right, But we're both reacting to the real life stories coming in. So it's like a combination.
Characters are reacting to the real story, the real world.
Yeah, and like my goal, my goal I think is like season one is just building the world. Season two we have guests come in and interact with the voicemails that come into the hotline and then like eventually live shows and then who knows what happens from there, right, So I'm really just trying to set the world right now and see where that goes.
I love that so much.
It's so creative, it's such a good idea. Think it sounds, it's so fun. And is this something that you're putting on video or it's all audio.
It's going to be all all audio podcast platforms. But then on YouTube, there's a video on YouTube on my YouTube channel.
Yeah, my god, how fun?
Thank you.
I'm so excited and so okay, so that's the podcast. You also have this documentary that you're working on, So is that a self produced project?
Me?
All of this is out of my pocket.
Yes, we get it, We get it completely.
Yes, man, it's crazy. Uh yeah, it's all me and I mean, I guess the sponsorships are cute, but that's what we work towards, right, like totally. So we're building that and getting that together, which was cool. Like before my podcast has even come out, I've already got like several sponsorships, so that's nice, So congradulation. I'm learning how this all works and we're getting there and then yeah, but it's hard, you know, I'm trying to self fund all this stuff, especially right now there's not a lot of work, especially in TV and film. It's so rough out here. So I'm trying to make it happen.
And do people assume that, oh, you were on drag Race, so you've got it made your fine?
Girl. The money's playing me like they're like, try to charge me so much because they're like, oh, she's on drag ra she has money, so that we can charge her this much. And I'm like, Diva, can.
You, yeah, can you kind of demystify that for us? So someone is on drag race, and then what happens.
So mind you, they have to pay a lot of money for us to even get like to present something on the show. Because what we present on the show for drag race walking down the runway, we don't most of us, we should be wearing that in real life, but we want to really stunt and like show our best on the show, So we hash out a lot of money to just get prepared for the show. So there's that. So we leave the show with debt, you know, already from everything we made, so we're trying to pay back all that stuff. It costs thousands of dollars, which you know, I'm asking for friends, I'm saving up money, and it's like we're still trying to pay it off. And then you hustle, you hustle, hustle. You make your money. Within that first year you're very hot, and then the next season comes out and you're not so hot anymore because it's the new girls are here, and then they're booking all everything. So how do you stay relevant? How do you keep the fans like paying attention in and like wanting to invest in support your art. And it's it's a struggle. It's hard. But I'm a hustler. So I'm out here hustling these streets making it happen. And I don't know about a lot of other girls, but I know it's not it's not easy, but a lot of girls aren't doing or have the creativity to create a lot of like what my ambitions have, you know? So there are girls who are And I look at girls like you know, Bob the Drag Queen want to Exchange and Trixie Mattel, they're very successful, Bianca del Rio. So it's like they're all you know. I actually signed with management that there are a lot of them are signed to because I'm like, I want to be like those girls, So how did they get there? Right? So I'm forging my little path and making that happen. And I ended up signing with that management, and so it's been it's been a journey and it's not it's not easy, but it's part of the game, right. It's the hustle out here, and people think it's Hollywood and make it. No girl, it cost a lot of money. You got a hustle. You gotta shake babies and kiss his hands.
Shake babies his hands, and shake babies shake hands and kiss babies, you know, shake the baby, don't shake the baby.
For the record, I look at the don't shake the baby.
Oh my god, Selena words of wisdom for aspiring drag queens out there.
Oh, don't do it.
No.
I think it's like knowing who you are, right like discovering who I am and like getting more proud with that is allowing it to bleed into my art, And I think that's something to people forget too, is like it's an art form at the end of the day, just how a screenwriter writes their scripts and puts themselves into it, how a musician writes their music and puts themselves and their feelings into their music. My drag is a vessel for for who I am and what I'm going through, you know, And drag race was an experience. My experience at the time was learning how to be more proud, to take pride in my latinus, and I threw that into my drag. And right now, you know, I'm honoring my grandma and my mom because my mom and my grandma both passed away last year. So that's really like bleeding into my art right now. Like with those chee cheese my grandma. You know what I mean. Having uh, you know, my podcast. I'm trying to take from my experience with my sober experience, and I put that into my podcast. How can I be of service to someone else? And like, I'm taking all of who I am into my art. So I think if you want to any art form you want to do is just knowing who you are will dictate who what your art looks like, you know. But if you don't know who you are, what's your art? What's your art doing? You feel me? Absolutely?
Yeah, I love that. So kind of just to wrap up this conversation and bring it back to the top of the conversation and the Purple Lily Awards, you talked about how the theas and the primas in your life created that space for you to be safe and to be yourself. So can you talk more about that and how that inspired Selena? I did.
Yeah. Well, you know, like for me, my cousins scare me, my male cousins, like my male cousins try to kill me once, Like I remember my dad walked in and he was like hanging me by a belt, you know, and like cause I was playing with rugrats and me and my cousin call my cousin Chris Angelica, and he like flipped on us, and so I don't know, you know, the straight boys they are a little Machi's more and crazy and wild, and especially where we grew up, like it was just wild. So I never felt safe with the straight boys. And my family, you know what I mean. And my cousin, my female cousins always, you know, we're dancing to spice girls over here, we're over here singing songs and playing with coloring books and stuff. So they always created that safe space for me to just be myself and explore my creativity too, and like we were creative together. So and my you know, my mom my, theias were always like, oh, do a little dance for us, or like, you knowing, sing the song with her, and like they just fostered that safe space for me to be creative and myself. And I didn't realize that in the moment, but I look back and I'm like, oh, yeah, that's what they were doing when I couldn't be that way when I was playing football because my dad wanted to be playing football with the boys, you know, So yeah that really I look back and I think, oh yeah, these women really are the reason I am who I am. And I was so like anti that for a long time too, Like I didn't want to look at that. I don't want to let that be my narrative because I'm like a'm bro mask, especially in the gay world, trying to appeal to men and be like I'm sexy, right, you like this, you like this. I'm gonna hide my femininity, you know, because they don't like feminine guys, so I have to be like super muchI small and like I'm shoving down all that stuff that they created for me to be myself. I'm shoving that away. So that was all part of my drinking and my using, right because I felt so uncomfortable with myself because I didn't know myself. I was trying, I was not being myself right. So this discovery of getting sober, learning who I am and owning myself and being a little you know, like that all makes me who I am. And I you know, look where I'm at today.
It works amazing.
But I also have a pressent free gries, you have shorter hair, so like a part of how I make money and like you know, hustle is like I have merchandise and I have an EP that came out in January, my first little music project. Then I called it Homegirl because my whole, like my mission with Selena A. S. Titties is that she's your homegirl, right like in high school, She's the girl that that was like, hey, you got a pencil, and like she wasn't prepared, but she did protect you with the football players walking by the hallway, right like, don't mess with him. You know that's it's my boy, like those girls in high school, my cousins is who that is. That's why I wanted Selena to be for anyone who feels like they you know, like a little like don't have a voice. That's very much me can't stand up for themselves. Selena's stand up for you, and she represents that. Cause Selena is what I Jason out of Drag is very insecure. I'm very quiet, I'm very honed in. I'm very observant because I'm like observing my surroundings, learning how to navigate through. Right, let me suppress this so I can be this for you here, so I can gain this and that that Jason's very that Selena's like excuse me, I'm here, you know, which is like what I crave to be out of drag and She's given me the confidence to be that. So Selena is that girl for me. She's your homegirl. So I named my EP Homegirl, and my EP my music project that I did in January was a homage to like being at home girl, you know what I mean, like my mom my home Selena Stitties.
Where can our listeners follow and support? Where can they catch a show? Where can they and catch your new projects? How can they follow you?
When is this coming out?
This is coming out next Wednesday.
Oh fantastic. So right now you can catch me. I'm at Pasadena Playhouse. I'm doing Lakaja Fall. It's an equity theater. It's like they won the Tony Award for the Best Regional Theater in America. I'm doing a really big, high scale production Lakajha Fall, taking Selena Stities on stage, musical theater, going back to my roots, you know, with my BFA musical theater. So I'm performing at Lakasha Fall the Pasadena Playhouse November fifteenth to December twelfth. You can find me there right now, and you can see me every Wednesday on my podcast, the Homegirl Hotline on my YouTube panel, and my Instagram is at s Titties and you can buy my merch at stities dot com. Slash screaming we.
Have to have to go. We love you've been, Yes, and for those listening, that's the bird Cage, but it's the original stage play correct.
Yes, and it's very French and like, oh we we.
Exactly.
How exciting.
Congratulations, really fustling, you are doing the things things.
And a true thespian, honestly lesbian thespian.
It's very exciting. The Playhouse, Darling, the Pasadena Playhouse. It's so it's so interesting, right because I'm like I'm in these clubs like like like oh my titties, my titties, my titties. And then I'm like in this professional ass like like I'm in theater. Now I got to be a little more professional. But it's like I'm having such a beautiful experience, like like my talents really gets to shine through in this realm, singing and dancing, acting, all the stuff, being professional on time, knowing where i have to go. I'm like really showing a lot of my professionalism here. And it's paying off, and it feels so good to be respected and acknowledged. Like I keep saying, we're in the clubs, you know, the drunk tweak in the corner doesn't care if I'm on time, you know, Like it feels so good that I'm getting like that, I'm at this level right now. It's cool. It's cool.
Congratulations. Oh we're so getting tickets.
I'm already the case is so cool.
Like y'all ever watch Matt TV. Yes, Michael McDonald, look what I can do. He's in it. Paul Volt, Nicole Parker, like these Mad TV comedians and I'm I'm getting to work with them side by side. It's an honor to watch them work. It's like so cool, It's really really cool.
How exciting. Well this has been I knew it would be. But a fabulous interview with selenas Titty.
Sorry is so deep and somber, okerfect.
That's what we do here.
We love range.
Thanks for letting me. Thank you for opening up your space to me, you know, my two powerful women right here, just creating the space for for your community and letting me be a part of it. And I appreciate it so much, and letting me share my experience with you and being open and you know, willing to listen to me.
I appreciate you, absolutely, thank you. Welcome back anytime down.
I'll bring Selena next time for sure, like five full drag. I don't know if it's I don't know if you're holding. I don't know if he's ready for it.
Our engineer, Yeah, he's finey stuff.
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