Carmelita Tropicana Reflects on Decades of Queer Performance

Carmelita Tropicana, the alter ego of Cuban-American performer Alina Troyano, has been a fixture of New York's downtown theater and performance art scene since the 1980s. Born from a radio pseudonym and a standup routine alongside Holly Hughes, the character emerged as an out lesbian "Latin spitfire" in the East Village. Troyano's work spans film and theater, tackling racism, homelessness, revolution, and identity. Her final show at Soho Rep's Tribeca space in 2024, "Give Me Carmelita Tropicana!," co-written with Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, explores selling the persona and features a Freaky Friday-style body swap. Troyano was a central figure at WOW Café Theater, a queer feminist collective. She recently received an Obie Award for Lifetime Achievement, celebrated by friends including Holly Hughes, Lois Weaver, and her sister Ela Troyano. Currently, she is working on a Soho Rep-commissioned podcast, "That's Not What Happened," leading to a theater work directed by Ela Troyano. In an interview with Hyperallergic for Pride Month, she discussed her fast-paced introduction to 1980s club culture, collaborators, and queer community.