For Elsie Saldaña, better known by her stage name ‘El Dana’, performing for a crowd eases the heavy weight of the past 81 years. It’s the one place where she can release and transform all those emotions into an outstanding performance, where no one would question whether it’s part of her performance or real.
Saldaña has won the Harvey Milk award, an accolade that honors contributions made by individuals for equality in the LGBTQ+ community, and currently holds the Guinness World Record for Oldest, Living, and Performing Drag King in the country.
Born on October 15. 1944, to farm-working parents and the oldest of seven children, she began working from the early ages of five and six in the harvest, picking cotton, grapes, and anything else in season. She worked tirelessly in the fields of Fresno until the age of sixteen alongside her parents and other family members to help with the daily costs of life…