Yuriria Avila Guzman: Project Proposal

Ernesto Mendez is a 27-year-old American-Guatemalan who designs cheerleading costumes by day and performs as a drag queen at night in Guatemala City. Previously based in L.A, Carmen Monoxide, their drag name, went back to their hometown to create House of Monoxide, the first drag family in Guatemala, a country where LGBT community members are threatened by gangs and discriminated against by a society deeply influenced by catholicism and evangelism.

I want to follow Carmen Monoxide for a week, photograph their daily life as Ernesto and nightlife as Carmen. I want to photograph them as a drag mother, as a designer, and as a person. Drag performances are a popular source of entertainment amongst the LGBT+ community and have become popular in TV shows, such as the Multi-Emmy Winner show RuPaul’s Drag Race. However, drag queens from big cities who can afford expensive outfits are the ones who get the most attention. I want to tell the story of other entertainers outside the US and shed the light on characters whose stories have not been told. Characters such as Carmen whose gender identity intersects with religion, race, and the particular context they live in Central America and who despite/because of the circumstances they decided to build a drag scene.

I want to photograph them at Victoria Club Solemne, the queer club where they perform at, the apartment where they live with their roommate, at the House of Monoxide where they interact with their drag family, and at their workroom. I will be based in Guatemala City the first week of August 2021.

I plan to do a photo essay and pitch it to L.A Times or other local Californian publications.