El Daña

El Daña
Born
Elsie Saldaña

(1944-10-15) October 15, 1944 (age 81)
Riverside, California
Known forOldest drag king in the world

Elsie Saldaña, better known by her stage name El Daña (born October 15, 1944), is an American drag king and LGBTQ+ activist who holds the Guinness World Record for oldest drag king in the world. She has been an active drag king in the Central Valley since 1965, when she first got on stage, and gained national attention after being featured in StoryCorps. She gained further attention after being named the oldest active drag king in the world. She was named to the Out 100 in 2025. She works as a house cleaner to make ends meet.

Biography

Saldaña was born on October 15, 1944, into a family of farmworkers in Riverside who were part of the Bracero Program. She was the oldest of 7, and soon after her family moved to Fresno, when she was 5, began helping her family out by picking figs, cotton, and grapes. She knew she was attracted to girls from a young age, and began doing impersonations mimicking her brothers.[1]

In 1965,[2] she auditioned and stepped onto the stage of one of the few gay bars in the area, Red Robin, as a drag king,[3] or as she called it then a "male impersonator", without ever having seen a drag king.[4] Her first performance was La Bamba.[4] She hid her drag outfits from her mother in paper bags during her early performances, knowing she wouldn't approve.[5] Since her first year, she has prayed before every show she performs.[6]

She went on to spend the next four decades as an active drag king, performing on weekends while working in a factory on weekdays.[7] Her crooner specialty and Tom Jones imitation[8] impressed audiences enough that they threw bras at her.[1]

She co-founded the Sequoia Empire of Visalia and Tulare, a branch of the charitable and social LGBTQ+ organization known as the Imperial Court System, in Visalia, California[9] in 1980.[5] She assumed the Emperor's title three times, and raised thousands of dollars.[5] During that same time, she took the name El Daña, which she would come to be known as for the rest of her career.[10]

She retired from drag for a decade after her son, Mark, died at 29.[5] In 2017, however, Kat Fobear, a professor at California State University, Fresno, invited her to speak at a class. Subsequently, she returned to drag.[1]

She was interviewed on the NPR podcast StoryCorps in 2020, which led to her receiving national attention.[11][7] In 2022, she organized a drag fundraiser for Fresno State's LGBTQ+ studies minor.[4]

She has spoken about what she views as drag kings being "sidelined", stating that they receive little recognition and less monetary gain than drag queens.[6]

In 2024, she received the Harvey Milk Award from Anna Caballero.[3] This award honors contributions towards LGBTQ+ equality made by individuals.[9] She was also featured on the NPR podcast Code Switch that same year.[12] In 2025, she was officially named the oldest active drag king in the world by the Guinness World Records.[13] She was also named to the Out 100 in 2025.[14] Her work has also been placed in the archives of California State University, Fresno.[9]

As of 2025, she works as a house cleaner to make ends meet, as her social security check is insufficient to support her.[7] She resides in Clovis, California.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c "1965 – Present El Daña". Drag King History. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
  2. ^ "7 stories of trailblazers who fought for inclusivity in 'Our America: Pride in History V'". ABC7 San Francisco. October 13, 2025. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
  3. ^ a b "El Daña is a Fresno record breaker, drag king and activist". CBS47. June 25, 2025. Archived from the original on June 26, 2025. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
  4. ^ a b c Staff, KQED News (December 27, 2024). "Encore: The Enduring Reign of El Daña, Drag King of the Central Valley | KQED". www.kqed.org. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
  5. ^ a b c d "The Enduring Reign of El Daña, Drag King of the Central Valley". UC Berkeley Journalism. Retrieved July 3, 2026.
  6. ^ a b c "How these Latine drag kings took center stage". Los Angeles Times. April 30, 2026. Retrieved July 3, 2026.
  7. ^ a b c Parks, Casey (May 24, 2026). "She's the world's oldest drag king, and still hoping for her big break". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
  8. ^ "Meet El Daña the world's oldest performing drag king breaking boundaries since 1965". Gay Community News. April 1, 2026. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
  9. ^ a b c Navarro, Crystal (January 26, 2026). "Elsie Saldaña: Lifelong Advocate and Record-Long Drag King". South Kern Sol. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
  10. ^ Mess, Lil Miss Hot. "The world's oldest active drag king has shaped the art form for decades. She's not slowing down". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
  11. ^ "Emalee Farley and El Daña". StoryCorps Archive. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
  12. ^ Donnella, Leah (July 24, 2024). "The return of the U.S.'s oldest drag king". NPR. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
  13. ^ "Oldest drag king (female)". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on June 8, 2025. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
  14. ^ Sim, Bernardo. "The 2025 Out100: El Daña | Out.com". www.out.com. Retrieved May 31, 2026.

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