Jèssica Pulla: "Doing drag in Catalan is a tribute to Catalonia and the folklore that I have learned at home"

BarcelonaWe meet in Plaza Huesca, in front of the house where Núria Feliu was born, with the drag queen Jéssica Apulia. The character played by Joan Gabàs (Valls, 1998) has been recognised for paving the way in transformism by defending Catalan and Catalan identity with the Innovation award from the Martí Gasull awards given by the Platform for Language. His shows can feature anyone from Núria Feliu and Guillermina Motta to Jet Lag, the Teresinas, Pilarin Bayés, the Super3 Club, the Triplets and Dagoll Dagom, and makes humor of the Process, corruption, neutral pronouns or his life. The awards, which also celebrate the career of Eliseu Climent and have as finalists the Afers Publishing House, the IB3 program Tentol and the project on video games in Catalan Ce Trencada, will be presented on February 25 at the Teatre Poliorama in Barcelona.

Who is Jéssica Pulla?

— She is the new promise of Catalan transformism, even though she has been in the industry for two and a half years. It is a vindication of everything that has created me and made me who I am, and a tribute to all the artists that I admire and will always admire.

And who is Juan Gabás?

— A sissy from Valls who, without sounding egotistical, knew he wanted to say and do something, and finally he has the opportunity to do it. Thanks to the character drag She can do what she had always been told she couldn't be or do because it wasn't right, it wasn't socially accepted, and now she takes it to the extreme. Joan is sanity and Jessica is the rauxa, we are a Molotov cocktail.

How do you get into transformism?

— I became a fan of the program Drag Race about ten years ago. I was interested, but there were very specific qualities there, impeccable makeup, outrageous wigs, costumes... well, a macro-production in every aspect, which I could only admire. After studying theater, I wanted to try it, I studied the artists that I know best on the local or national scene, and I saw that they all started with wigs from AliExpress, second-hand dresses and zero makeup skills; we all came from here. That's when I started to get immersed.

How do you find the look and the references of Jéssica Pulla?

— When they catch me in Futuroa, at the Sarao Drag, in 2022. With my mother drag [Caneli] We started to play and we found the makeup that I'm associated with. As it was a contest to present new talents and they only gave me three minutes to perform, I'm already very inspired by period ladies, classic films and such, I had a dress with some outrageous mussels and I said: let's play that, but we'll take it to Catalan.

What did you interpret?

— I made the song by Montserrat Caballé with her daughter for La Marató de TV3, which is Phil Collins' song in Catalan from Tarzan; then he did the I feel like partying by Xana, Núria Feliu reciting The Holy Thorn and to finish the Bad Gyal doing Indapanden, one of his first songs in Catalan. And the playback The final was Shin Chan in a machine version. It was an explosion of Catalanism all of a sudden, which I myself didn't know what it was.

Why in Catalan?

— I did it out of inertia. I have spoken Catalan all my life, it is my language. I did not do it with the intention of filling any gap or anything. And I have not invented anything either: Brigitta Lamoure is a reference and has a clear political position, a defence of the language and a vindication of many struggles that we share. There is also the case of Mega Pubilla or the Chanclettes. But it is true that many people told me that I was filling a gap that we did not know existed and from then on I became aware of it. Also because luckily I am surrounded by a fairly politicised environment and they tell me: "You can do very cool things and you can show that many things can be done in Catalan", and I decided to squeeze it to the maximum.

Who is the great Catalan diva for you?

— My starting point is Núria Feliu, always. Leaving aside the political positioning of recent years, with which I do not sympathize, she was a pioneer in many aspects: as a defender of heritage, of culture, of language, for defending that in Catalan all genres can be sung, for a neighborhood position; she is a star with that human touch. For me she is the epicenter of everything.

Does loving Catalan women mean being able to parody them?

— We need to laugh more about ourselves and about who we are. I laugh on stage at what makes me feel insecure down there. Laughter also helps us to be critical. I, for example, come from a generation of young people who have heard that we were cheated by the Process. I take it and play. I feel that I have been taken for a ride. I laugh at all the performance that has been sold to us, that it is super-activist and super-demanding, when in reality everything remains the same or even worse. And at the same time, I say: look at how many references we have, how cool, there is no need to look outside. You can play with them and take them to the extreme, or take them to a parody, or take them to a tribute. For me, doing transformism in Catalan is paying tribute to Catalonia and to the folklore that I have absorbed at home or that I have discovered from being a transvestite. We have the folklore of Andalusia very absorbed and we all locate the Andalusian folklorists, but here we also have very powerful patriotic references and elements of popular culture and super-powerful heritage.

Is there low self-esteem in our folklore? Do we have complexes?

— I guess there is also this point that, because it is popular and not the most elitist culture, there is a certain disdain because it is from the working class. And no, in the end Catalanness should be for everyone, right? If something is more popular, then we should embrace it and value it, because that means that it reaches more people and that there are more people who can feel connected to Catalanness than to the culture that is considered the true culture, which is sometimes very difficult to access. I think it is important to even take it as one guilty pleasure.

One of your references is Sea and sky. People in the theater sing The Pirates Anthem as if it were The ReapersIs there a pleasure and a need to share references?

— I've noticed that people have a great need to feel very Catalan, all of a sudden, especially young people. A Catalan artist comes out, releases a song in Catalan and we all become super-patriotic. Or an artist comes along, makes a very specific speech and says a word in Catalan and everyone's mind goes up.

Why is the Catalan language or culture linked to any modern reference?

— Yes, and more about the people. Catalanism is sometimes so elitist and conservative that even I am too lazy to get involved, but, on the other hand, what is about the people, what can be discussed on social networks, what is the topic of a bar conversation, that is what interests me. And if I can give it a twist and touch on something more national, local or a more specific reference for something more generic, then let's take advantage of it.

You are awarded the Innovation Prize at the Martí Gasull Awards, how do you receive it?

— I'm excited. I started from a genuine place and, when I became aware of what it could mean, I decided to bet as much on Catalan as possible. It's appreciated that they see an artist drag As a culture, it is very difficult for people to understand that outside the elites, on the margins and in the streets there is also artistic creation. The situation on the scene queer The nightlife scene is very Castilianised, also because of mass tourism, but I'm going to keep on making a fuss. Dissident people exist in Catalan, we tie in Catalan, we fuck in Catalan, we love each other in Catalan, we socialise in Catalan to go to the bar, to party and to go shopping.

You perform monthly at La Federica and in various venues. What is your show like?

— It's the story of an aspiring showgirl who wants to reclaim her home, her land, her identity as a member of the LGTBI community, but also her identity as a Catalan person who comes from a village, who wasn't born in Barcelona, ​​but came here to earn a living. Musically, I've done a Núria Feliu and now I'm dedicated to covering English songs in Catalan, to see what happens. I'm very obsessed lately with Chappell Roan, who is an artist queer American that also draws a lot of inspiration from culture dragAnd since Lady Gaga I haven't connected so much with an artist. I've done a show in which I take her songs and translate them into Catalan, making a parody of current political situations or personal situations of mine. I have others where I sing cuplés, I also remake cuplés in Spanish to explain Catalan situations or my own or whatever, and if not, then songs that inspire me.

When you go to civic centers or associations, what do the women who come say to you?

— Older people love it, they have a great time. Since I wear a very similar style to the clothes they wear, they suddenly tell me "Oh, what beautiful pearls those doors are." And I say "Oh, thanks, yours are even prettier." I suppose my imagination is very similar to theirs and it is easier for them to connect with them than if they were introduced to an urban music artist. I remember going up to a table where there were older people and saying "Is this the first time you've seen a transvestite?" And they say "No, we were going to El Molino." Wow, it was so normalized that these shows existed in Barcelona and that the working classes went there that it was beautiful.