Paper short abstract:

Three young Brazilian artists perform at a Drag Race competition in São Paulo. When the global pandemic forces most Brazilians into confinement, Divina Kaskaria, Satine, and Gabeeh Brazil are left to perform their drags online, while coping with the challenges of every day and home isolation.

Paper long abstract:

Three young Brazilian artists perform at a Drag Race competition at the famous independent electronic music party, Caps Lock from São Paulo. When the global pandemic provoked by Coronavirus forces most Brazilians into confinement, Divina Kaskaria, Satine, and Gabeeh Brazil are left to perform their drags online, while coping with the challenges of everyday life with social distancing and home isolation.

Using collaborative ethnography employed through self-filmed video diaries as well as public online shows, the film offers an intimate glimpse into the lives of the three artists while focusing on the processes of producing a Drag Queen inside a home for an online environment. The film project is based on postdoctoral research about participation and embodiment of experiences in the local DIY electronic music scene conducted at the University of São Paulo. The paper will discuss the challenges of doing a collaborative project in pandemic times.