Michelladonna has lengthy had their unwavering eyes set on transferring “pa’lante” – a mantra they’ve tattooed on their arm.
At present generally known as the spunky ‘bodega cat woman’ host of the Webby award-winning sequence Shop Cats, whereas they’re content material using the wave of the present’s success, the 27-year-old is able to be acknowledged as extra than simply New York’s best cat correspondent.
An actor, comic, director, podcast hostess, and group organizer “on the core of [their] core,” Michelladonna has all the time been a business-savvy multi-hyphenate expertise.
Born and raised “below Colombian territory” in Ridgewood, Queens, New York, Michelladonna spent most of their childhood doing any extracurriculars that piqued their curiosity, primarily on the request of their mom, Ms. Nelly. Growing a deep admiration for leisure, by the point faculty got here they have been useless set on transferring to Hollywood, nonetheless Ms. Nelly begged them to rethink getting their diploma in a safer profession.
Understanding of their mom’s overprotective plea, Michelladonna resignedly attended Cornell College majoring in Utilized Economics and Administration, mentally getting ready for a future in company finance.
Then, simply as they have been about to graduate, the pandemic hit and so they have been pressured to depart campus. Overwhelmed by being again dwelling and seeing the mass fatalities, Michelladonna was preemptively pressured to re-examine the life they honestly wished to guide.
“If I used to be on my loss of life mattress tomorrow, would I be completely happy that I went to work in a cubicle, in an workplace, and [that] I did the factor I believed I wanted to do to outlive? Or would I be completely happy that I not less than gave myself an opportunity to do one thing I do know I need to do for my entire life. Since I used to be a toddler, I knew I wished to be an actor, [so] I used to be like fuck it,” they instructed Remezcla.
After acquiring their diploma, they instructed their mom that they have been willfully diving into the leisure trade. Ms. Nelly merely responded saying “Good luck;” a press release Michelladonna nonetheless views as their greatest blessing to today.
In 2021, regardless of beforehand by no means having felt just like the “particular demographic” for stand-up comedy, Michelladonna determined to strive their luck on the medium anyway and rapidly grew acutely aware of the shortage of numerous camaraderie and mainstream divulging materials they didn’t need to emulate as a queer, Latine femme.
While navigating the comedy scene, Michelladonna briefly moved to L.A. in pursuit of different massive breaks which sadly didn’t pan out. Miraculously, upon returning to New York, the reward of Store Cats landed on their doorstep.
To today, Michelladonna doesn’t know who or what put Drew Rosenthal– the Head of Manufacturing at Mad Realities —on their radar; however for the native New Yorker who grew up frequenting bodegas and had their very own adoration of cats, the chance was a godsent (even on the danger of aggravating their slight cat allergy which they didn’t disclose till after touchdown the gig).
“I’m an entertainer on the finish of the day. I really feel like I’m old skool, like I’ll do no matter it takes to get the shot, you realize what I’m saying? So I don’t care if it means popping a Benadryl,” they mentioned.
However, Michelladonna knew that whereas manufacturing noticed the felines as the principle attraction, it was the predominantly immigrant store staff and house owners– aka the “Papi’s and Habibi’s” as they fondly name them —who have been the guts of the present; that’s who they wished to highlight.
“Once they pitched [Shop Cats] to me it was like, ‘Let’s discuss concerning the cats!’ And I used to be like, ‘Okay, and likewise the people who find themselves working there’ [because] in the event you truly sit down and attempt to shoot the shit [with them] these persons are so humorous and foolish and goofy,” they mentioned.
“There have been so many alternative bodegas in my life that I am going in [and] they’re like, ‘Yo, the way you doing?’ and it’s like, [that’s] group. In the event you really feel unsafe, you go right into a bodega. In the event you want water, you go right into a bodega. I really feel prefer it’s a protected haven, you realize, and I believe it’s so essential to focus on the individuals which are working it as a result of loads of them are immigrants, and loads of them are working so many hours, and I don’t assume individuals attempt to have conversations with them.”
Traversing by the 5 boroughs donning their quintessential jorts and modern cat eyeliner combo, to listen to Michelladonna’s thick New York accent memorably ask if a cat is “a hunter or a gatherer” has develop into an episodic staple. Rapidly turning into a viral web sensation, Store Cats has since garnered 17.4 million likes on Tiktok, slightly over a million followers throughout Instagram and TikTok, and even took dwelling a Webby Award this 12 months for Greatest Social within the “Animals” class.
Giving a cheeky acceptance speech saying, “Meow meow meow. Thanks y’all,” it was truly the keffiyeh adorned on Michelladonna’s shoulders that captivated many. As we proceed to witness the continuing genocide in Palestine, to adorn a keffiyeh symbolizes one’s solidarity with the Palestinian individuals. Nonetheless, whereas their inclusion of the garment was a coincidental last-minute addition, it was the discreet “thanks’s” from these in attendance that confused Michelladonna probably the most.
“So many individuals got here as much as me throughout that ceremony [saying] ‘Thanks for carrying that, thanks for carrying– like, Yo, I don’t personal it. I’m not the one particular person that might put on this, you realize? So it was very fascinating to be like, you might do that too. However hey, you realize, [the] world is what it’s,” they mentioned sighing.
Standing on enterprise and utilizing their rising platform for advocacy isn’t unfamiliar to Michelladonna. In 2021, shortly after beginning their stand-up profession, they curated I’m Finna Talk which they regard because the communal oasis for like-minded QTBIPOC creatives they’ve all the time dreamed of becoming a member of after popping out in a post-quarantine period.
Now 4 years since its inception, the collective has grown considerably. Centered on offering “goodie baggage” of inventive sources and group outreach, whether or not it’s free workshops or giving out gender affirming objects like binders with the assistance of sponsors (which they in any other case wouldn’t be capable of afford for themselves since popping out as non-binary), Michelladonna understands the ability queer areas maintain not solely amidst the present administration’s accelerated assaults in opposition to marginalized communities, however globally.
“I need to combat,” they mentioned defiantly. “I really feel like in current months, I’ve gotten on that mic and preached [that] we’ve got to carry one another on this area, take a shot, dance your fucking coronary heart out, make a plan, no matter it’s. However this proper right here, this proper right here is us, proper right here is resistance, proper right here is pleasure and what they’re attempting to do is scare us.”
Accessibility and community-mindedness is additional embedded in Michelladonna’s work, like of their inclusion of Spanish-language subtitles on Store Cats, which they initially transcribed to accommodate their rising bilingual viewers and, extra particularly, their mom Ms. Nelly who was desperate to share every new episode with pals.
Their first selection present Lil Sábado, impressed by the campy Latine exhibits and legends they grew up admiring, is one other testomony to their inventive intentionality. “[Lil Sábado] is one thing that for the primary time in a very long time, it was simply pure enjoyable and everybody [in the audience] was on that trip with me. I had by no means felt that at a comedy present,” they mentioned.
Brimming with bilingual humor and cultural resonance, whereas additionally doubling as a fundraising platform for immigrant rights, Lil Sabado featured segments like an interactive Sábado Gigante-style singing competitors the place the viewers shouted “FUERA!” to Michelladonna embodying Walter Mercado and studying shady horoscopes.
With a second present already underway this November, Lil Sábado was not simply the head of their comedic finesse, it was a full-circle second that redefined what they‘ve all the time wished to see as a first-gen Latine in comedy.
With no intention of slowing down, Michelladonna is probably going churning out new concepts that they hope will “mess around with individuals’s expectations.” Whether or not it’s by their upcoming quick movie reimagining the dynamics of Salsa legends or performing out the “28 million characters” ruminating inside their head, they admittedly like to gag and be gagged.
“I’m not glad with simply individuals understanding me for one factor,” they mentioned. “I would like them to see inside my mind. I would like them to see the film that I’ve. I would like them to see the pilots that I’ve. I would like them to see the function movie that I need to write. I would like them to see this entire world that I’ve in my head and that’s what I need to do. I need to do artwork, I don’t need to simply be recognized.”
