Ela Troyano is a writer, director, producer, and interdisciplinary artist born in Cuba and based in New York. She is a longtime collaborator with her sister Alina Troyano, aka Carmelita Tropicana. Together, they’ve created works like the award-winning film Carmelita Tropicana Your Kunst Is Your Waffen / Your Art Is Your Weapon (1994), which screened at MoMA’s current program Queer and Uncensored in 2025; and the podcast That’s Not What Happened (2021). MoMA acquired her first two films in 2025.
At MacDowell, Troyano worked on Live Memoir (working title) a live film installation with Alina Troyano. A reading or workshop presentation at the Park Avenue Armory is forthcoming. Troyano also began to write a new screenplay titled Fever based on her non-traditional documentary La Lupe Queen of Latin Soul.
Portrait by Carlos David
