Draft:Ella Ganza

Ella Ganza (born 28 January 1989), is a Samoan and Māori trans woman of colour, femme queen, artist and founding mother of the Australian kiki House of Alexander.

Biography

Ganza born in Aotearoa, she hails from the villages of Sa'anapu, Matautu (Lefaga), Faleula, Malie, Iva (Savai'i) Samoa. Also comes from iwi of Ngāpuhi, Aotearoa.

Ganza at a young age migrated to Ipswitch, Queensland Australia. Since her move she navigated life discovering her identity, later on she created two hip hop crews consisting of queer POC (Person/People of colour) using that as an establishment for herself and others to create a safe haven and community to express their authentic identity.

In 2015 she competed in the annual Miss Fa'afafine pageant in Samoa, where she represented for Queensland, Australia. Ganza is also a well-known showgirl within the community, and created - 'Runway movement' a queer collective showcasing queer POC art and creatives as an activist.

In 2019 she started a ballroom scene within the Meanjin community in Australia and founded the kiki House of Alexander as Mother with Father Alexander Joshua Taliani. The impact Ganza has made for herself has led to the growth and up rising ballroom scene in Meanjin, being one of the prominent houses in Australia and the rise of support for queer youth.

In 2022 the House of Alexander performed their piece 'The House' at the Brisbane festival, showcasing different cultures, the liberation of the underground ballroom scene and the stories of trans and queer POC.

Following 'The House' in 2022, ‘The Alexander Ball’ documentary was documented on SBS (Special Broadcasting Services), with Australia capturing an insight of the world of ballroom, celebrating the essence of Ganza, trans women of colour, and the queer POC community.

In 2023 Ganza was a part of 'Ovah Ovah' created and produced by Jaycee Tanuvasa and Rocky Talatonu. A show highlighting Pasifika queer stories through the production of song, pacific dance, ballroom, fashion, drag, and poetry. A celebration of queer Pasifika indigenous communities living in Oceania. A segment of the show celebrated Ganza crowned as Miss Ovah Ovah 2023, and spoke about the misconception of being a fa'afafine.

"A fa'afafine is a cultural identity that speaks to the origins of my existence bringing beyond the colonial regime translating the mannerisms of a woman - Fa'afafine have and will always be the one. It's time to respect our existence, speak our names, nurture and protect fa'afaine as your children - why? Because there is no culture without us. Let me tell you now, fa'afafine put the fa'a in Fa'asamoa".

Ganza cultivates space for trans and POC queer communities, creating work that displays the integration of ballroom and queer lives, advocating social issues against the LGBTQIA+ community. Also recognising what it means to be fa'afafine, and help build a stronger community.

"I teach trans woman of colour, specifically my daughters on how to hold yourself in a job interview, access medical health with hormone replacement therapy, teaching them how to deal with discrimination. Sometimes a family isn't blood, but the Alexander family and the Alexander house is definitely a testament to that"

Ganza made a name for her self as a proud trans woman of colour, fa'afafine, artist and activist.

“I’ve always wanted to be a woman, and the leader that I always wanted for my younger self... and I think that's a reminder to keep pushing, because there's a young Ella out there who needs me.”