Spotlight: Guy Anabella
THIS is DRAG - SPOTLIGHT 022 / JULY 2025
Guy Anabella
Curated by Kevin Blondin
This month’s Spotlight takes us to the heart of Toronto, where strength, sparkle, and Caribbean pride come together in the form of one unforgettable performer: Guy Anabella. From her name—an inspired nod to Guyana, Sean Paul, and the fluidity of gender—to her glam-meets-muscle aesthetic, Guy is a celebration of contrast and confidence. She’s not just performing on stage—she’s rewriting the rules of drag one rhinestone at a time.
Strength Meets Sparkle: The Power of Guy Anabella
“I don’t hide my body hair or my muscular build in drag,” Guy Anabella tells us. “I want people to see that strength and softness can exist in the same body.” That philosophy isn’t just a vibe—it’s the core of her drag artistry.
Born in downtown Toronto and raised in Scarborough and Ajax, Guy proudly represents the city and its vibrant Caribbean community. With roots in Guyana and a heart that beats to the rhythm of dancehall, soca, and self-love, she’s creating a drag style that’s deeply personal—and fiercely powerful.
Her drag name is layered with meaning. “Guy Anabella” combines a homage to her parents’ homeland, a cheeky nod to Sean Paul’s “Get Busy” lyric (“Shake dat ting, Miss Annabella!”), and a beautiful blend of gender expression. “Guy like a man, Anabella like a lady,” she says. “She lifts AND she turns looks!”
And turn looks she does. Guy’s signature aesthetic? Glamourous, cultural, and Carnival-inspired. Think: rhinestones, feathers, and full-body glitter catching every bit of stage light. From academia to drag pageants, she’s proving you can be more than one thing—and look flawless while doing it.
By day, she’s a professor and powerlifter. By night, she’s a full-blown drag performer and recording artist. Her song “Pretty Girls Are Strong,” a powerful dance anthem celebrating inner and outer strength, recently won a pageant and cemented her place as a rising voice in the community.
“Drag is gender rebellion at its finest!!! It’s cracking open the binary and saying, ‘You can be more than one thing. You are more than one thing.’ That’s powerful. That’s queer. That’s drag.”
Guy’s biggest drag achievement? Embracing her own power. “There was a time when I doubted her,” she says, reflecting on the early years. “Now, she’s out here winning pageants, on TV, being everything I always knew she could be. That inner confidence is the real crown.”
One of her proudest moments was hosting a Guyanese-themed drag brunch for the premiere of Crave’s Drag Brunch Saved My Life—with none other than Priyanka, a fellow Guyanese drag icon and winner of Canada’s Drag Race season one. “That night, my parents saw me perform for the first time. It was a full-circle moment.”
She also lives for drag’s ability to break down binaries and build connection. “Drag is gender rebellion at its finest. It says, ‘You are more than one thing.’ That’s powerful. That’s queer. That’s drag.”
When she’s not performing or writing music, Guy is busy preparing her next big move: TING! —a queer Caribbean cabaret happening August 3rd in collaboration with Cake Cabaret. The all-Caribbean, gender-diverse lineup is one of her proudest productions yet. “I’m so proud of this cast,” she says. “We’re celebrating Caribbean queerness loud and proud.”
Guy Anabella is a queen who knows her worth, lifts up her community, and brings joy, depth, and sparkle to every space she steps into. As she puts it best: “Queer people are strong. We survive, we create, we transform, and we thrive.”
TING!
Sunday, August 3, 2025
At Cake Cabaret - 627 Danforth Ave, Toronto, ON
From sold-out living room shows to big-stage glamour, Guy Anabella is proof that drag isn’t just a performance—it’s a revolution. With feathers, muscle, and a whole lot of heart, she’s carving out a space where culture, comedy, and queerness shine. Whether she’s lifting in the gym, hosting on stage, or dropping beats on Spotify, one thing’s for sure: this queen is just getting started.