Kels making inroads with Queer in Alberta podcast
A biracial queer woman is making waves in the podcast realm as she released the third season of the podcast and has officially announced Season 4 is in the works.
Kels Valenzuela Delamarter began her podcast journey as a boredom buster during the University of Lethbridge instructors strike back in 2022.
She posted videos on TikTok and received many comments from people surprised that she was Albertan. Taken aback, she decided that she wanted to show that there are LGBTQ people all across the province and so she began interviewing people through Zoom.
Valenzuela Delamarter says she wanted to create visibility to those who may have felt unseen.
'People think queer people don't exist on the prairies,' she says, 'so that's why I wanted to start interviewing people, because clearly we're here but even in our own community, sometimes you don't see that.'
She then posted clips of the interview and they went viral, with many asking to see the full versions.
After seeing an article in the Herald about Story Hive calling for submissions for a $20,000 grant and mentorship program, Valenzuela Delamarter decided to apply the night applications were closing. She definitely wasn't expecting to get funded, but she did and her entire life changed.
With her funding, she began filming her first podcast series named Queer in Alberta. With the mentorship, Valenzuela Delamarter learned a lot about videography and production, graphic design and also where her strengths are in the various areas needed to produce a podcast.
She says recognizing that, just because you can do everything, doesn't mean you should do everything, is critica. Being able to delegate things to other people helps you focus on what you are really passionate about.
Thanks to Story Hive, she has not only improved her work tremendously, but it has opened many opportunities such as speaking in front of 600 people in Ottawa.
In the last few years, she has interviewed 30-40 people. One reoccurring theme throughout her podcast is the importance of representation.
'Not having the representation to know that, say, queer lives can be meaningful and beautiful, even in a space that maybe other people think is very conservative.'
She adds that queer lives deserve to take up space, no matter where they live.
When Valenzuela Delamarter moved to Lethbridge for school back in 2014, she remembers feeling very isolated. But in the last five years, she says the city has exploded with acceptance not only for queer people, but for diversity in general.
While her podcast is open to anyone, she has spoken with many people of colour and while they may have had different experiences, there were things she could relate to, being queer and racialized.
As a Filipino-Canadian, Valenzuela Delamarter says her podcast has helped her feel much more connected to her culture.
'The amount of queer Filipino people I've connected with from this project and all of the work I've done wit it, it's been so affirming and life changing and made me feel much closer to my culture.'
She says it's important to recognize queer people of colour, because there are many different histories of queerness in every culture, not just for white people.
Through her podcast, Valenzuela Delamarter has been able to reach people who may not have representation, as well as help parents of queer kids understand what their child is experiencing. That has helped her realize the difference she is making.
'Those kinds of comments really reinforce the power of representation and just seeing people come together, because of the interviews, because of the show is overwhelming to say the least.'
While she won't deny the struggles of being queer in Alberta, overall Valenzuela Delamarter says her experience has been deeply rooted in support and kindness.
An example of that was her launch party for Season 3 of Queer in Alberta, which was held at the Galt Museum on Good Friday. Being the Easter weekend, she wasn't sure what kind of support to expect. She needn't have worried - 120 people showed up, with some of them making the trip from as far as Edmonton and Calgary.
A new feature this season is the studio that Valenzuela Delamarter has been able to call her own. In previous seasons she filmed at CASA, andh while she is grateful for the support, it was a trek to lug all of the camera gear and other equipment to and from each session.
A new episode of Queer in Alberta premiers every Tuesday on Telus Optik channel 9 and anywhere podcasts can be found. Season 4 is currently in the works and anyone who is interested in being featured can fill out the application on Valenzuela Delamarter's Instagram kels.valendela or by emailing
queerinalberta@gmail.com
.
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