Meet Marques, Melbourne’s Queer Interview Queen
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Meet Marques La Rosa – if she looks familiar, it’s probably because she’s interviewed you while you were waiting to get into Yah Yahs.
Marques is now well-known on Tiktok (@marquesinterviews) for her nightlife interviews – but it’s interviews at Melbourne’s queer venues like Yah Yahs which have become a local and online phenomenon.
Her vox pop-style interviews with queer people about queer experiences are engaging, entertaining, and often hilarious.
She explains that decided to start simply because she’s always loved watching content from popular interviewers – like Amelia from Chicken Shop Date and Ziwe on Showtime.
“So I bought a shitty mini $11 Amazon mic with horrid audio, and saw Harry Styles’ Love On Tour in Perth,” Marques tells Star Observer. “It completely kickstarted my journey into this industry.”
She soon realised that Melbourne has a distinctive nightlife and live music scene, which would grant her amazing conversations – particularly Melbourne’s LGBTQI+ venues, which each have their own personality.
“A space for relatable and fun queer experiences was important to me. And the lines kept getting increasingly longer each time we went to Yah Yah’s,” Marques laughs. “So it just made sense, as everyone was looking for something to do in the queue.”
Marques hopes that her videos inspire people to have a night out, maybe organise to visit a venue they have fond memories at. She hopes her interviews “could encourage those watching at home to reflect on their memories at those places [and] prompt them to organise a night out. That’s what I hope is taken from my videos.”
Marques interviews everyone – punters, security, passersby. People from all walks of life, a diverse blend of strangers who by chance find themselves waiting together outside queer venues.
And in plenty of Marques’ interviews, you’ll see people joining in, coming together to laugh and bond over shared experiences as queer people.
Marques’ videos are full of queer joy, which she says is because of the energy of the environment of LGBTQI+ venues.
“Everyone is not only comfortable being themselves there [as LGBTQI+ people],” says Marques, “but they genuinely just wouldn’t have it any other way”.
@marquesinterviews Replying to @Tara 🤍 who’s your favourite security guard at yah yahs? #yahyah #streetinterview #gayclub #queerclub #melbourneaustralia #melbourneclubs ♬ original sound – marques
Marques says the response to her interviews has been really positive, and they “sparked some hilarious comment sections” with Melbourne’s LGBTQI+ community laughing, sharing and bonding in her comments.
@marquesinterviews its been a while since yah yahs street interviews #yahyah #streetinterview #gayclub #queerclub #melbourneclubs ♬ original sound – marques
In fact, the response to her videos has been so positive that Marques says people are now lining up (pun intended) for interviews with her.
“I get DMs asking me when I’ll be there next, so they can book a time slot for me to interview them… It inspires me to keep going.”
