Vampire Diaries Star Kat Graham Changes Identity To Toro Gato To Reclaim Her African Self
Say goodbye to Kat Graham and hello to Toro Gato.
Ga Fullner / Shutterstock / YouTube Kat Graham is commited to embracing her West African culture and ancestry and now identifies with her true self — Toro Gato.
The former Vampire Diaries star debuted Toro Gato on Tuesday and got real about her new album called "TORO GATO: PART I" which will drop Sept. 10.
Who is Toro Gato? Details of Kat Graham's new identity.
Toro Gato explained that she's from a West African tribe called the Kpelle tribe, which is the largest ethnic group of the West African nation of Liberia.
In her interview, she wore traditional African garments and explained that her outfit was a collection of different pieces she chose to represent who she is as a woman and honor African culture.
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"When we talk about finding our deepest truths we have to actually look at who we actually are, so I'm finding different ways of embracing that," said Toro Gato.
Toro Gato's identity will be explored on her new album.
The album, which is available exclusively as an NFT through YellowHeart, will be Toro Gato stepping into herself.
"Sometimes we forget our core and our truth and as an artist, I want to explore that with this Toro Gato project and this entire NFT collection," said Toro Gato.
She revealed that her live presentation of her single "SWIM" will be debuted on Sept. 8 to celebrate both her birthday and her "death day" with Kat Graham stepping into her true self Toro Gato.
In the song "SWIM," there is a lyric that goes, "Now I am that girl you used to know."
That's exactly what Toro Gato is conveying to the public as she said she wanted to "dismantle my former identity."
Toro Gato says Kat Graham is her alter ego.
"They say it's the alter ego but I actually think the more and more time I spend in this space, I think Kat is the alter ego," Toro Gato said.
"I am becoming the West African, the ruler, the monster, that's not scared of anything that can show up without shoes on. I think that's really fun, and a terrifying place to be."
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What does Toro Gato mean?
Toro Gato's page on Yellow Heart says that the name translates to "Bull Cat" in Spanish.
The website also mentions that Toro Gato is a recognition of one's shadow self.
Toro Gato said that the name represents "the light and the dark sides." Toro is the dark side and this monster you don't want to let out, but Gato is the light and peaceful side.
Both sides co-exist and Toro Gato is "showcasing the subconscious mind and the conscious mind."
Toro Gato's Instagram is still under the name Kat Graham and it's still to be determined if that will change after her birthday as she said that was her "death day" and that she would step into her true self as Toro Gato.
The name was chosen by Graham and Darren Genet, who directed all of the films in the NFT.
Genet is an American cinematographer and television director who directed two episodes for The Vampire Diaries and the 2015 short film "Muse" with Kat Graham.
The two of them have also been romantically involved since 2019 as she mentions on her Instagram that he's her love.
Megan Hatch is a writer at YourTango who covers zodiac, love and relationships, and pop culture.