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Editor’s Notice: Over the following few weeks, we’ll be introducing you to a few of our favourite native drag queens. Whereas there are many queens in Houston, it takes a Texas-size dose of expertise for a queen to really set up herself. The six drag queens we’ll profile have all executed simply that in their very own distinctive type. Whereas a few of them are nonetheless within the early levels of their careers and others have been at it lengthy sufficient to have wigs which might be youngsters, the entire queens we’ve assembled have one thing particular—no tea, no shade—that makes them stand out from the remaining.
Houston’s self-professed “Heavyweight Champ” has ascended to the top of drag competitions and is able to characterize H-City. Hometown hero Mistress Isabelle Brooks brings her fabulosity to the fifteenth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race as the primary Houston queen to compete on the present.
Having began drag on the ripe age of 16, Brooks has made a reputation for herself within the Bayou Metropolis. “I used to be one of many unique solid members at Hamburger Mary’s, and I’m additionally at JR’s and South Seaside on Mondays and Wednesdays,” she stated. “I additionally host a Drag Race viewing occasion on Fridays at JR’s.”
The daring Latina self-identifies as a “plus-size dancing diva,” a moniker she adopted from her drag mom. Being bigger than life is the secret for Brooks, and it matches her aesthetic to a tee. “The easiest way to explain my drag is large, daring, and delightful,” she stated. “I’m gonna have all of the feathers, beads, and rhinestones. I’m gonna look glamorous, I’m all the time gonna look good, and I’m all the time gonna entertain.”
As the primary Houston queen to be featured on Drag Race, Brooks has her eye on the prize and got here to slay the competitors on drag’s fiercest stage. “Houston drag is so wealthy and conventional. Up till lately, it has been run by the legends. So for me, the largest a part of my drag is carrying on the legacy,” Brooks stated. “It’s not concerning the cash. It’s about carrying the status and sharing what impressed me and hopefully I’ll encourage another person to hold on the legacy. It means the world to me to characterize Houston.”
Whereas drag has at instances been villainized within the mainstream media, significantly in Texas—and Brooks admits she has skilled among the repercussions of this narrative at her exhibits—she troopers on. “In Houston, drag is what brings our group collectively,” she stated. “We can not dwell in worry. If we keep house, that’s after we lose our group, and other people don’t notice how a lot we want this. We have to proceed to assist drag, preserve drag alive and properly, and be that gentle that shines in the neighborhood.”
As for the following class of queens, Brooks provides sound recommendation from somebody whose opinions carry specific weight in the present day. “If you happen to actually love drag, there’s no right strategy to do it. You simply have to leap into it,” she stated. “You simply should experiment, and shortly you’ll meet the proper individuals. Drag can take you so many locations. Earlier than Drag Race, whereas drag introduced me monetary safety, it additionally introduced me mates that I think about household. You by no means know the place it’s going to take you. You do it since you find it irresistible.”
Meet the Queens
Alexye’us Paris | Blackberri | Chloe Crawford Ross | Mistress Isabelle Brooks | Muffy Vanderbilt III | Persephone
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