DID SOMEONE SAY LANA?

This French queen who hails for Marseille France a queen of burlesque, Lana Cotta embodies sexy rock and roll universe where glamour, attitude and self-awareness collide, with looks from old glamour Hollywood, burlesque, old vintage pin up and a rock edginess. One never knows what is coming or to expect. At only 22 this Marseille based queen artist deliver a genderfuck drag style that is as daring as it is sensual. Her name- a nod to her Italian roots mixed with the influence of Lana Del Rey-sets the tone immediately. A frequent performer on the European stage and at burlesque festivals, she transforms every performance into a celebration of freedom and body empowerment. A self-proclaimed comedy queen too...Lana Cotta combines self-deprecating humor, glamour and provocation with explosive energy. And from speaking from the point of dabbling a few years in boylesque myself, it is a great feeling to able to showcase a drag and boy side in the same routine. Some men fin a boy bulging in all the right places in a corset a turn on!

ANYA

 

Anya Body that is! Adore this queen. Anya is a multi-talented Latinx, Southern California Drag Artist, a huge bedazzler, photoshoper artist, emcee and hostess extraordinaire and an aspiring comedian. This bitch is downright funny as hell. Her trademark? Fabulous wig style and her rhinestoned eyes. Anya is also a talented chameleon, and has performed as so many characters so well, it's hard to keep track. If she ever got on to Drag Race, I suspect when it came to the Snatch Game is would be like her shooting fish in a barrel, and well-known celebrities too, not these "reality star types". She hosts a weekly show, House of Illusions in Palm Springs. If you're in the area give this queen your time and check her out. Let's not discuss the stunning wiggery and beat for the Gods face. 

Anya Boby.

And you just know, I adore a queen who does a nicely done over the top chapeau!!! Bitch can snatch a hat. And a cutie too!

GRANDE DAME

 

Now when I talk about legendary queens, old school drag, and over the top ensembles, hair and performance...Dena Cass is what I'm talking about. This is the type of drag I was used to seeing when I came into drag. Dena Cass is the pageant legend, winning various acclaimed titles ever since the early 90's. However, it is not her crowns that put Dena in the drag hall of fame, but rather her creativeness and talent with her rather impressive lip-syncs and performances. She was the first to have the routine of "transforming" herself right before our eyes with her well-known number in which she gets in full drag in under 5 minutes all while lip syncing to Dame Shirley Bassey's This is My Life. This routine alone has garnered national and international fame for decades, and probably most drag queens are familiar with the performance. And henny, Dena doesn't need all the time like Ru girls in the dressing room getting ready. Dena Cass is what drag was originally all about, and she still is fierce and stunning looking. To this day, her performance of this still gives me chills.

VANITY FAIRE

If you do drag and don't know who Vanity is, gurl...who best expand your horizons! Any drag who drags has at least one wig creation from this queen. And if you're a fan of many well-known queens, most likely you've seen this queens work. Vanity Faire had a lifelong affair with wigs and makeup, he has toured the world as a successful makeup artist, a wig stylist, and drag performer. Vanity's artistic passion developed at a very young age, and fresh out of school decided to pursue a career in hairdressing. Not content with the simple life he packed his bags and moved to Sydney's Oxford Street where he felt right at home and Vanity Faire was born and became a full-fledged drag queen, where she stood out from the pack. Can you say Ultra Glam? It wasn't long before legendry queen, Carlotta, of Les Girls snapped her up for her touring drag show. While Vanity still does drag and performs with a busy schedule, in 2006 she and Courtney Act officially launched Wigs by Vanity and to some it would appear their new lace front wigs appeared within the drag community virtually overnight. Some queens will only wear a lace front wig. While they searched worldwide for a source that could produce these wigs at an afforded cost for drag queens, some companies charge up to $1,000 for a lace front....Vanity took it upon herself to learn the art of lace front wig making, and all these years later the joint company has blown up....Vanity's work on wigs are beautiful, big, full, glamorous and with undetectable hairlines and affordable... not to mention made by a drag queen for drag queens! And kids...Vanity is stunning to boot, and a hell of a performer. I'll have to share Vanity creations one day. 

Vanity Faire

ANITA HOLIDAY

One of the best things about being back in Harrisburg is seeing the resurgence of the drag community that was almost on the verge of being extinct. Now the city is being overrun with drag again, and one of the queens on the scene is Anita Holiday. I had the pleasure to meet her at the city's gay pride this year, and what a hoot! And a queen making a difference. Anita Holidays home city is York, PA , but this queen performs all over Central PA and can be seen in many of Harrisburg's weekly drag shows. It's been a big year for her too, being crowned Miss Gay Central PA , and the York Pride Ambassador. In addition to doing shows and helping to raise funds for charities too many to name, she is also a very strong activists for social issues and has even gone to bat to make sure the Covid vaccine stays accessible to those who want it. Her drag style is what I love, the grass roots feel of drag from the 80's and 90's...she is not concerned with the fishy and editorial, just good old fashion drag style which is all but to missing from drag these days in my opinion. Which has blossomed into her own house, the Haus of Holiday...featuring many fledging drag queens and Central PA first ever drag king, Beau Dacious, who is a compete hoot! But to me, Anita Holiday is important to drag as she is helping to keep the small town Drag Queen alive and well. So remember, to once in a while get out and support your local queens.

SYPARIO

 

Sypario is one of those Legendary Queens, when you see , you know she is going to inspire yet make you wet yourself. We caught her act on our Italian trip last year. If I hadn't already done drag, she definitely would have been inspiration for me to start. She sort of reminded me of putting Lady Bunny, Leigh Bowery, and Hope Springs, put into a blender and mixed, Sypario would be the result. Campy, loud, hysterically funny, bawdy, filthy, a slant of club kid factor and the natural talent to sing. Sypario hails for Naples, Italy and her name was the brainchild from a friend of hers who, after seeing a photo of her in drag, exclaimed the word "sipario, which is Italian for "theater curtain." She also choose the name as a tribute to her theatrical artistic background. Unbeknownst to me, she went and appeared on Drag Race Italia, where she placed fourth. She is not using the show as a crutch, but want gigs on her own merits, and not because she was on the franchise. She is one of those queens I believe is way to big and over the top to be sacrificing her own being and style, or being roped in to be on the show. Much like Charlie Hides. This to me would be like Bunny or Hedda Lettuce completing. Let a judge rope them in for something, and they most likely would tell Ru and judges the go fuck themselves. She is what a call a legendary queen, a queen who is going to be remembered for years all on her own, with her style, personality and antics. And will not be molded. She brings back many good drag memories of my own. She seems to be quite popular in italy.

Sypario