Editor’s Word: Over the subsequent 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 actually set up herself. The six drag queens we’ll profile have all carried out simply that in their very own distinctive type. Whereas a few of them are nonetheless within the early phases of their careers and others have been at it lengthy sufficient to have wigs which might be youngsters, all the queens we’ve assembled have one thing particular—no tea, no shade—that makes them stand out from the remainder.
Houston’s self-professed “Heavyweight Champ” has ascended to the head of drag competitions and is able to signify 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 forged members at Hamburger Mary’s, and I’m additionally at JR’s and South Seashore on Mondays and Wednesdays,” she mentioned. “I additionally host a Drag Race viewing get together 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 suits her aesthetic to a tee. “One of the best ways to explain my drag is massive, daring, and delightful,” she mentioned. “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 just lately, it has been run by the legends. So for me, the largest a part of my drag is carrying on the legacy,” Brooks mentioned. “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 signify Houston.”
Whereas drag has at occasions been villainized within the mainstream media, notably in Texas—and Brooks admits she has skilled a few of the repercussions of this narrative at her exhibits—she troopers on. “In Houston, drag is what brings our group collectively,” she mentioned. “We can not reside in concern. If we keep residence, that’s once we lose our group, and folks don’t notice how a lot we’d like this. We have to proceed to help drag, hold drag alive and nicely, and be that mild that shines in the neighborhood.”
As for the subsequent class of queens, Brooks gives sound recommendation from somebody whose opinions carry explicit weight in the present day. “Should you really love drag, there’s no right strategy to do it. You simply have to leap into it,” she mentioned. “You simply need to experiment, and shortly you’ll meet the fitting folks. 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 can take you. You do it since you like it.”
Meet the Queens
Alexye’us Paris | Blackberri | Chloe Crawford Ross | Mistress Isabelle Brooks | Muffy Vanderbilt III | Persephone
