NEW YORK (PIX11) -- The second annual Legends of Drag revue occurred at the Whitney Museum of American Art.
It is an event to honor trailblazing drag queen elders who have been leaders in their communities.
The queen elders were kicking out their heels and collecting dollars for their performances at the event organized by the New York City AIDS Memorial.
“They’ve been through a lot, stonewall, gay liberation, and now COVID and the resurgence of gay violence and attacks of trans people that’s currently happening,” Dave Harper, the executive director, said.
The queen elders were kicking out their heels and collecting dollars for their performances at the event organized by the New York City AIDS Memorial.
Egyptt LaBeija has been performing for more than a decade. She said her performance is straightforward.
“I don’t do cartwheels because I don’t have to, because they come to see me lip-sync and look good, and that’s what I do,” LaBeija said.
Wednesday was HIV/AIDS long-term survivors awareness day and the revue served as a platform for the drag queens to perform and tell stories of the struggles they endured.
“We had fun, we lived, we were gay men, we were ourselves and then came the plague,” said Ruby Rims.
She was diagnosed with aids 32 years ago, and she has been performing for half a century; the current acceptance the drag queen community has nowadays, she said, is due to pop culture.
”I had to fight because I was gay, I had to fight because i was a drag queen, and I had to fight because I had aids, so you know what, bring it,” she said.
The New York City AIDS Memorial will host a day of remembrance on June 15; for more information, visit the New York City AIDS Memorial. The Whitney Museums is offering pride events all month.
English (US) ·