The Ballroom Extravaganza, or in other words, drag show, was held last week in honor of Pride Week here on campus. This event was put on by SEU Pride and the Trans Wellness Organization (TWO). St. Edward’s prides itself on being an inclusive place where everyone is free to express themselves in any shape or form with no judgment.
“I think it’s really important to have students on campus express themselves, and do it in a way that’s super fun and creative and give them the opportunity to present themselves in the way that they want to be presented,” Kam Fletcher, president of Pride, said.
TWO and Pride do a lot of work together to ensure students feel included on campus. After last semester’s pride flag protests, both the organizations have been taking extra initiatives to guarantee that students are given the opportunity to be themselves.
“It just means the world to me,” Kris Feck, vice president of TWO, said. “Seeing queer people on campus come together and celebrate such a wonderful part of queer culture that has been under attack recently just means so much.”
Drag is a huge part of queer culture, so in this article, I will allow the performers to take the wheel and let their voices be heard, and their outfits be seen.
Northcutt has experience in performing Shakespeare plays and said that one of the reasons they loved it so much is because of the drama, similarly to the way drag can be dramatic, and allows them to become someone else. (Raveena Devjee / Hilltop Views)
Piel, who identifies as trans-masculine, says that when he finally came to terms with his identity, there were some things that he felt he was being shut out of. For Piel, that was his femininity, and drag allows him to express that side of him in the way he wants to.
“I’ve always had a love for the stage and stuff like this, and when I finally stepped into my character, it felt like I had found the missing piece,” Piel said. (Raveena Devjee / Hilltop Views)
De Luna also takes a lot of inspiration from the traditional Mexican dance form of Ballet Folklórico. Ballet Folklórico is the history of Mexico portrayed through dance, which started during the Mexican Revolution. De Luna explained that the capital told each state to bring together a dance that represented their state or region and its people. De Luna takes a lot of inspiration from his culture and incorporates it into his drag performance.
“We’ve always tried to mix both the queer and Latino aspect of it, and we try to keep it within our ranges of our roots, but still with our queer identities,” said De Luna. (Rosita Winden)
Jack the Stripper also said they feel as though drag is a place where people can just be happy and believes that we need more of that in our world. (Raveena Devjee / Hilltop Views)
Lionel Lopez, assistant director of the office of student belonging and inclusive excellence, says that when we highlight people of all identities, it creates a very friendly and socially interactive environment for everyone.
“Today is an amazing day to make a better tomorrow, and I feel like my role here on campus is to be able to celebrate their lives and show everyone here that they are worthy of being on campus,” Lopez said. “That they are amazing, beautiful individuals just the way they are,” said Lopez. (Raveena Devjee / Hilltop Views)
