Montreal Pride | Drags are “here to stay”

The flamboyant Barbada and Rita Baga are co-hosting the 100% drag evening at Fierté Montréal on Friday. A double bill that will feature a hundred artists from here and abroad. The Press took the opportunity to discuss the current popularity of the drag scene… and its detractors.

Death threats, rape threats, torture threats. Insulting messages and online harassment… LGBTQ+ artists experienced their “15 minutes of fame” in a very strange way after participating in the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games, at the invitation of French artistic director Thomas Jolly.

Read “Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony: Investigation Opened into Death Threats Against Organizers”

During the show in question, Thomas Jolly staged four reality TV “queens” Drag Race France, including Piche – the one with the blond beard, next to the DJ Barbara Butch – in a painting seen by many as a parody of The Lord’s Supperby Leonardo da Vinci.

What do Rita Baga (real name Jean-François Guevremont) and Barbada (Sébastien Potvin) think of all this uproar?

“We see four drag artists for less than 10 minutes, in a ceremony of more than four hours, with thousands of participants,” says Rita Baga. Let’s remember that there were 3,000 artists at the opening ceremony of the Paris Games.

According to them, drag artists are not just “creatures.” They are full-fledged artist-designers who have as much of a place in this kind of show as Lady Gaga or Celine. “We are here to stay. We will not fade away. We will continue to do what we do, whether you like us or not,” says Barbada. He adds that this controversy will last three weeks at most. “And then the haters will cast their hatred on others…”

Political art

But what is so disturbing about the fact that drag artists are increasingly visible in public spaces? “Basically, the definition of being a drag artist is a protest gesture,” explains Rita Baga. “A middle finger to social conventions of gender. However, each person decides the political weight they put into their work. If you want to be on stage to sing a Lady Gaga song and have fun, that’s fine!”

“The goal of drag is to attract attention, the gaze of others. If I walk down the street in drag and no one turns around when I pass by… I’ve missed something,” Barbada says.

There is reality on social media. And there is reality on the ground.

Rita Baga has taken a step back from social media because “it’s hard on the mental load” to receive so much hate.

Rita Baga has just finished the 112-performance tour of her first “one drag show”, seen by 50,000 spectators. And is preparing a new musical show and an album.

“Same thing for me,” adds Barbada. “My children’s show Story time was presented across Quebec. In Prévost, La Malbaie, Baie-Comeau, in Saguenay. People always show up. In Prévost, three women demonstrated outside in front of the venue. I went to see them afterwards to explain the fun side of the show. In vain… They call themselves conspiracy theorists.”

What a family ?

Among the criticisms surrounding the Olympics, it is also said that it is not the place to see drag. Or that children are watching the ceremony on television. What should a parent say to a child who asks: “Why is the man dressed as a woman with a beard?”

“He tells her that he’s just a character,” Barbada replies. “Drag artists are characters who dress extravagantly, like Mickey Mouse or Santa Claus. What do you say to your child when a strange man in a red suit and a funny white beard wants to take him on his lap?”

Okay. But Santa Claus is more harmless than drag artists. And less sexualized in the collective imagination. “Drag artists are not more sexual than Dua Lipa, Nicki Minaj or Sabrina Carpenter. And these singers, EVERYONE can watch them twerk “on YouTube,” retorts Rita Baga, adding that drag artists adjust their shows according to the audience and the context.

Rita Baga concludes on the importance of representation in a televised appointment watched by a billion viewers. “When I see a queer candidate on a show like The voice or the young homosexual couple Alex and David in Love is in the meadow, My eyes are full of tears. Because we’ve been around forever and finally we can see ourselves on television.”

MajestiX & Drag Superstars : two shows in one

Due to reduced funding, the Fierté Montréal festival has combined the two major drag shows into one evening this year. About a hundred artists, from both the local and international drag scene, will perform individual and group numbers for four hours at the Esplanade du Parc olympique. A continuous stream of performances in these two shows intertwined with each other. No theme, but nods to current cultural events and the films and songs of the year. The organizers of Fierté Montréal are expecting 20,000 to 25,000 people on site, making it the most popular drag event in Quebec. Among the many guest artists are Sasha Colby, Lady Boom Boom, Lulu Shade, Marla Deer, Mister Boogie, Sasha Baga, Denim, La Grande Dame, Brooke-Lynn Hytes, Naomi Smalls, Sisi Superstar and Venus.

MajestiX & Drag Superstarsa double program hosted by Rita Baga and Barbada, on August 9 from 7:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. on the Esplanade of the Olympic Park

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