Never have drag queens been so visible: on stage, on television, in the cinema and even in the library for reading children’s stories. It’s too much for the taste of some, who would prefer that these colorful characters remain confined to the middle of the night. But no offense to the puritans, the drags are here to stay, persists in believing Rita Baga, the new undisputed queen of Montreal who is preparing to present Sunday the 100e performance of his show Creature as part of the Just for Laughs festival.
Since the triumph of reality TV RuPaul’s Drag Race, Irag queens are in more demand than ever in the mainstream media. In addition to Rita Baga, whose rise was meteoric in less than two years, Barbada, Mona de Grenoble, Tracy Trash and Gisèle Lullaby are also increasingly succeeding in carving out a place for themselves in the entertainment industry in Quebec.
Gossip sees it as a fashion effect that will eventually fade, as was the case after the 1990s for magicians or imitators. “We are increasingly trying to make us believe that we will only be a fad. But people have a short memory, ”retorts Jean-François Guevremont, the man behind the character of Rita Baga.
We are getting old, after all! I went to Cabaret Mado three to six nights a week for almost twelve years.
“The fashion for drag queens began in the 1990s with RuPaul, in the United States, and Mado Lamotte, here in Quebec, who were on all the TV sets. There was a lull afterwards and it started again with the success of RuPaul’s Drag Race and all its derivatives throughout the world. The show has been around for 15 seasons and is still growing in popularity. And here, in Quebec, we are still out of step with everything that is happening in the United States. So, no, I don’t feel it’s going to slow down. The opportunities have never been great for drags, ”he wants to put into perspective.
A great gathering party
In his case, it is true that the projects have continued to follow since his appearance on the show Canada’s Drag Race in 2020. After participating in the reality show Big Brother Celebrities the following winter, Rita Baga presented in October 2021 her first ” one drag show », Creature, mix of humor, burlesque and music. A show that is all in all accessible and good-natured, which contrasts with the saucy style of drag queen evenings in the Village, where Rita Baga was born 16 years ago at a friend’s party.
Some 45,000 tickets sold later, Jean-François Guevremont feels no nostalgia for his life before the pandemic at Cabaret Mado. “We are getting old, after all! I went to Cabaret Mado three to six nights a week for almost twelve years. It’s hard on the liver. It’s hard on the body, living day and night. But it was a very formative experience. Hosting in front of drunk people works on repartee. I would even say that it is my strength. I deal very well with tipsy people who are a little garish”, evokes the thirty-year-old, much less flamboyant than his famous alter ego.
For the 100e of Creature, Rita Baga has completely revamped her show especially for the Just for Laughs festival. The concept remains the same: a journey through time, from the 1940s to today. But the numbers have been reshaped. On the Beneva stage in the Quartier des Spectacles, the drag queen will also exceptionally be accompanied by six dancers, in addition to being accompanied by special guests, including Kim Richardson and Yves P. Pelletier.
A book and maybe an album
The tour Creature sIt will then continue throughout the fall in the four corners of Quebec and New Brunswick, ending on December 15 in Gatineau. After more than two years on the road, Jean-François Guevremont has every intention of putting down his bags for a while. Not going back on stage anytime soon. “I could never be a Mariana Mazza or a Louis-José Houde and do 300-400 performances of the same show word for word. I don’t miss the “party” side of the cabaret, but the “improvisation” side, a little anyway. THE stand up, having a written text, that’s not what I prefer”, confides the one who considers himself lucky to work with his spouse. Something to make life on tour less painful.
The next few months will continue to be quite busy for Rita Baga who, after crossing the ocean to host Drag Race Belgium last winter, will publish a book in the fall on the drag scene. At the same time, she is working on an album project with her great friend, singer Maxime Landry. Because unlike most drag queens, Rita Baga is not content to just do lip sync to well-known pop diva tunes. He or she also has their own voice.
“I have already started writing. I don’t want it to be a Rita Baga-only album. But at the same time, the Baga part of me also allows me to go deeper into gender exploration. To see now what will be the part of Jean-François and that of Rita in this project. This is all that we are exploring at the moment, ”explains Jean-François Guevremont enthusiastically, who also dreams of hosting a variety show on TV.
Change of position
So we haven’t finished hearing about Rita Baga. Too bad for those who bother. Last April, demonstrators gathered around a municipal library in Sainte-Catherine, on the South Shore, to protest against the arrival of the drag queen Barbada for the reading of tales. The leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec, Éric Duhaime, then seized on the issue by launching a petition for the government to stop funding activities for children with drag queens. Éric Duhaime said he wanted to protect children from ideology gender theory wokeet.
In an interview, Jean-François Guevremont gets annoyed when asked about this saga. In his opinion, the media has already given too much importance to this marginal movement, which only fuels hatred for the LGBTQ community, according to him. He does not wish to dwell on the subject at the risk of adding oil to the fire, preferring to answer with irony: “You can not like drag without spitting on the people who practice this art. Me, I’m not a football fan, but I don’t insult Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. If you are bothered, you change positions, that’s all. »