Originally published in the San Antonio Current. With an origin story not unlike that of fellow Puerto Rican drag star Jessica Wild (who performs in San Antonio on March 6), Yara Sofia rose through the ranks of San Juan’s LGBT nightlife scene, perfecting her craft in famed clubs like Krash and eventually landing on RuPaul’s…
Rey of Light: Rey Lopez Illuminates Drag in San Antonio
Originally published in the San Antonio Current. It’s an muggy Sunday evening as I step out of the car and walk toward Heat nightclub, one of several queer-oriented venues on the North Main Street Strip. Alaska Thunderfuck 5000 – who came to fame on the competitive drag-queen show RuPaul’s Drag Race, and is better known…
Rey Lopez Birthday Bash Returns for Sixth Year
Since its 2012 premiere at the Bonham Exchange, the annual Rey Lopez Birthday Bash has featured appearances by some of the top performers from RuPaul’s Drag Race. With the reality show’s increasing popularity and its recent jump to VH1, there seems to be no end in sight for these gender-bending, boundary-pushing queens. Before last year’s bash…
Rey Lopez Birthday Bash Promises an ‘Eleganza Extravaganza’
Since its 2012 premiere at the Bonham Exchange, the annual Rey Lopez Birthday Bash has featured appearances by some of the top performers from RuPaul’s Drag Race. This year’s extravaganza on July 28 pairs established fan favorites like Raja alongside newcomers Naomi Smalls and Valentina. Raven and Jujubee (AKA Team Rujubee) and Puerto Rican beauties…
Kickin’ In 2017 at the Pride Center’s Kiki
If you’re looking for way to ring in 2017, you’ll find no better celebration than Pride Center San Antonio’s second annual New Year’s Eve Kiki on December 31, at the Hilton Palacio Del Rio Hotel. The event will be headlined by RuPaul Drag Race All Star Yara Sofia. Music for the Kiki will be provided…
Yara Sofia to Headline Pride Center’s New Year’s Eve Kiki
RuPaul Drag Race All Star Yara Sofia will headline the entertainment for Pride Center San Antonio’s second annual New Year’s Eve Kiki on December 31 at the Hilton Palacio del Rio Hotel. Sofia (nee Gabriel Burgos Ortiz) was a cast member in 2011 on the third season of Ru Paul’s Drag Race which is broadcast…
Out in the Park Mixes Drag Queens and Roller Coasters with Fabulous Results
Originally published in the San Antonio Current. Not unlike Orlando’s Gay Days at Walt Disney World — which annually attracts an estimated 50,000 color-coordinated attendees — Rey Lopez’s slightly smaller (he’s hoping for 5,000) fall signature Out in the Park functions as an over-the-top LGBT theme-park takeover. An instant hit built around the winning combination…
Rey Lopez Throws a Bash Fit for a Queen
When RuPaul’s Drag Race (RPDR) premiered on the Logo network in 2009, no one could have predicted the type of cultural phenomenon it would become, thrusting gay culture into the mainstream, breathing new life into the world of drag and bringing the show’s namesake out of 1990s-era oblivion. Only two years later, local nightclub promoter…