Originally published in the San Antonio Current. A California native of Russian descent, David Petruschin is admittedly fond of “winged creatures.” As a go-go boy on the SoCal club scene, he dubbed himself Phoenix before developing the drag persona Raven. Arriving on the second season of RuPaul’s Drag Race back in 2010, the professional makeup…
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…
Meet The Juniors: Rising Drag Stars Harness the Power of Teamwork
I meet them as boys on an evening a week before Christmas, at Bakery Lorraine. Louie Canales, who performs as Chyna Cravens, and Christian Paolo, aka Sephwhora (pronounced Sef-whore-ah) 51, are waiting for me at a table near the entrance. The third member of the drag queen girl group known as The Juniors is running…
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…