By Itzel Chavero
With loud cheers and claps, Dominican students received a show filled with colorful make-up, extravagant wigs, and high stiletto boots as drag queens performed in the Social Hall in celebration of International Transgender Day of Visibility.
On April 4, about 50 people gathered in the hall to enjoy what would be Dominican’s first drag brunch. Dominican previously hosted drag shows, but not in the spring semester and not with a breakfast to accompany the performance.
Before the show began, students had a complete breakfast with eggs, fruit, croissants, and muffins.
As the crowd waited for the main event, a DJ hyped up the crowd by playing upbeat party music such as “Hey Baby” by Pitbull and “Luxury” by Azealia Banks.
Five performers took turns with their own routines of dancing and lip syncing. One of them was Dominican alumni, Andre Easton, who performed under the name Rachel Slurrz.
All of the performers interacted in a fun and friendly matter with the crowd as they danced with them, took pictures, jumped on top of tables, and even received tips from the crowd.
With the popularity and request of students for more drag queen shows on campus, Aitana Gonzalez, president of PRISM (People Respecting Identity, Sexuality and Mindfulness) planned this new event.
Gonzalez said she came up with this celebration in hopes of students becoming more open to expressing their identities at Dominican.
“I hope these events help students with how they choose to express themselves” she said. “I try to encourage not being scared to express yourself because you are important and eventually you will have to express yourself one way or another and you don’t want to cage that.”
Every performance ended with cheers and applause from audience members who couldn’t get enough of the show. They also seemed to appreciate the artistic presence of these drag queens by screaming words like “slay.”
Freshman Maria Sarango said she was delighted to see Dominican incorporating events like the branch these on campus.
“We don’t see this in [many] colleges, she said. “I think that this is a great form of being inclusive towards different communities. It really showcases the different types of art such as the costumes they wear, and the dances they portray.”
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