Didn’t make it to last Friday’s Drama Drag show at EXDO/Tracks?  Neither did I, but friend of ELEMENT Daniel Alvarez went and was generous enough to send in some photos for me to post!  In case you’re wondering why there aren’t any pics of Shannel or Akasha performing it’s because Mr. Alvarez isn’t a fan of them. (That’s one of the things I love about drag personas, they stir up strong reactions.)

Gayzetteblog has been on a roll recently. Today those smutty smutty boys are reporting local drag superstar Nina Flowers is releasing her first single appropriately titled ‘LOCA.’ For those who didn’t watch Rupaul’s Drag Race, Nina loved to affectionately call other contestants ‘loca’ which is the Spanish word for crazy as applied to a feminine subject.

Gayzetteblog managed to dig up a youtube video of Nina performing her single so you’ll just have to head over to their blog to watch it.

Element staffer Tom attended the show Friday night where Shannel (the Vegas one) from Ru Paul’s Drag Race was the guest of honor.  Tom emailed me that he spent much of the evening shouting “I love you” at Nina and Shannel till he lost his voice, but he did manage to take some photos while he was there.

Shannel just loves showing off her ass…

One batch of photos Tom sent me from the evening was titled simply “hot guys.” I’m not sure if that batch was meant for my own personal enjoyment or for posting but sure, why not, here they are for all of you to enjoy.

Gay entertainment blog Muzophile, clearly a fan of Nina Flowers, got an interview with her  got an interview with her last month that came to my attention thanks to MHGG.

Definitely the most interesting question is this:

Muzo: What advice would you give to the upcoming season 2 contestants?

Nina:

1. Make sure you bring out your personality and remember that they are looking for Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve and Talent. (Muzo sidenote: This was one of the ‘Drag Race’ mantras. Did anyone else ever notice what that acronym spells out?? lol ‘C.U.N…..’ Moving on…)

2. Be original.

3. Don’t pay attention to other people and focus on your work. Attacking others won’t get you anywhere.

4. Don’t be a freaking hater. There are many styles of Drag Form, and if we all think and feel the same way, then we be all wearing the same things and we all look alike, and that my friends would be very freaking boring. Respect everyone and stop been so freaking CRITICAL. We all have the right to express this art in our own VISION. Some have more experience than others, but don’t ever forget how you look when you first started and were you came from.

5. Enjoy every single minute of it. Don’t forget that this is a great moment to showcase your talent and make new friends.

6. Don’t ever give up. A WINNER NEVER QUITS, AND A QUITER NEVER WINS.

Read the full interview here or click on the image below.

The Denver Post had a phenomenal feature story on Nina and the rest of the VIVID show this Sunday.  What immediately caught my attention was that the Post writer was smart enough to realize drag is more than “female impersonation” but rather a unique and undefinable form of gender expression and exploration.

The story obviously features Nina Flowers but other performers mentioned include Nina Montaldo, Nicole Sommer, Ginger Sexton, Felony Misdemeano, Blade Matthews, Jenae Bordeaux, Gia Diamonte and Michael Vrooman who started the VIVID drag show.

Read the full Denver Post story here.

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Via Ginger Sexton’s Twitter stream.

Update: OutFront is reporting Mayor John Hickenlooper declared May 29th “Nina Flowers Day.”

• Friday night Tammie Brown (the scary looking one from RuPaul’s Drag Race) is joining Nina Flowers for “Drama Drag,” Tracks’ weekly drag show.  Cover is $10 and show starts at 10 PM in drag time which means 10:15-10:20 in reality.  Flyer here.

• All weekend long the Starz/Tivoli film center is having a queer film festival.  Tickets have been on sale for the last month (and this is my third post on the matter) so I can’t promise you’ll get seats in the screening you want but check out the full schedule here.

On Sunday May 24th Ginger Sexton is hosting a fundraiser for the Colorado AIDS Project featuring Ongina who came out as HIV+ on RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Ginger BTW is participating in the online voting to be cast in season two of Drag Race.  Vote for her on RuPaul’s casting site here.

And on Friday May 29th another former Drag Racer, Tammie Brown, will be joining Nina Flowers for Tracks’ “Drama Drag” Friday.