FEATURE ARTICLES

A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE: Notes from an Antiquated Queen ByMary Khon

Hello Queeridos!

It is the third month of the year and I’m already craving summer! I don’t know about you but the cold winter months are not my favorites. Luckily spring is in the air and I can’t wait to start seeing hot papis wearing short sleeve shirts and shorts.

You know, it was a month ago when la Shakira and la JLo performed at something call the super bowl. All I remember is the music, the hot dancing, and the political statements made by the two women. Who, by the way, are over 40 years old, married, and with children. Mothers who complained that the show was not “family oriented” forgot when they say NOTHING about seeing Adam Levine take off his shirt and show his tattooed upper body. Sí, queeridos, it is called double standards. 

There were also all those racist people who couldn’t accept why two Latina women would take center stage and sing in both English and Spanish, have Afro-Colombian dancers, wear the Puerto Rican flag, and make a political statement about immigrant separation. Ay, Dios mío! The Stoopids were up in arms about that stuff, because well, they are racist and how dare does the NFL (don’t get excited; I have to google where football belongs), try to show some diversity and embraced Latinidad beyond “Taco Tuesday” and “5 de Mayo,” uh? How dare they?

I am done with all this! Back to the present time.

It’s March! And this month marks the beginning of spring. Now, if we were back in the Greek times, (here I go again deviating from the present. It is as if we are living in some nightmarish present time). Anyway, back on Greek days, the beginning of spring was reason to celebrate, and the Greeks celebrated with music, wine, dancing, and theatre. And whom did they dedicate their celebration to? To Dionysus, the god of fertility, wine, theatre, and spring. And they did it through several days that included theatre competitions, where some of the most famous classical plays, which have influenced the way we see films today, were presented for the first time.

When I was a boy, my school celebrated the beginning of spring with a huge parade. In fact, all the schools from our city came together for this big “spring parade,” except it wasn’t really to celebrate spring but to celebrate Benito Juárez, the first and only Indigenous Mexican president. So for me, the beginning of spring is full of nostalgia and great memories. Every March I welcome spring time with open arms and with great enthusiasm, mainly because it means the cold will go away and the sun will bathe my body. Also, spring break comes soon after the beginning of the season and well, at my age, getting vacation time is a precious thing to have.

Okay, now, back to the present time. It is March and it is time to get ready for beautiful sunny days ahead. It is also time to get ready for spring break and to show that hot body of ours. And no, I don’t mean your skinny or muscled body or well-formed, or tanned body. I mean, your body in general, ‘cause it is time to celebrate ourselves at all time, queeridos, no matter how we look. The body-shaming era needs to be gone forever! FOR. EVER!Do not let anyone else tell you otherwise. You are beautiful, queerido!

March is also time to start thinking about summer vacation. Oh yes, it is never too early to plan that summer getaway, even if it is just going to visit your drag queen friend in another city or state. Speaking of drag queens, have any of you had the chance to see the Netflix original series “AJ and the Queen?” I have and let me tell you, it was, um, well, I think the Republican convention has more talent. Now, now, don’t hate me for saying this but RuPaul in drag is far more fun that RuPaul out of drag. And when it comes to acting, RuPaul is more talented than herself out of drag. But como dice el dicho, “en gustos se rompengéneros” and just as I dislike the show, I know many friends who loved it. I don’t love it but I don’t dislike it either. In fact, one of the writers of the show is a good friend of mine, and love the idea that a person of color is writing for “AJ and the Queen.” I love the writing; I wasn’t very hot about the acting.

But speaking of acting, in my opinion, the only two good actors in the show were John Segarra(John plays RuPaul’s love interest). He’s straight and married but as an actor, he goes all the way with the kissing, lucky RuPaul! and Michael Leon-Wooley (Michael plays RuPaul’s blind roommate) He’s just plain funny! Of course the guest stars were also good and seeing the array of campy queens was fun. Unfortunately, I do believe that RuPaul out of drag was the low point of the show, which is unfortunate because he played the “main character.”

Alright, queeridos. Enough tea for the month. Have a wonderful month and we will meet again in April. Hasta pronto!