Page 18 - Adelante Magazine February 2025

Community
By: Al Ballesteros

Lola Veronica:

A Glimpse Into Her Life

ig hair, chic gowns, sparkling jewel neck-
laces, glitz, and all the makings of a
Bglamor queen. Seen over the years,
center stage at Pride events across California
and beyond, alongside well-known pop music
artists, fetching go-go-boys and loud on the
mic. She is one of the most well-known, locally
grown drag talents: Lola Veronica or simply,
Lola.

Lazaro Concepcion started doing drag at 14.
He’s performed for more than 44 years. At
times the journey has not been easy. He lost
his father also at 14 and had to work to help his
mother pay the bills. He’s struggled with his
weight, which reached more than 420 lbs., and
caused him health problems and eventually led
to needed weight-loss surgery in his late 40s.
He experienced much adversity growing up a
heavy kid, and later for doing drag. Lazaro
lived with his mother his whole life and took
care of her due to her decline in health until she
passed. Through it all, Lazaro worked a full-
time job to pay for household expenses and to
support his passion doing drag.

Looking back on his career, Lazaro often feels
that he has not gotten the recognition due as a
performer. He says when he first started doing
drag, he was told he was not ideal to perform
because he did not have breasts and did not
look like any star to impersonate. Lazaro has
proven them all wrong and has had a career
spanning more than four decades and is still
doing a few gigs while he considers wrapping
this all up for good.

Lazaro lives in quiet middle-class neighbor-
hood in the San Gabriel Valley. His home very
much blends in with all the others on the block.
Lazaro opens the door dressed in kick back
gray sweat shorts, tank top, flip flop slippers, Glam Shot 2015
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