Meet Lady Blanca | Drag Performer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lady Blanca and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lady, why did you pursue a creative career?
My interests in art was not something that I always gravitated towards. As a child I was often interested in geology and natural disasters. As a 5 or 6 year old, after school I would often finish my homework as soon as possible, so I could look up information on natural disasters and watch videos of tornadoes going through states. What a wicked way to start up my childhood. However, growing older, I found myself more inclined in the arts; music artists, Broadway musicals, dancing. It was the strong female musical influences that I grew up watching that inspired me to begin my drag career. The top ladies that I grew up with were Selena Quintanilla, Jenni Rivera, and Lady Gaga. These women in particular have been my muses for years now and the reason that I have been performing. Their tenacity, their creativity, their talents were amongst some of the reasons why they are a huge influence in my decision-making.

Do you ever have to write a 10-20 page article and start seeing everything in ink, black and white, with no color? That’s how I started feeling for a while before I discovered my abilities in performance art. I had been a fan of the show “RuPaul’s Drag Race” for years but never imagined myself really becoming a drag performer as I tend to believe it was too difficult and something I was never able to handle. Well, here I am. 3 years after my first drag performance, I am stronger than ever and only going higher from here! This choice to pursue my art was made out of love and hope for a stronger care-free future. A future where more people laugh rather than cry. Where more people look up at drag performers and where the gender binary is something of the past. I do this for myself and for those around me that I know need a good laugh, a good sense of relief from their world.

I enjoy what I do though it can get hefty to have energy all the time! Energy is needed to perform on stage, to style wigs, to put on body and outfits, to go from one gig to the other on the same night and have to perform again. It can be a lot, however, watching a room full of people feeling happy or any different emotion that a performer is transcending through their performance is what I live for.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I present myself as one of the Latinx drag performers here in San Diego that love to show part of our culture in our performances. Being Mexican-American plays a big role in my identity, so being able to do mostly Mexican songs in Spanish is always a fun time for me. I have been performing as Selena for a while too and that is always something I’m proud to do and excited to continue growing. I started my drag career at San Diego State University where I performed at a talent show which would later lead me to performing in bigger shows and thanks to the Haus of St. James, they pushed me to come out of my shell and perform outside of just school.
I’ve learned that doing drag and being a performer is not an easy journey. There will be people who turn you down, like any other profession, but that shouldn’t mean that you should quit. You gotta push yourself a little harder, take your time to learn and have experience so that once they want to see you again you can turn them down and accept better offers.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Rich’s is always a fun time to go dance your night away! Especially on Sunday nights for “STUNT” where Strawberry Corncakes, the host of the night, shows up and shows out how a queer night is a terribly fun night for you. STUNT has a variety of performers of all types throughout the night as well as a runway where you and your friends can feel your fantasy. It is a queer interactive night! Everyone always shows up in their best outfits that make you feel out of this world!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to shoutout my Haus of St. James family, who work tirelessly day and night to provide for everyone access to drag shows all throughout the nation, as well as my friends who love and support me in my drag endevors even when it’s too much for them and all of my drag peers and producers who give me a chance to share my smile and love with the world.

Website: linktr.ee/laladyblanca

Instagram: @laladyblanca

Facebook: facebook.com/laladyblanca

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4e-mrtBYmBfUtkYC7Vy9Pg

Image Credits
Amber St. James