The SUB ballroom was filled with glitter, wigs and glam Saturday night at the UNM Queer Straight Alliance’s second annual drag show.
QSA event organizer Adam Quintero reprised his role as Lady Gaga for this year’s show. He said walking onstage and seeing a packed house was inspiring.
“I loved seeing all the drag queens getting ready together, getting along, having fun and putting aside their differences, because there can be a lot of drama in the LBGTQ community,” he said.
More than 1,000 attendees crowded in a standing-room-only event and cheered on contestants for king and queen.
Contestants were graded by a seven-judge panel, which included ASUNM Vice President Joseph Colbert and 2010 New Mexico Pride contest winners Tony Medina and Simone Segovia. The winners, who went by their stage names Nadi and Alejandro, were announced at the end of the show.
GPSA President Lissa Knudsen judged the event and said she looks forward to further integration of the LGBT community.
“I am proud that UNM hosts such an open-minded event, and I look forward to a time when the University president, the governor and the mayor are all judges.”
The event was free, but booths sold dates with participating students, DVDs of last year’s show and VIP tickets.
Originally, QSA posted a Moulin Rouge theme on Facebook, but the show’s theme was changed in late September to “Can Can Cabaret,” after Quintero said the Moulin Rouge theater in France threatened to sue if the theme was not changed. He said no future legal action was taken.
Jesse Lopez, Albuquerque Pride president, said QSA is at the forefront of activism and is the state’s largest LGBT group.
“It’s really important that UNM takes a step forward to send the message that it’s OK to be who you are,” he said.
