Seats in Jones Auditorium filled up one by one as students munched on popcorn and pickles as they anticipated the start of Texas A&M University \u2013 Kingsville\u2019s (TAMUK) very first Drag Show on Aug. 26.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Students who attended So You Think You Can Drag were able to watch performances of five drag queens and one drag king. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The start of the show as well as the audience\u2019s Master of Ceremonies, NYX @ NITE, is a Drag Queen who got her start through her love of theatre arts. In 2014 when she took her first stage makeup class, she fell in love with the art of illusion and the rest is history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After moving to San Angelo, she had a hand in maintaining the annual drag show at Angelo State that brought many headliners from RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race such as Shangela, Morgan McMichaels, Denali, and Mo Heart. Shortly after in 2019, NYX was asked to perform in her first show. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since then, she has performed in numerous venues and private events in San Angelo and has traveled to perform in cities such as Lubbock, Abilene, Odessa and Houston.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The next performer, Adrianna Da Grande, is a current student at TAMUK, studying Agribusiness: Ranch Management and Architectural Engineering and is minoring in Business. She had her first opportunity to shine back in April of this year, for a charity event hosted by fraternities and sororities on campus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen [my] friends told me about So You Think You Can Drag over the summer, [I] decided [I] was ready and jumped on this with precision and full force to make it perfect,\u201d Grande said. \u201c[I] always want the crowd to feel special and pumped up for each performance, because even though it takes a lot of energy, it is so worth it to see their faces at the end.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this was Grande\u2019s first time doing a drag performance, So You Think You Can Drag would not have been such a hit without Campus Activities Coordinator Julianne Gomez and Multicultural Coordinator Gabrielle Vaughn, who both work for Student Engagement and Campus Life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe want to be more intentional about being inclusive on campus for all of our students.\u201d Vaughn said. \u201cWe only had one student [who signed up for the show], but even if just one student decided they wanted to display their love to drag, that was OK with me!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Students in the audience had nothing but positive feedback regarding the other queens and king.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI honestly loved [the show],\u201d Animal Science major Katherine Valtierra said. \u201cThere were parts where I cried out of happiness because it was just so amazing. I think it would be amazing [if TAMUK] hosted another drag show, mostly because this was my first one and I just had a wonderful experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The rest of the show featured performances by Kitana S\u00e1nchez, Kalico Kandy, Frankie and Arson Nick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
S\u00e1nchez is a transgender, Latina born woman raised in Del Rio. She moved to Corpus Christi and graduated with her BA in English in 2010 at TAMUCC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She has competed in pageants, winning Miss Corpus Christi Newcomer USofA 2010, Miss Gay Corpus Christi 2014, Queen of Fantasia 2016, Miss Gay Texas Universe 2021 and Miss Gay Universe 2022. She is a show girl extraordinaire who just loves to entertain audiences and hopes to inspire people with her performances. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She is also Vice President of CCLGBT, co-facilitator of the Coastal Bend Trans Alliance established 2016, Ambassador for the #behuman Campaign, writer of Viva la Trans, and a public speaker\/advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community. She hopes one day that equality for LGBTQIA+ people will be implemented. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kalico Kandy is a graduate of TAMUK and she earned a degree in Music Education. She is a singer, multi-instrumentalist and comedian, all of which she combines into her drag. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She is currently a graduate student in Clinical Mental Health and is an advocate for the benefits of mental health and all things the color pink. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The last performance of the night was Kingsville\u2019s very own \u201cThe One and Only King of Kingsville,\u201d Arson Nick, who is currently Coastal Bend\u2019s Premier Drag King Entertainer. From confetti cannons to being buried alive on stage, he is truly a wild card who loves keeping the audience on the edge of their seats. Arson is best known for their eccentric style tear-away pants, and their motto, \u201cdo it scared.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the success of TAMUK\u2019s first drag show, Student Engagement and Campus Life plans to host this event next year and years that follow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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