Spanish lyrics blare, neon lights twinkle, and a DJ mixes a set in a crowded nightclub. Drag queens take the stage, their expertly tight-lined lips mouthing along to a track.
Hundreds of miles from the Rio Grande Valley, Austin’s Puro Pinche 956 showcase brings RGV drag performers together, building a community where South Texas artists feel at home on stage. Laredo-born Venus Rising (they/them) organized the showcase in 2024 to honor their upbringing and offer a liberating space for South Texas drag queens in Austin.
The showcase unfolds with fun variations as drag queens perform to a majority Hispanic crowd. One entertainer hands out Hot Cheetos. Another performer rips off a shirt, revealing another layer as “La Camisa Negra” plays.
“Every single one of the performers has always been like, ‘I feel like I’m at home,’” Venus said. “I love being able to put a space for them to show us what they’ve got.”
Navigating Queer Identity in South Texas
Raised in Laredo, Venus said the city felt like a bubble that wouldn’t allow them to be themselves. Under the wing of drag queen Vera Versace, Venus found acceptance, learning to apply drag makeup and perform.
Early on in their drag journey, Venus and other entertainers in Laredo formed the Drag Haus. This collective of drag performers regularly hosts gigs, and participating in these events allowed Venus to open up about their identity.
“All my drag sisters in Laredo saw me for me,” Venus said. “To this day, that stays with me because it is hard growing up queer and trans, figuring out your identity and not feeling like you belong. To have people who accept you and take you in is beautiful.”
Creating a Liberating Showcase
The Puro Pinche 956 drag showcase serves as an outlet for Venus to give back the support they received from the Drag Haus in a new place. After moving from Laredo to Austin in 2022, Venus grinded to break into a new city’s drag scene. By connecting with other drag queens, Venus found many Austin-based performers from South Texas.
One day, Venus joked around with those new drag queen friends, Bobby Pudrido and Iggy Bank, about hosting a night for South Texas performers. Venus pitched it to Cheer Up Charlies, an Austin venue, which received approval.
“I wanted to highlight drag entertainers from South Texas up here because I’m such a fan of old school pageant drag, and South Texas is just full of that,” Venus said. “The big hair, Texas dirt contour, pageant mixes, big ass crystal earrings.”
Since then, Venus has hosted the show a handful of times at different locations, always centered around South Texas entertainers. Venus books a South Texan DJ, such as Lidia Beatz, and gathers drag queens who originally come from the RGV and now live in Austin, or travel from the Valley to perform.
Whether it’s with Spanish lyrics, corridos, or channeling a telenovela star, Venus said each performer incorporates their own Valley experience into the night. Venus shared that in South Texas, they felt pressure to follow typical gender roles, and seeing the Puro Pinche 956 production come to life feels gratifying.
“In South Texas, queerness was muted down,” Venus said. “On Facebook, the Laredo Morning Times would post about drag events, and there’s always so much hate in the comments—people being old school and machista. I wanted to have a safe space for people who grew up belittled by their queerness. It means the world that people feel safe to come and just be themselves.”
Now More than Ever
Through fun nights out, the Puro Pinche 956 drag showcase develops a strong sense of connection for drag queens who’ve left home and made a spotlight for themselves in Austin. These spaces are needed now more than ever due to the current conservative political view toward the LGBTQ+ community.
In March, Senate Bill 12 came into effect throughout Texas, prohibiting “sexually oriented performances” on public property or anywhere in sight of children. Widely known as the “drag ban,” the law also targets venues with a fine of up to $10,000 if they host sexually explicit drag shows in the presence of children.
“We’re human beings just like anyone else,” Venus said. “We shouldn’t be demonized or criminalized for performing our art.”
Communities like the Puro Pinche 956 showcase and Laredo’s Drag Haus foster safe spaces where people can navigate their identities in a welcoming environment. Some similar groups in the RGV include the South Texas Equality Project and Casa Orgullo. Plus, be sure to support local drag queens at venues like Bar-B in Brownsville and Santa Diabla in McAllen! Performers such as Luna Karr, Lolli Poppers and Sassy Real put on acts in the Valley that are sure to make for a great time.
