Since 1982, legendary drag entertainer and LGBTQ activist Darcelle XV of Portland, Oregon has sponsored La Femme Magnifique International, a drag pageant for The Most Beautiful and Glamorous Female Impersonators in the World. Winners have hailed from Portland, Tacoma, Denver, Los Angeles, Honolulu, Seattle, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, and contestants have competed from as far south as Mexico City and north of Vancouver, British Columbia. What also makes this pageant special is that at the time the contestants compete, they must be drag queens and not have any gender reassignment or be on hormones.
On Sunday, July 19th at Neighbours Nightclub, Latrina Bidet and Gaysha Starr will host the 34th Annual Seattle Pageant with 2014 Seattle La Femmes Diamond St James and Celys St James, Darcelle XV (MK's Pal) from Portland, OR and former La Femme titleholders.
The competition categories for both the regional and international pageants are Black and White Presentation, where contestants can wear any combination of black and white, Formal Wear, Talent Presentation and Las Vegas Showgirl. Here they must balance heavy feathered and embellished headdresses while wearing skimpy, sparkly bodysuits and high heels, as if they don't have a care in the world. In between each category presentation, past La Femme Magnifique titleholders and special guests will perform.
The judges selected have backgrounds in entertainment, beauty and fashion or are local personalities and they are instructed not to look for the most real looking drag queen that can pass as a woman, but to look for glamorous and polished showgirls with stage presence. Regardless, if it is a drag pageant or 'RuPaul's Drag Race,' what makes a drag winner is her charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent.
With the crop of new drag titles that have surfaced in Seattle recently, titles like La Femme Magnifique or Imperial Court titles like the Empress, Imperial Princess, Miss Gay Seattle or Miss Gay Washington stand the test of time and are a permanent part of LGBTQ history. If a titleholder maximizes her reign, it can be a stepping-stone onto bigger things, including a solo career outside of Gay nightclubs, if that's what she wants - like Portland's 1992 international winner, Poison Waters.
While Oregon leads with 17 international winners and Hawaii second with 11, Washington has 8 international winners - Coco Vaughn 1986, me in 1994, LaVanda Dela Rosa 1996, Lily Armani 2010, Lady Chablis 2011, Athena Kiss 2011, Amora Dior Black 2013, LaTrina Bidet 2013 and Gaysha Starr!
The 34th Annual La Femme Magnifique Washington Pageant is on Sunday, July 19yh at Neighbours Nightclub (1509 Broadway). Admission is $20 with the doors opening at 6 p.m. and the pageant starting promptly at 7 p.m. 21 and over with valid ID. Neighbours alley entrance between Broadway and Harvard Avenue off E. Pike St.
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