Drag queen Zimina, formally introduced as “the hair, the hips, the heels” of UC Santa Cruz, sashayed down the catwalk, gussied up in black fringe and eight inch heels.

While voguing to “HARD” by FKA twigs, Zimina darted a fierce look at the audience, and maneuvered the classic “dip” move. The whole room erupted in thunderous applause.

Zimina was just one of nine performers at the fourth annual Mother Earth Drag Extravaganza, organized by UCSC’s Lionel Cantú Queer Center in celebration of Earth Day.

The drag show, which brought about 200 attendees to the Seymour Marine Discovery Center on April 17, served — literally — as an homage to Mother Earth and all her queer inhabitants. 

Drag queen Maidenhair Fern explained how her act, inspired by the hermaphroditic Hopkins’ rose nudibranch sea slug, was an opportunity to step “pussy deep” into the intersection of queer ecology and theatricality.

“The binary is broken in nature and there are animals that experience same-sex attraction and love,” she said. “It’s really beautiful to celebrate how natural and innate queerness is, and especially to do it in an aquarium surrounded by sea life just feels really special.”

Maidenhair Fern dances to a jazz mix.

DiPaloma Milli, a drag queen with a “Ph.Double D,” used her act to present a slideshow of her research findings on what is commonly known as “twink death.” As a woman in STEM, DiPaloma Milli did not hesitate to crunch the numbers and determine what makes Mother Earth inherently queer to her.

“Queerness is intrinsic to Mother Earth,” Milli said. “She’s a big real bitch. That’s as queer as it gets.”

In the nature of drag, performers set out to be anything but subdued. With two booming speakers and a kaleidoscopic array of LED lights setting the scene, queens graced the catwalk one by one as the audience eagerly anticipated each act.

Sweet Magnolia gave an alluring performance as an evil oil seductress to Tim Curry’s “Toxic Love.” Lady Guinea Pinks stunned the audience with Lady Gaga’s “Bloody Mary” and a dance akin to medieval swordfighting. The Original Colin dipped and dived to Slayyyter’s “CRANK,” and even spray painted their bleached hair pink mid-act.

Lady Guinea Pinks performs to Lady Gaga’s “Bloody Mary.”

For those who wished to take a break from the drag show, the Seymour Center provided a quiet room with coloring pages, friendship bracelet stations and an array of snacks, as well as an outdoor patio that offered a breath of ocean air. Various queer and environmental student organizations tabled in the quiet room, giving out pins, stickers, temporary tattoos and resources to students.

“There is so much beauty in queerness, and queerness is so common and so natural and in so many species and elements of life beyond humanity,” said Nico Hernandez-Polley, the lead events assistant at the Seymour Center. “Having an event at an aquarium that aims to make a safe space for students emphasizes an accepting ecology.”

In a time when LGBTQIA+ communities face relentless attacks in the form of executive orders from the Trump administration, drag queen Antoinette finds solace in perceiving the queer community as something bigger than herself.

“I am a small part of something, and I love that it’s not about me,” she said. “It’s not about one person. It’s about both queer joy and queer liberation, and you can’t not interlace those two.”

Before the performances commenced, emcee Mark Ramone Gardner, between community agreements and thanking the ancestors, shared a phrase he’s used every year since the event was conceived: “Life begins when the party ends.” 

“It is important for cisgender-heterosexual people to constantly confront the anti-queer and anti-trans rhetoric and violence that they have participated in or remained silent about,” Gardner expressed in an email to City on a Hill Press. “And while our celebration is not meant to be a confrontation, our presence, in all its color and splendor, is a reminder of what it means to truly live life boldly and unapologetically.” 

[LEFT TO RIGHT] Colin, Zimina, Venus, Antoinette, Sweet Magnolia, Maidenhair Fern, and Lady Guinea Pinks at the end of the drag.