Portland, Oregon welcomes me on my Queer Across America road trip! Well, at least I think it’s Portland. The beauty of traveling all around the country exploring queer communities is that I get to wake up in new cities every week. However, right now, I can’t even remember what city I’m in thanks to the pounding Pacific Northwest hangover in my head.
I look around my hotel room to see that it’s very much catered to millennials: Banksy wall art, an Alexa virtual assistant instead of a phone, a room service menu that offers cannabis, and another that offers neon sex toys.
I look to the door to find that it’s inexplicably covered with a chalkboard material and a stick of chalk dangling next to it. This seems like a useless hotel feature until I see that I scribbled “Portland is the bessst” with enough S’s to mimic my probably slurred speech from the night before.
So, I guess I really am in Portland. And I guess last night was great. The only thing I remember is something about gambling, gay strippers, and a drag show.
I saunter across the street to Grendel’s Coffee House, where I try to patiently wait in line before reaching the lesbian barista. After grabbing my order, I look around the shop to see a handful of queer people, including a person in their 50s who proudly disregarded the gender binary by sporting silver hair that rested across their blue floral blouse, sleek manicured nails, and a scraggly gray beard.
Though Portland has an LGBTQ+ neighborhood just east of the Burnside Bridge, the entire city feels very queer. And not just the “accepting” of LGBTQ+ people but unapologetically queer. My entire walk through the area is filled with colorful personalities shuffling by, clean nature, artful buildings, and plenty of queer-owned businesses like WildFang, Fuse Theatre, Always Here Bookstore, and The Sports Bra–a newly opened women’s sports bar.
I get lost at Powell’s City of Books, the absolute BIGGEST bookstore I’ve ever been in! The shop spans an entire city block with 4 floors of new, used, old, and rare books! If you’re ever in Portland for just a short time and have to choose only one thing to see, let this be it. It’s truly stunning.
As I continue wandering around getting ready to cross Harbor Dr., I come across the world’s smallest park. The only thing more of a gem than Mills End Park are the Yelp reviews. Whoever wrote that it was quite a treat to hike the entire 24 inches wasn’t wrong. Portland is a quirky city.
After eating at Farmhouse Kitchen, I finally feel myself becoming human again instead of the hungover monster that’s been roaming around the drizzly town. My memory slowly comes back to me. I remember speaking to a bartender at CC Slaughter’s that told me that I had to check out a drag show next door.
I make my way to the iconic Darcelle XV Showplace. The venue is an intimate, tightly packed theater named after Darcelle XV, the drag name of the owner and Guinness World Record holder for being the world’s oldest active drag queen at 91 years old!
The lights dim as the traditional drag show begins with an opening group number by the cast. Once it concludes, Darcelle, with her beehive hairdo and long red gown, takes the microphone.
“Hello everyone, I’m Darcelle XV!” the queen shouts. “Hair by Viagra. Why is a fire engine red? You’d be too if someone was pulling on your hose.”
The elderly performer delivers more dad jokes. She’s entertaining in the way a feisty grandmother might be after having a martini or two at bingo. It’s endearing, and the audience comes into the show knowing Darcelle’s age. It’s an iconic performance nonetheless, with high energy and multiple wardrobe changes over the next hour and a half.
Darcelle performs a final solo number to “Rhinestone Cowboy” as she is appropriately covered from blue cowboy hat to blue cowboy boots in rhinestones. As the chorus approaches, she turns to reveal her bare ass in chaps. The crowd goes feral! Darcelle estimates doing the same number four times a week since the 70s for an astounding 9,000 times, and the crowd is still eating it up!
The show concludes with some words spoken from Darcelle’s heart:
“I first put on a dress when I was 37 years old. Nothing is ever too late. Be yourself. Be true to yourself. If you’re unhappy with whatever, move on.”
Traveling around the country for my Queer Across America project has been the most enlightening experience of my life because I’m getting to witness so many different queer cultures, communities, and individuals that I would have never known existed otherwise.
Darcelle, real name Walter Cole, has since passed away after living an incredible 92-year life. Her legacy will forever live on as her friends and mentees continue to perform her drag show in Portland.
Photos courtesy of London Alexander are copyrighted and cannot be used without written expressed permission.
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