We reached out to several of the Drag Race girls today, who have all worked and played at Pulse nightclub over the years, and asked them to share their thoughts on what the club means to them and if they had any memories they’d like to share.
Coco Montrese:
After my parents died I left Miami and made Orlando my home for 11 years of my life working for Walt Disney Entertainment and re-booting my career as a female impersonator and pageantry and eventually captured the title of Miss Gay Orlando. Pulse nightclub was one of my many supporters in the community they even held a benefit show to send me to compete at Miss Gay America so Pulse was partly my physical home ,my safety net. My last Performance their was early this year when they asked me to come home and perform an afterparty event for Janet Jackson’s unbreakable world tour Orlando stop. Being there is where I felt safe and home again amongst the bartenders,djs, event staff front door host,promoters and security,my family. That night Janet Jacksons creative director Gil even showed up to Pulse and gave me his support and cheered me on while i was on stage. It was a great home coming for me this year. To see all my friends and family in a place I grew up and supported me although I live in Las Vegas now with an amazing career and my face is on billboards this was the place and the city I called home , I was always their little Coco and family always welcomed me back there. It feels like someone walked into my home and stripped me of the many parents , brothers, and sisters who allowed me to be myself and grow. Tragedy hit my home my safe place, some may see it as just a club but for many of us it was our home when our physical homes werent as accepting. We lost alot of great people to this evil senseless act. But as a family we will prevail. Where there is love, hate cant win.
Madame LaQueer:
A dark cloud shrouds over the rainbow. Pulse Nightclub was a safe haven for so many good dear friends, brothers and sisters. They treated me wich such care and integrity that is hard to forget. To even turn on my newsfeed and see the news and reports its just heart stopping. There is nothing that really prepares you for something like this. We must be brave. We must stand strong. Just hang in there guys… there is always light at the end of our rainbow.
Alexis:
It was a great spot specially for Cast members from Disney World and Universal Studios to take a brake from their crazy schedule. Their collage night and Latin night was great. Girl like Roxy Andrews Angelica Sanchez and the house of Adonis were always there…I had a great time performing there our show director nemma is a fun loving guy who love drag and their staff was friendly and great. I’m want the community to support our gay business in this moment….
Laganja Estranja:
As a performer who has worked at Pulse Nightclub many times, first let me give my condolences to the victims, families, friends, bar staff, and everyone involved in this tragic incident. When I first heard the news, I immediately called Axel Andrews, a good friend of mine and Pulse Employee who works there regularly. When I was not able to reach him, my heart sunk and I began to worry. I immediately took to Twitter and began digging up as much information as possible. Luckily, through social media, I was able to find out very quickly that he had climbed through an air vent to safety. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t know the rabbit hole I would get myself into. Thousands of disheartening tweets flooded my inbox, and I felt it was my responsibility as an LGBTQ representative to respond and keep everyone updated on events as they unfolded. But as the body count grew higher, my anxiety and anger were building. I realized however, as scary and horrifying as this was, I couldn’t let hate win. It is truly important that we pull together as a community and celebrate our pride even louder and prouder this year. We mustn’t let this silence our triumphs and our ever growing equality. As a Drag Queen, I look fear in its eye every day and while it’s not easy, it is possible! Please donate your blood, your financial support to the victims gofundme, and most importantly your love to our brothers and sisters!
Below, a series of random pictures from Pulse’s Facebook page to remind everybody of the importance of community and the good times that have been shared there.
