Urban Sanctuary

from May 2023 :: Queering Mental Health

You Matter Usted Importa

Started by Fort Collins local, Ali Duncan, Urban Sanctuary is the first Black woman-owned yoga studio in Denver. The studio is located in Five Points, and its mission is to provide healing spaces for all individuals, especially in neighborhoods experiencing gentrification.

Urban Sanctuary has spent the last seven years working to create “brave spaces” where all individuals are free to practice authentically and reconnect with their divine selves. To make their resources affordable, Urban Sanctuary offers inclusive and BIPoC pricing.

Additionally, Urban Sanctuary offers three free yoga classes each week for BIPOC individuals called Full Circle. There are weekly Wednesday classes for queer-identifying people called 2SLGBTQI+.

The studio also offers workshops on anti-racism, shibari, and tantra. You can find Urban Sanctuary at: Instagram: @urbansanctuary.love-

For those who are not a part of the QTBIPoC community, donating to organizations that create these spaces can be a great way to support fellow Black and Brown members of the queer community.

Creating inclusive and safe spaces is essential to building a more equitable society. This work begins with supporting every individual in fortifying and managing their mental health.

by Denny Patterson

Camila Spanic is a drag queen who quickly made a name for herself within Denver’s queer community, but it’s not because of her sickening looks or killer lip sync skills. She is a hardcore sexual health advocate and spends more time in drag raising awareness than performing on stage.

Spanic works with several nonprofits that provide services for sexual health like Colorado Health Network, as well as organizations deeply associated with Mountain

Pride, which focuses on bringing LGBTQ awareness to mountain areas such as Vail and Avon. Every time Spanic is in drag, she will try to intertwine something regarding sexual health activism.

“You never know who you could be talking to,” she says. “My catchphrase is, ‘If you’re going to hoe, hoe responsibly.”

OFM caught up with Spanic to talk more about her drag and advocacy.

Can you begin by telling us more about who Camila Spanic is and what she’s all about?

Camila Spanic is my drag persona, and she is a character that is loving and the kind of person I wish I had when I was younger. In addition to being a drag queen and performer, I am a sexual health activist, and I’m very involved in the queer scene. I do a lot of shows for organizations and nonprofits, and I’m also the Grand Duchess of the Imperial Court of the Rocky Mountain Empire, the oldest LGBTQ nonprofit organization in Colorado.

How did you discover your love and passion for drag?

My love and passion for drag started when I was very little. I used to play with Barbies, play with my mom’s heels, and I was always drawn to makeup. There was a time in my life where I was doing special effects makeup, and making costumes because that was considered masculine. It was, like, a justification of, “Oh, I’m not really gay.” But when I went to Charlie’s for the first time when I was 21, I met this giant, gorgeous woman who was probably six-footeight in heels. It was like meeting a celebrity, and she was everything I’ve always wanted to be.

At Charlie's, they have something called the Turnabout; that’s when newcomers perform, so I decided to do it. When I looked at myself in the mirror, I didn’t recognize the gorgeous woman staring back at me. I finally saw the beauty within me, but at the same time, it was kind of a mixed feeling because I kept hearing the voices in my head, especially my mom’s, saying, “This isn’t what a man does.” But as soon as I hit the stage and performed, it was such a transcendental experience. Nothing else mattered, and I could feel the positive energy vibrating through me. I knew this is what I wanted to do.

Why is teaching and advocating for sexual health so important to you?

Teaching sexual health is so important to me because even though I didn’t experience the AIDS epidemic, a lot of residual hate and ignorance surrounded me. When I was young, my mom basically forced me out of the closet. She was like, “You’re going to tell me you’re gay. If you don’t, I don’t ever want to hear anything about this again.” So, I said, “Yes, I guess I’m gay.” She then said, “If you ever get AIDS, you should die in the streets because I don’t want to have that shame upon our family.” Since that day, I was petrified of HIV.

I rarely had a sexual encounter, and even if it was something small, I was just petrified. I would be in the shower thinking, "What if this is the one time that I get HIV?" It wasn’t until I was 21 when I finally realized that you could get PrEP for free, and PrEP can help prevent HIV. Even if you’re living with HIV, it’s no longer a death sentence. You can live a normal life. I was in a bubble of ignorance, and I don't want anybody within my proximity to have that fear. No one should suffer and live in ignorance like I did. It was very detrimental to my self-worth.

How can drag play an important role to spread sexual health awareness?

Right now, drag queens have a very big spotlight on them for good reasons and bad reasons. Drag queens are seen as celebrities within our community, and if every drag queen said something about sexual health, people are going to hear it, and they’re going to listen. We can use this platform for more than just looking glamorous. We can also glamorize sexual health. Personally, that is my brand, and that is what Camila is based around. I’m basically a walking ad for PrEP (laughs).

You enjoy engaging with people who typically don’t have an opportunity to interact with drag artists. What do you enjoy the most about that? I love that many people who don’t interact with drag performers much are very grateful to see us. They enjoy seeing somebody expressing themselves freely without worrying about judgment, and I think that can be very empowering. I love to be that for other people. I’ve been to little formal events in drag, not because I want to showcase myself, but because I want every space that I enter to be queer welcoming. I will make that space queer welcoming. I’ve experienced a lot of queer people feeling like it’s not OK to be themselves in settings that are not labeled as queer-friendly.

Do you have any comment about the recent anti-drag bills that have been sweeping across the country as of late?

I definitely do not agree with those bills, and it’s very hard not to take this personally. However, I understand that it’s not about me, and it’s not about drag queens. Right now, drag queens are just an easy scapegoat that people are using to cover up something else. I know this sounds like a conspiracy theory, but take a look at the churches across the country. They are filing bankruptcy because they can’t pay for the legal claims they have for sexual abuse to minors. They are using drag queens as a scapegoat because they don’t want you to see who the real pedophiles are. It's very unfortunate that it translates into laws which affect trans people. Anything that affects drag queens affects trans people.

Do you fear that these kinds of bills or legislation could possibly make their way to Colorado?

No, because we have the representation, and we have everything we need so that doesn’t happen in Colorado. If I’m not mistaken, Colorado is one of the most queer-friendly states in the whole country. We have a lot of rights because we have people representing us who look like us, speak their mind, and use their voice so issues are heard.

What are some future goals you hope to accomplish with your platform?

With my platform, my main goal is to glamorize sexual health and make it a topic that is not uncomfortable to talk about. Same with HIV. I want to make it a topic that’s not uncomfortable to talk about. A big dream of mine is to liberate us from the fear of HIV, but that is me wishing into the universe that a miracle happens.