COMMUNITY
The drag-themed calendar features performers Hugh Dandy for July, Angelina DM Trailz for January, and Blackberri for February
12 Months of Glamour New drag-themed wall-calendar project benefits the Montrose Angels. By RYAN M. LEACH | Photos by VICTOR CONTRERAS
2022 looks like it might be a busy year. Pent-up demand to get out of the house and enjoy in-person gatherings and performances is going to make for a busy social calendar. And to keep track of that busy schedule, you’ll surely want to invest in a colorful wall calendar. The stars of Houston’s drag scene have been working hard to bring you just such a calendar—one that will add a little glamour to your office wall and also help support the Montrose Angels charity. Guadalupe “Lupe” Salas, 27, is a proud gay man known among local entertainers for his sewing circles and as the right hand to drag performer Reign LaRue. Salas can now add “calendar producer” to his credits after he came up with the idea to feature eleven drag queens and one drag king in a 2022 calendar. “I brainstormed many different ideas to help raise money for the charity. I wanted to do something that was fun, inclusive, and dif76 DECEMBER 2021 | OutSmartMagazine.com
ferent. A calendar was the perfect project to tackle. I pitched the idea to Montrose Angels, and they were fully on board. We quickly worked out the logistics, and it’s finally coming together!” Piero Arevalo, 30, is the gay bar manager at Ripcord. He was one of the men who started the Montrose Angels charity. “Travis Webb, Daniel Banda, and I came together to start a community emergency fund to help our fellow bartenders and bar patrons with any unexpected life-emergency expenses. No matter how proactive we all are, life throws us some curveballs that we might not be able to handle ourselves. We want to be able to help the community that supported us,” says Arevalo. The calendar was shot by Victor Contreras (@closeyoureyesphoto on Instagram), a Nicaraguan-born photographer who has been working in the LGBTQ community shooting private events and various photo-shoot assignments. Julio Briceño was the project’s videographer who helped record the promotional
video. Each of the twelve local drag entertainers in the calendar was asked to put their personal “drag spin” on their chosen month. “We assigned each month a theme, and allowed the entertainers to choose their own month and execute it creatively on their own. What really makes this calendar special is that everyone volunteered their time to help bring it to life,” says Salas. “These performers are so creative, so we are all excited for the final product. This calendar not only shows Houston’s diversity, but also our LGBTQ+ community’s diversity. Every month has a different theme and a look that the performers chose,” Arevalo adds. Montrose Angels will be having a calendar-release fundraising event at ReBar on December 15 at 8 p.m. Copies of the calendar will be available to purchase for $25 each, with proceeds going to both the Angels’ community emergency fund and the Montrose Center. There will be performances by some of the drag stars featured in the calendar, and they will be raffling some exciting items.
