– Her Drive’ N Drag Show Saves 2021!
By Mikkel Hyldebrandt
After having everything coming to a screeching halt at the beginning of 2020, Bianca Del Rio is ready to hit the road again, heading a gaggle of queens in the show Drive’ N Drag Saves 2021. Peach spoke to Bianca about kicking back into work gear and what’s in store for 2021 – and as with everything Bianca, it’s going to be c**ty!
What was going on with Bianca del Rio pre-pandemic?
Well, I had just finished working on the musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, and I was about to start planning my next tour, so I was getting back to America, where I also wanted to find a new home. At that moment, I had some tonsil trouble – I know, right? Tonsils at 45? – so I was going to have them removed as well. I also wanted to take a nice long break for about eight weeks – who knew that that break would be more like eight months! At some point, we also wanted to announce the tour, but thankfully we didn’t because it’s a nightmare with rescheduling and refunds.
How has this whole pandemic treated you?
It has been different for sure, and it has been a different kind of journey. And it has been a reflective one because I am always just going, going, going, and this pandemic has just forced me to reflect on a lot of things and experience a slow progression of so many things instead, you know? So, when Brandon Voss (founder of Voss Events, ed.) called about this show, I was like, ‘yeah, let’s test the waters and see how we can make it go smoothly.’
You’ve also recently celebrated your 25th anniversary in drag – what has that ride been like?
I always say that it has been unexpected. To be doing this for this long, to be on this journey, is still incredible to me. Of course, RuPaul’s Drag Race opened everything up to a much larger audience for me, but it is still unexpected that I am able to make a living wearing a wig.
You are headlining this new Voss Events show, Drive’ N Drag Saves 2021, with a lineup of amazing queens. Tell me, do you feel like a soccer mom driving her kids around, or does it feel more like Driving Miss Daisy (and you’re Daisy)?
It’s kind of a mixture of both. I know people think it’s different, but – with some big exceptions – I am not close friends with a lot of these queens, not yet! But I am certainly looking forward to be working with a gaggle of queens and getting on the road again.
Speaking of driving: which of the queens drives you most crazy?
I haven’t really worked with a lot of these girls, but I promise you, I’ll report as soon as I do the show! You see, it’s almost always with the travel aspect that people’s true demons come out, so I’ll promise you I’ll be looking for who’s a c**t. But I am giving them all the benefit of the doubt for now – it seems like when most queens are around me, they are on their best behavior!
Speaking of driving, part II: You recently referenced a taxi ride with Jujubee in Paris on Twitter – were you filming an episode of taxicab confessions: Paris edition, perhaps? What went down?
This was, of course, before the pandemic, but I was in Paris, and I was with my friend Mayday, and she told me that Jujubee was also in Paris, so we call her up to meet for drinks. And let me tell you, the cab ride home was magical, I can tell you that much. She did drink then. I don’t know if she drinks now – it seems everybody’s on the wagon during this pandemic – but back then, she did, and I’m just saying, you shouldn’t get in a cab with Jujubee if she has been drinking because things will happen. Joking aside, I was so happy to see her on AllStars and for people to see more of who and how wonderful she really is.
The show Drive ‘N Drag Saves 2021 looks like it is pulling out all the stops with not only an amazing lineup but also a huge superhero-themed stage show – can we expect any stunts, say a finale like Thelma & Louise?
Wouldn’t that be great! I actually just got an email from Brandon Voss that went over more details of the show. With him and I, it’s always a lot of thoughts and ideas and views on the show that was first planned as a Christmas show. But anyway, I am the superhero Superc**t, and basically, all ideas for the production, costumes, and acts fall from that. It incorporates a lot of fun ideas, and like they used to tell me in prison: I have a big opening! It’s going to be super, and it’s going to be c**ty!
The show promises to werq to rid the world of COVID and Trump, and you have been pretty politically active on your social media channels as well: How will superhero Bianca werq to get rid of Trump?
According to schedule, he’ll be gone once we start, which is a very good thing. I’m hoping we don’t even have to mention his name by that time!
I think we are all extra sensitive right now. We are all a little trapped in our homes, and watching the news is really difficult because it is this overload or, to put it mildly, clusterfuck of information, and you can’t just not look at it. So yes, I take to Twitter when I see the news, and I do go down this spiral that takes hold of me sometimes. And with all that’s happened just in the last few days, I think we’ve had enough, and it’s time to walk away and let that be. It’ll be great just to have someone who can form proper sentences! Oh, you can speak! And you can type and spell! Great!
Because you are the queen of lashes, I have to ask you this question: Do you put eyelashes on your car?
I actually drive the most I have ever driven in my life right now, living in Palm Springs. When I lived in New Orleans, I didn’t need a car; when I lived in New York City, I didn’t need a car, and when I lived in L.A. I was traveling so much I didn’t need a car! I don’t really get into the fanfare of it, even though people have sent me pictures of cars with lashes before and made that comparison. But I’m not that type to do that, and honestly, here in Palm Springs, people don’t care. They just want to play some golf and have some drinks. Now, I may put my dogs in matching sweaters for Christmas, and the sweaters may match the rest of the living room, but that’s another story.
Apart from the Drive’ N Drag Saves 2021 show, what else does Bianca del Rio have lined up for 2021?
Well, I have a podcast coming! It is finally happening, and it is coming sometime soon. I was approached by a podcast producer before the pandemic, but back then, it was so complicated, and I had to record things. But now, everybody has learned to master everything, so here it is! It hasn’t been named yet, and actually, I have a contest out there to name it, but in it, I will talk about what’s right for me and topics that interest me so any guests on the show won’t be forced to talk about just one thing, you know. So, it won’t be all about drag race – the are plenty of bitches out there doing those!
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Join Bianca and the super queens of RuPaul’s Drag Race on their mission to save the world from the debacle that was 2020. Joining Bianca Del Rio in Drive’ N Drag Saves 2021 will be the supergalactic Aquaria; the luminous Asia O’Hara; the incredible she-hulk Kameron Michaels; the dazzling Naomi Smalls; the winged warrior Plastique and the seductive villain, Violet Chachki. The outdoor concert series will begin in Atlanta at the Sugarloaf Mills on February 19 and 20 and will continue across Florida and Texas through March, ending in Los Angeles.
Drive’ N Drag Saves 2021 tickets are available now on VossEvents.com.