“But even sick as a dog, she would volunteer for the W Party,” Adora said. After that night, she became a regular and part of the South Beach drag history.”Īdora says it “was very sad seeing Pagan dying. I had the pleasure of introducing all this river of talent every Monday night, and Sexi got her debut and she was Puerto Rican - ball of fire y rica. Barrio was the place to be, the birthplace of many, many talented drag performers.
“Well, I think the following Monday, she was doing a show at Barrio, a Mexican restaurant two doors south of Twist,” Adora continues. Como la de Almodóvar.’ I was so happy that it was not ‘Cecilia,’” Adora laughs. They were all telling and shouting at the same time…until Sexi took command and told me closer and explained, ‘Sexilia, chica. “To my ears, I heard ‘Cecilia.’ I think all of them went, ‘no, niña!’ And this is a night club, of course. Pagan was in the group and already had a drag name,” Adora said. He was funny.”Īdora said Sexilia used to hang out with a group of Puerto Ricans, who “were a hoot.” One night - Adora thinks it was Halloween - they all came out in drag. “He had just moved here from Puerto Rico. “It’s a bit of a blur…but I know wasn’t doing drag yet,” Adora said. The many faces of Sexilia (Photos courtesy of Sexilia – Pagan Rivera Facebook fan page)Īdora, born Danilo De la Torre, the grandmother of the Miami drag scene, said she doesn’t remember when or where exactly she met Sexilia, but it was definitely around 1992. Known for her razor sharp wit and great comic timing, she eventually became the hostess of Karaoke Nights at Twist and also held a a hosting gig at Club Liquid during its heyday. 14, 2004, Sexilia, born Reynaldo Pagan Rivera, died of AIDS-related complications, extinguishing a light in the community that now shines in the hearts of those who loved her.Ī native of Puerto Rico, Sexilia first arrived on the scene in the early 1990s. Everyone loves to come here because it’s just fun, it’s just a great place to hang out with friends and meet new people.Miami LGBT community members share their memories of the late drag queen, who died 14 years ago this week in 2004īy Jose years ago, South Florida lost an iconic member and drag entertainer of its LGBT community. It’s a gay bar, it’s a straight bar, it’s a trans bar, it’s a drag bar, it’s a karaoke bar, it’s a bar you can go to no matter who you are and feel comfortable. Lanza, who moved to Los Angeles 30 years ago from Louisiana, says, “I was used to small-town type bars, and after 30 years this is the only place I’ve ever found that feels like this. The two Marks refer to the Boulevard as the gay “Cheers” (referring to the long-running television series) because there are so many regular customers who know your name. The Boulevard was saved thanks to efforts like those from longtime patrons Mark Chou and his partner, Mark Lanza, who started a GoFundMe page to raise money for the bar and donated their time to help with needed repairs. Owner Steve Terradot managed to keep the Boulevard afloat during the pandemic with help from Mark Lanza and Mark Chou, who started a GoFundMe.