Dylan Weidner walked into Club Luxor a man. After hours of applying makeup in the dressing room, he fixed his blonde wig ready to emerge as drag queen, Brooke St. James.
“I do this every Friday and Sunday night,” James said. “I love the feeling I get when I put on makeup and heels.”
James said Club Luxor is one of only two clubs in Lubbock that features weekly events for drag queens and transsexuals.
James said every Sunday night Club Luxor hosts a drag queen beauty pageant where contestants can lip-synch and perform in front of a live audience for money.
“I love watching the energy of the crowd,” James said. “Everyone in the audience is very supportive and encouraging.”
James, who revealed his sexuality at the age of 12, said he looks up to transsexual performer, Lady Devin Nicole.
“She is so elegant and beautiful,” James said. “She has a way of capturing the attention of the crowd.”
Alex Vega, aka Lady Devin Nicole
Alex Vega, who goes by Lady Devin Nicole on stage, said performing is her stress-reliever. She said she has regulars who come to watch her performance every Sunday.
“I still get nervous,” Vega said, “but this is something I love to do, it’s my passion.”
Vega said she started performing as a drag queen shortly after she started the process of becoming a woman nearly 10 years ago.
“I feel more like myself now than I ever have before,” Vega said, as she twirled her hair. “I started this process to feel complete.”
Vega said she always connected to people better as a female. She said she planned on becoming a woman all of her life.
“My family is very supportive of me,” Vega said. “They’ve supported my decision to become a woman from day one.”
Lady Devin Nicole
Vega said she had her first operation in 2004. She said she has travelled to Mexico for several operations since then, but her primary care has been in Lubbock.
Vega said she enjoys being someone local drag queens look up to. She said she gives many of them advice about how to start the transition process.
“The best advice I can give to an aspiring tranny,” Vega said, “is think things through and take it slow.”
As the lights dimmed and the cheering began, Vega said it was time for her to transition into Lady Devin Nicole.
Brooke St. James and drag queen performer Jadyn Raven sat on the steps of the stage to throw dollar bills at their idol performer, Lady Devin Nicole.
“We love watching her after our performances,” Raven said. “I always stick around to get tips on how to better my routines.”
Raven said she has no plans to permanently become a woman, but she loves dressing up as a drag queen on the weekends.
Raven said her stage name is one of the reason she loves performing at Club Luxor.
“I was inspired by a little girl on the news several years ago,” Raven said. “She was the reason I chose Jadyn Raven as my stage name.”
Jaydn Raven
Raven said she dances every Sunday for that little girl. She said performing gives her a chance to be herself.
“During the week I’m one person,” Raven said, “but on Sunday I get the chance to be someone completely different.”
About Kayla Conboy
