Catching up with Raja Gemini -- RuPaul's New Drag Superstar

During the third season of LOGO's "RuPaul's Drag Race" reality show, veteran dragster Raja Gemini from Los Angles showed us all a variety of drag styles that are associated with the art form, and ultimately that is what separated her from the rest of the talent. The judges choose Raja as this year's Drag Superstar on Monday, April 28, 2011 after a wonderful duel off with fellow dragster and friend Manilla Luzon from New York.

Raja, make up artist for pop star Adam Lambert, has already been on a grueling appearance schedule just as a contestant on drag's only televised reality pageant, but with her victory now in hand, things are sure to get even more hectic, if she has anything to say about it. Unlike the previous two winners of "RuPaul's Drag Race" Season 1 and 2, BeBe Sahara Benet and Tyra Sanchez.

I don't think Ms. Raja will disappear from the limelight, honey. This may really be the drag superstar we've been waiting for. I had the privilege of catching up with Raja just two days after the airing of the show's season finale while she was still in New York. Maybe I'm getting closer to the Barbara WaWa notoriety I so seek.

’Con-drag-ulations?’

BeBe: First of all CONGRATULATIONS!

Raja: Don't you mean con-drag-ulations?

BeBe: I bet you have had no rest in the last couple of days.

Raja: Not at all. I actually fell asleep at a friend's house last night and it was the lost sleep I have actually had in awhile.

BeBe: Let's get out of the rat race for a minute, right?

Raja: I love a rat race even without a rat.

BeBe: Did you have a big 'Drag Race Season 3 Finale' watch party on Monday night (April 28)?

Raja: Yeah, I did. I am actually still in New York. You won't believe it but I'm sitting against the Empire State building as a back drop right now. It's kind of cool. It's a moment right now. We had it (finale party) in New York and it was a great response. There were like thousands of people who showed up with the line went around the building. It was great. It was awesome! It was a big party and I think I am still dealing with a hangover right now.

BeBe: I hear Adam Lambert (last season's "American Idol" runner-up) was in the house.

Raja: Yes, it was nice to have Adam there. It was a coincidence that he was visiting New York and taking a few days off here, and it happened to fall during the same time as the finale. He was also there for the premiere party. It feels good to have a good friend there who understands me and has been helping me through this whole process. If anyone who knows how to deal with all of this, it's Adam Lambert. He really coached me and has been a great mentor through the whole thing.

BeBe: Well, you know he's tweeting everyone "I told you so" since from the beginning he has said you were the one to beat. In fact his exact words were ."......them bitches better watch out." And speaking of that, you had pretty much set yourself up as the one to beat early on in the competition . What was it in your mind or eyes that the judges saw that continued to put you in the top week after week?

Raja: Well, I think the biggest competition for me, and I've said it before, I was really competing against myself. That's how it has always been for most of my life. You know as an artist you always want to kind of perfect it. At times it almost felt like there was no one else there but me. And I don't mean that to sound selfish, but it was just me working and topping myself each time. That was the most difficult challenge of the whole process. You know there has been a lot of criticism about me being too seasoned and having all this experience and so on. But the rules never said that you had to be a beginner. I never claimed to be anyone's underdog. I am a very positive person. You know, I wouldn't have survived in this industry that I have been working in for so many years if I wasn't a competitor. So, it is what it is.

About the Heathers

BeBe: And, you know, how can you become the next big thing if you are just starting out? I think you experience was definitely an advantage, but I think that is what we (the audience) want to see. We want to see not the Diva-In-Training, but the Diva already there.

Raja: Right. But the thing I really wanted to focus on while I was there was that there re so many types of drag, you know? I love the performance aspect of drag, but I also love the pageantry of it. I love being beautiful. I love being feminine. But at the same time being kind of edgy and toying with the idea of gender-fuck is really interesting to me. It has always fascinated me.

BeBe: And you do represent that. I mean from the two winners that have preceded you, you are a different mold than those two.

Raja: And I like that. I think it is something that I really embrace now that I am in my 30s (36 to be exact). Because when you are starting out as a young drag queen is being passable (being confused for a real woman). A transsexual friend of mine told me once that if you are passable that anything is possible. I don't always believe that entirely. I get the joke. I get the tongue in cheek. I totally get that, but at the same time I think that kind of pissing people off and scaring people is definitely fun and fascinating.

BeBe: Now in the finale you were paired against one of your fellow Heathers (group of aligned queens formed during the competition) with Manilla. Did anytime during the night did you think that, hmm, this may be Manilla's evening?

Raja: Yeah, absolutely. In reality competition, anything can happen. I did at some point think that maybe it (the title) wasn't mine. That it did belonged her. If it had gone to Manilla, I would have been just as happy. I would have known that I worked my hardest, and I got to showcase what it is that I do as an artist, and that would have made me just as happy. I'm glad that Manilla and I were at the top two, because there are so many parallel's in our lives. We are both of mixed Asian descent. Manilla is a brilliant graphic artist and illustrator, so we have that in common. We both have an understanding of culture, pop culture, sub-culture, anti-culture. We were kind of boys that were aware of it and kind of studied up on it. What a great opponent to have.

BeBe: And speaking of Heathers (taken from the 1988 movie starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater), that's become quite the grouping there with all of y'all. And what does it take to be a Heather?

Raja: You know (laughs), the Heathers first of all was really just a joke. The four of us were just boys who were vulnerable and picked on before. We get the idea, Some might think of it as bullying but the Heathers was just about forming a team, an alliance, just like a sporting event. And it was a great time. We have so much in common. And what brought us together is that we all have such sick forms of humor. We laughed at the weirdest, raunchiest, worst things. And we thought that was so funny. And we never took anything too seriously. And we very confident and sure of who we were as people, and I think hat's what really makes a Heather. In the film "Heathers" they were really villains. And we were toying with that because everyone loves those movies. Everyone loves "Mean Girls" and "Heathers." They are someone everyone secretly wishes they were. We just had an opportunity to play that up. What we were really trying to say is that Heathers were confident, and Heathers are assured and Heathers are always ready. We don't need any kind of help or assistance. We kind of do it all on our own and are authentic.

Off to Trannyshack

BeBe: Now you are bringing some of the Heathers back with you to San Francisco in June during Pride at Joshua J. Cook's Big Top party. It's putting you all as the part of Heklina's Trannyshack crew. They are labeling it as Big Top vs. Trannyshack. Who you bringing with you?

Raja: As far as I know thus far we have Carmen (Carrera from New York) and Delta (Work from Los Angeles) confirmed. And hopefully Manilla will be joining us.

BeBe: That would be off the hook if all four of you are there.

Raja. Yeah. And you know, I think the Heathers are very San Francisco. We all have sick sense of humors and we laugh at about anything. San Francisco has always been that kind of city that has never really taken itself too seriously, but definitely takes the art form, the love and the passion very seriously, above and beyond everything.

BeBe: You were here for about a week that last time you were here. And you were everywhere where there was to be.

Raja: Oh Mary. We had a blast. I love San Francisco and I have never been treated so well.

BeBe: Yeah, I heard that you are even considering moving here. Is that true?

Raja: You know that is something that I definitely think of. I've been thinking of it a lot now that I have entered this transition. I'm at a fork in the rode in my life. So, it's a definite possibility. I've always had a great love for San Francisco and all my really, really good friends live there. I think now that my career is changing a little bit, I think I can probably do it from anywhere I want.

BeBe: That's what I was going to ask you because you are the Queen Bee right now, what's next for you?

Raja: There's a lot of things coming up. I'm really going to utilize the exposure and the new found fame and really try to let myself experiment a little more freely with my heart. Experiment a little bit with music. I have a song coming out on May 3 called "Diamond Crowned Queen." It's a little nod, or a jab, if you will. You know, being a little bit cunty about it. It presents a whole other side of me as a performer. It is something that I've always dreamed about. Thinking about doing something in the beauty world by maybe writing a book. I've got a lot to say and a lot to express so I think it will be fun to see what happens in the next months or years.

BeBe: You know one of the things I've always said, and this is nothing personal against the other winners of "RuPaul's Drag Race" before you, but over the time your predecessors have reigned as the next Drag Superstar, their fame dwindled instead of picked up steam. I don't know if I was expecting more or if the public as expecting more. But I didn't see them put themselves out there more. Those that didn't not win in Season 1 and 2 of 'Drag Race' have been much more visible. Do you see yourself doing something different that will keep Raja in the limelight?

Raja: I can't really speak for the other two who have won this competition, but I know as an artist, and as a person who has been working in the creative world for so many years, that I want to have a little more longevity and not just disappear into obscurity. I've been given the gift of winning this competition and all I want to do is elaborate it further. Really get to show off, you know. Do what I love to do and have people collaborate along with me.

BeBe: I know you have made the comment before that being on the show you have received many, many emails from youngsters who are either going down a similar path or have questions about their sexuality and things of that nature. You have been kind of thrown into this mentorship of which you have embraced. Do you see yourself even doing more with that?

Raja: Absolutely. Even if the drag and beauty eventually fade, I would still love to be that person who's there as a mentor. I have always felt that that was my role from the beginning. There's the part of me that wants to be the teacher....the counselor. I've have struggled for such a long time from setting myself apart as the individual and the artist, if I can help someone else out who needs guidance, I'm definitely ready to take on that role. Why not? It's sort of on trend right now. Lady Gaga has "Born This Way," and the Trevor Project has the campaign message that "It Does Get Better." I definitely have that same message to share with people.

And what a role model Raja Gemini is. She is as diverse as we all are rolled up into one. You know I know that Raja has not just become a household name, but will a definite legend in her own right that we will remember for years to come. I can just see it!

Raja Gemini and the Heathers can be seen at Joshua J's Big Top in San Francisco along with Heklina's Trannyshack on Saturday, June 25 at Club 8 during Pride Weekend in San Francisco. Remember to look out for Raja's new single "Diamond Crowned Queen" due out May 3.