A Few Words from Denver Drag Royalty Aundria Sinclair

Seasoned, insightful, and always ready to put on a show, Denver’s Aundria Sinclair first fell in love with the art form of drag in 1995. Since then, she has won several accomplished titles over the course of her career and currently serves as the reigning Miss Gay Colorado. Sinclair is primarily known as a pageant queen, and she is now on a journey to represent Colorado and the state’s drag culture on the national stage by competing in the upcoming Miss Gay United States competition.

OFM caught up with Sinclair to talk more about her drag and artistry, what she hopes to accomplish, and the country’s recent wave of anti-drag legislation.

As the current reigning Miss Gay Colorado, what was going through your mind when your name was announced as the winner?

It was a very surreal moment. It was almost like, this can’t be happening to me, but it is happening to me (laughs). I had to kind of take a step back for a second and look at all the other contestants. Like, did they really just call my name? They did, and it’s been a roller coaster ever since.

Now, you are on a journey to represent Colorado by competing for Miss Gay United States. Can you tell us more about that?

We leave on Wednesday for Roanoke, Virginia, where 20 lovely contestants will be competing for the title of Miss Gay United States, and this journey has been wrought with joy, tears, blood, sweat, and obstacles. I guess a good word to sum it up would be crazy. It’s been crazy. I’ve been preparing in the midst of my house being repaired because of a flood, a custom-made evening gown that I made came to me two sizes too small, so I had to hustle and find a new evening gown, which we were successful, and there’s been countless hours of rehearsal for the talent competition.

I did a mock interview on Saturday with a panel of people to judge me and see where I fall on the rubric, see what I need to work on. There’s also been a lot of research about the pageant system itself and learning all I can to be prepared for any question that may be thrown my way.

Why do you want to compete on a national level?

Number one, I want to get the Colorado drag scene out there and in people’s faces. Then, I also want to be able to get my own name out there, make new connections, form new bonds and sisterhoods, and just have a good time.

How did you initially discover your love and passion for this art form?

Funny story, my drag started as a dare. Someone dared me to do it in a small West Texas, conservative town. Midland-Odessa is where I’m from, and it started off that way. Then I entered a talent night; I lost, and I was a little distraught. So, I just kept practicing and practicing, and I finally realized that because of my love for the theatre, which saved my life, it saved me from committing suicide, this was my one way to really do theater without having to go to New York City or face those kinds of hardships. So, for me, the love comes from being able to put on a show and put smiles on people’s faces.

For those who don’t know who Aundria Sinclair is, what is her style and aesthetic?

Aundria’s style is very much pop princess mixed in with oldies from the 80s and a lot of Broadway. I love to do a big production number anytime I compete. I’m a huge Broadway fan, I love a little bit of cabaret, and I’m just not a death drop kind of girl. You’ll never see me do that because I’m 48 years old, and if I do a death drop, it might actually be a death drop. I’m what you call classic drag.

Is there a venue in Denver you primarily perform at?

Primarily, you can catch me at Hamburger Mary’s. I’m part of the rotating cast, so I’m there at least once a month, if not every other month. I also perform at various other venues. I was at Tracks for my first time for a political campaign the other weekend, and I pop up all over the place. You just never know. I’m like a ninja.

There are hundreds of Colorado drag queens and artists. How does Aundira Sinclair stand out from the crowd?

I’m a pageant queen, and we do not have many pageant queens in Colorado. In the South, pageantry was revered as something of the highest standard. So, when I present myself on stage, you’re going to get big hair, costumes, jewelry—I’m just very much a pageant queen. I think that’s what sets me apart from most entertainers in the Colorado area.

Have you ever competed for any reality competition show like RuPaul’s Drag Race? If not, do you have any desire to?

I don’t really have the desire to. I believe what RuPaul does; she has a great platform, and she has really helped propel drag into popular mainstream culture. What I disagree with about RuPaul’s Drag Race is highlighting all the cattiness that some queens are so infamously known for. I don’t think that’s a good portrayal of who we are. Yes, there are some catty queens out there, but not all of us. Some of us are in it just to simply entertain and put smiles on people’s faces. I’m an educator by day, so even if I desired to audition for something like that, it just wouldn’t work with my professional life.

Do you have any comment about the recent anti-drag bills that have been sweeping across the country?

It breaks my heart that people who oversee our everyday lives see it necessary to instead of push us forward, they’re throwing us back in history. I was watching a movie the other night, Milk with Sean Penn, and I just could not help but think that we’re heading back in this direction. We need to take action.

If we want to create change, we must focus on creating that change and not breaking each other down or tearing each other down. We must unite and be a family, showing that we are strong and a force to be reckoned with. Drag is not a crime. Drag is art, and if they’re going to pass bills against art, then what’s next? Are they going to shut down museums? Take out the Statue of David? It blows my mind.

I don’t know about you, but to me, it feels like this suddenly came out of the blue.

Definitely. Like I said, it breaks my heart. It’s scary, and it’s opening the door for more hate to be accepted. It’s also cutting the livelihood of so many of my sisters that do this full-time.

Colorado lawmakers haven’t tried to pass any anti-drag legislation, have they?

Absolutely not. We are fortunate enough that we have protections in place.

What are some future goals you hope to accomplish with your drag career and platform?

With my drag career, I hope to accomplish more bookings, and I would love to venture into the producing side of the business. When time allows, I would also like to continue to compete. Then, with my platform, I work closely with the Matthew Shepard Foundation, so my goal is to educate people through acceptance and hopefully eliminate some of the violence that our community is seeing and is currently plagued with. I want to help take even more action against these hate laws that are popping up.

Before we wrap up, are there any other upcoming projects or anything else you would like to mention or plug?

I would just like to send out an encouraging word to any young performers out there: If you work hard, if you believe in your dream, and if you find the right mentors, then the world is your stage.

Stay up-to-date and connect with Sinclair by following her on Facebook and Instagram.

Photos courtesy of Jeremiah Corder and Aundria Sinclair