R.I.P. MARIO DE COLUMBIA

When I moved to NYC, one of the stars of latin gay bar La Escuelita was an older queen named Mario de Colombia. She had a very imaginative act full of showstoppers which included lip-synching to Over The Rainbow. Nothing interesting about that but she added a twist to her version. She'd come out and show one side of her, dressed in all black with a Judy Garland wig, synching to Judy's version of the tune. Then she'd edit in the Patti Labelle version and spin around to show her other side, which was in blackface, white dress and Patti wig. Of course, Patti's version is more bombastic so the crowd would go nuts each time she made the switch. Did I mention that a hilarious, cartoon-y rainbow loop connected the two costumes? And I don't recall anyone ever begrudging the blackface. We weren't so politically correct back then.

Another of her classics was a campy lip-synch to an opera song in a ballgown. When she hit the high notes, she'd passionately lift her voluminous skirts to reveal an enormous cock and balls. And the crowd went wild every time at her wrongness. Sadly, this drag great pre-dated the youtube era or even the era when everyone had cameras. But she made a lasting impression on me and a whole generation of clubbers as one of the ruling divas of the only gay bar in town with a great stage and lights.

This was in the mid-80's, so more mainstream choices for the girls there to perform would have been Mariah, Whitney, and Madonna with some freestyle thrown in. And of course the plus-sized diva Miss Angel Sheridan would have belted out the cheesy dance #'s and ballads of her cuban compatriot Gloria Estefan. And she still does, bless her heart!

Today, many of La Escuelita's divas are transgendered lovelies who wear glittery band-aids over their privates and throw down to the latest hip-hop or reggaeton jam. They do a great job but few have the uniqueness of a Mario De Colombia. I did try to get her for Wigstock one year but she was already fading from the loop. If anyone has pics or videos please forward them to me so that I can post them to remember this loopy, thoroughly entertaining legend of NYC drag.