As drag icon RuPaul says, “We're born naked, and the rest is drag.” Drag, the act of subverting and exaggerating traditional gender expression, is a popular performance artform. Greater Miami & Miami Beach, which is home to some of the world’s top drag performers, offers opportunities to experience exciting performances at the destination’s top venues.

At drag bingo at Hôtel Gaythering, iconic drag brunches at Palace Bar and R House Wynwood, and nightly shows at Twist South Beach and Azucar NightClub, Miami’s fiercest drag queens are getting booked and staying busy. Other popular places to find the queens include Nathan's Bar, Gramps Miami and Sweet Liberty. Watch for them at annual queer events as well, including Wigwood Miami, Miami Beach Pride and Celebrate ORGULLO.

Miami celebrates all forms of drag, and its drag queens represent the diverse, multicultural melting pot that makes Miami so special. We spoke with four local drag queens about their art and what Miami means to them. Shantay, you stay!

Karla Croqueta

The self-proclaimed “Miami Drag Machine,” Karla Croqueta, rose to fame as one half of the “Juleisy y Karla” drag comedy duo. Popular on YouTube, Juleisy y Karla would playfully mock Miami’s Latinx culture with their distinctive and flamboyant bearded drag looks. Now performing solo, Karla continues to redefine drag. “I've explored different realms artistically, but drag itself is the artform where I can encapsulate every single practice, theory, idea and modality,” she says.

When Karla performs, it’s important for her to feel a connection with the audience and help create a sense of community. “I really invite the audience to be a part of the experience. I have a way of drawing people in and really getting them to engage with what's happening on the stage – really breaking that fourth wall. Because in all of my shows, there is no fourth wall… we are in this together,” she says.

That is why Karla feels such a deep connection to Miami. “Miami is so much of who I am. Miami influences me in so many ways. It's so vibrant and tropical, and it's a melting pot. It’s a place where people come to really just let loose and be free.”

Every Thursday, Karla produces and hosts the queer “Double Stubble” party at Gramps in Wynwood. On the first Sunday of every month, look for Karla at the Fruit Cocktail Brunch at Sweet Liberty in Miami Beach. Once a month on Monday nights she hosts drag bingo at Better Days bar in Brickell.

Athena Dion

Known as the “Greek Goddess,” Athena Dion has become a local icon as the resident host and producer of R House Wynwood’s drag brunches. She’s also the creator of Dream Queens, a Miami-based drag entertainment company, and she’s the house mother to more than 20 drag queens as part of the House of Dion.

Miami played a huge role in inspiring Athena to pursue drag. “I was a child of the ‘90s, so I watched ‘The Birdcage,’ the movie with Robin Williams that took place in South Beach, and they had a drag bar in the movie – a total classic. After watching that, I was just so obsessed with the duality of being a drag queen,” she says.

Her drag brunches at R House Wynwood have become legendary, frequently welcoming high-profile celebrities. “We recently had Billy Porter visit. He was dancing salsa with me, and that was amazing. Ana Navarro from “The View” is a regular. We had Gloria Estefan there, and I did the conga with her. That was a lifetime achievement.”

Athena, who took her name from Greek mythology, describes her drag style as the ultimate in glamour. “I am a glamour goddess… I like big, over-the-top drag.” See her at R House Wynwood on Friday nights as well as at brunch on Saturdays and Sundays.

Tiffany T. Fantasia

Tiffany T. Fantasia, aka Ebony Legs of South Beach, has been a local institution for decades and a Miami resident since she was two years old. As an emcee, comedian, actor and singer, Tiffany is perhaps best known for her storied performances at the famous Palace Bar drag brunches, where she has worked for the past 19 years. “People are on Ocean Drive and unexpectedly walk into a drag show happening for the whole world to see. I mean, how amazing is that?” she says.

Voted Best Drag Performer by the Miami New Times in 2021, Tiffany has even appeared on “Watch What Happens Live” with Andy Cohen. “I feel like I'm like a melting pot of drag: You're gonna get the funny. You're gonna get the dancing. You're gonna get a little bit of camp… a little bit of everything,” she says.

Performing for so many years in and around Miami has inspired her art. “I think growing up in this culture has given me a more diverse portfolio than the average entertainer. You can put me in any type of genre, and I'm going to make it work for me.”

Catch Tiffany at Palace Bar on Wednesday and Saturday nights and, of course, at the aforementioned Sunday drag brunch.

CC Glitzer

CC Glitzer moved to Miami from Germany in 2018. Since then, she has become one of Miami’s reigning queens. “This beautiful city has made a lot of icons in our community who are known all over the world,” she says. CC met her now-husband in Germany, and he inspired the move. “I would say love brought me to Miami.”

The drag artform inspires every aspect of her performances, and she hopes the audience feels the same way. “I think drag gives our community, and especially our LGBTQIA community, a huge platform for conversation. It’s a way to express ourselves and to show other communities how fabulous our community is and that we don't mean any harm,” she says.

CC says she gets the first C in her name from German supermodel Claudia Schiffer, and “Glitzer” from the German word for “glitter.” “I am CC Glitzer, the German sensation in Miami. Don’t ever forget – if the world is bitter, put on some GLITZER!”

Catch CC at Palace Bar on Monday for brunch, Tuesday through Thursday for the New Ladies Who Lunch, and Friday night for Drag Madness. Also, every Thursday and Friday night at Twist South Beach.

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