![]() I am such a believer in the dance floor and the absolute magic that can happen there, in the spiritual experience that can take place. Where does she observe room for expansion? “I want to see more dance parties in Key West. Having found a home of her own in Key West, Taine is dedicated to the protection and celebration of the island’s LGBTQ+ community. ![]() “It’s always so much fun to watch people go from being a little shy or scared to at the end they’re ready to take me home for Thanksgiving.” That initiation, aided by booze and the vocal stylings of Whitney Houston, usually evolves into fast friendship. A lot of people who come on this tour have never seen a drag queen. “Most of the people who come to 801 have never seen a drag show before. Taine welcomes the seasoned and the unversed on her tour and to her stage performances. I would hate for Puddin Taine to come tumbling down.” Standing ovations are in order when the tour culminates in Taine’s performance at General Horseplay. We’re having cocktails on this tour and there’s this thing called gravity. Straight people have no idea what it’s like to be in six-inch heels. Sensible choices are a hallmark of Taine’s. If you’re hammered and we lose you at the hot dog stand, that’s on you.” As Taine sternly warns, “I’m not your momma. Drinking is encouraged, as is self-control. Taine’s tour includes a highly entertaining, albeit bastardized, version of Key West history (the Curry Mansion is described as the island’s first Indian restaurant) and a heavily discounted shot or specialty cocktail at every stop on the journey. She keeps busy raising the latter on Friday evenings at the 801 Cabaret and on select weekend nights leading tours for Yes, Queen! Taine shares guide duties with fellow local queens Elle Taylor, Blue Diamond and Beatrix Dixie. She’s currently developing a one-woman show that explores the theme of heaven and hell. I love that his work is still as jaw-droppingly outrageous as it was when it was written.” Taine herself moonlights as a writer. We would get our dog back and she would smell like cheap cigarettes and dog shampoo.”ĭrag has taken Puddin Taine from New Orleans to Provincetown, where she was named 2018 Showgirl of the Year, to Key West. She had a purple Winnebago and a long braid and chain-smoked and was just such a character. They had sequins and feathers and I was obsessed.” Her fanciful nom de drag was inspired in part by a dog groomer she knew as a child. Taine began her life of drag as a toddler, “I started stealing my cousin’s dance costumes when I was 4 years old. She’s also featured in Poppy Tooker’s cult New Orleans cookbook, “Drag Queen Brunch.” In 2019 Taine was crowned Queen of Armeinius, New Orleans’ premiere gay Mardi Gras Krewe. She is a veteran of the New Orleans Drag Workshop and counts Crescent City legend Vinsantos DeFonte as her dragmother. I was like, ‘Pretty much you want me to take people out, have cocktails and entertain them?’ I treat this like our own little parade.” Taine hails from New Orleans, a city that may not have invented the parade but has inarguably perfected it. “I’ve always been known as a good time Sally. Taine was a natural fit for the role of crawl guide. The Yes Queen! tour originated in Savannah, Georgia and has recently expanded its stilettoed self to Las Vegas and Key West. ![]() Taine, a Libra and Louisiana native, is a tour guide for Yes, Queen!, a drag queen pub crawl departing weekly from Aqua Nightclub. A loose street party forms in her wake, as followers and spectators alike sing along badly, dance joyfully and bow to the jewel-toned majesty that is Miss Puddin Taine. Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” falls out of her rolling speaker. On a rainy Saturday night, a towering vision in an emerald gown leads a line of revelers down Duval Street. Many in the crowd held up dollar bills as they tipped each queen.Puddin Taine stops to smell the basil. The queens were well-received as they walked past fermentation vessels and interacted with patrons. Tonight’s drag show included six queens with performances that span genres: pop, show tunes and even Spanish ballads. “I try to bring at least four top-notch performers and then two that are newer to the scene just for the people that are not familiar with drag and its various styles.” “When I do brewery shows, I am picky since it’s a straight environment and I want to make sure that people are going to get a really good introduction to drag,” Ramos said. He is gradually making a comeback to the brewery scene as this past January, he, along with other fellow drag queens and a brewery owner, faced backlash - including death threats - for hosting an all-age drag show at Beer Thug Brewing in the city of Bell. ![]() “I'm trying to bring drag shows to breweries that are not catered to the LGBTQIA community, but they're open to trying to bring queer activity,” Ramos said.
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