Как говорится, найди десять отличий между человеком и плакатом на столбе.

И до кучи интервью Сутана. Все-таки какая у них компания умных, уверенных в себе, потрясающих людей.
Raja Hits Bay Area for Whirlwind Tour By Pollo Del Mar
Published: March 24, 2011



Raja, of RuPaul’s Drag Race fame. Photo by Jose A. Guzman-Colon

Just like she has RuPaul’s Drag Race, Raja is taking San Francisco by storm!

To many, the statuesque Los Angeles resident is the hands-down front-runner to be named “America’s Next Top Drag Superstar” on Season 3 of the popular LOGO reality TV series. Now she heads to the Bay Area for a series of performance and charity engagements.

читать дальшеThings kick off with Soiree 9, a Sat., March 26, fundraiser for the SF LGBT Community Center. Raja follows that night with a performance at Big Top at Club 8, and another March 31, at The Crib. In-between, she plans outreach to area at-risk youth.

This last fact might come as a surprise to those who only know Raja as the leader of controversial “Team Heathers”! In this intimate interview, “The Queen of San Francisco Media” Pollo Del Mar goes behind the somewhat icy veneer to give readers an all-new perspective on the beautiful performer.

(Bay Times) As the season goes on, viewers are getting a more well-rounded idea of who you are.

(Raja) At the beginning, there were so many people, all you see is bits and pieces of people’s personalities, their views, the most dynamic parts of us at that point in the competition. You didn’t see that there is a warm side. I’m not totally evil. I do know what I’m talking about. I’m not coming from a place of putting people down, I’m just coming from putting them in their place. I think there’s a difference. I really do.

This season is all Raja vs. Shangela. How much of that rivalry really exists?

I’d say it’s probably 55-percent true. I don’t think it’s as crazy as people think. It’s not like we hate each other or have any kind of animosity or hatred.

It was within the confines of a contest. At least that’s how I’m looking at it. I really don’t know what it’s like on her end. If I just sat there and was so diplomatic and easy about everything… Nobody is going to want to see that. I knew when she first walked in, that was going to be the storyline.

Somebody that new to [drag] and someone as…seasoned…as I am, that’s going to cause some really amazing conflicts, so I was ready for it. I was like, “OK, let’s do this.” I’m not new to reality TV, so I knew what I was getting into.

One thing I have always admired about you is you’re forthright about your opinion, but you hold off until you’re asked for it.

I think that’s how I do everything in life, you know? I like to bust a nut, and I don’t want to do it quick! That goes the same with my opinion. I’m not going to just throw it out there to throw it out there and sound like a know-it-all. But if you coax me, if you want me to open my mouth, I will. I have nice parents. They taught me to have manners, so I’m not going to just open my mouth for no reason and “keep it real” in that way. I’m not that kind of person. If you ask me, provoke me and coax me into it, I’ll open my mouth.

Since you put it that way, what are we not seeing? What have the editors left out?

(Laughing.) At the end of the day, we all went to the same place to go to sleep. We all rode together in one van. We all had our dinners after the show together. There was a camaraderie even among all the tension. It’s not like we went back to the same place and hated each other. We all kind of got along, I think. I just didn’t really buy into the anger and negativity of the competition. When the day was over, the day was over.

I don’t think people really get to see some of the poignant moments together. You know, Stacy Layne and I still text each other. People have formed this opinion I hate fat people. It’s like, “What do you mean? Delta’s my best friend.” It’s just crazy what people have to say, but they never got to see the parts where we got to know each other.

I think they should see more of that, but it is only an hour show. There’s much more fun drama to watch, so let’s watch that!

Give me the inside scoop here: I heard you girls are isolated with just the competitors, some production people and the judges during filming.

That’s exactly what it is. It’s a really cool social experiment to watch reality TV in a competition such as this. There’s sort of a sensory deprivation thing that happens. You’re not allowed contact with your family. There’s no internet use. There’s definitely no cell phone. There’s no Twitter. There’s no Facebook. There’s none of that. You’re forced to react to whatever happens within the confines of the competition. You just have to deal with the people you’re with.

It’s a great formula, because it works. If we had the chance to talk to our families every night and let out that tension, what would the show look like? It would be boring, because we’d be so chill. We’d have all gotten it out of our system. If you see people fighting, it’s a lot more fun to watch. I’m actually really enjoying it! I love watching the arguments between Shangela and me, because it’s fun. It’s not what I’m really like. I don’t argue with people like that! I spend a lot of time alone. The anger you see is having people piled on top of me when I’m actually a very chill person.

When we were hanging out in San Jose – and I told you to your face, because I’m a pretty direct person – you’re nothing like what I thought you’d be. Period.

A lot of people say that. I’m encountering people now who I get to meet at all the different nightclubs. They run up to me and ask to take pictures, and I’m like, “Sure!” I’m not going to be a cunt and charge them. Just come and talk to me. Let’s get to know each other. Let’s talk. People are quite shocked by that. I think they have a preconceived notion because of the show that I’m this mean or cold, heartless person, but I’m not. Come up. If you’re polite, I’m polite, so come over and say hello.

Come on now, Raja! Team Heathers – the four of you – set yourselves apart as better than everyone else. Maybe for you it was just a joke, but what about all those people who remember ‘mean girls’ like that in high school?! That’s what the ‘Heathers’ thing brings up for me. It doesn’t say you’ll be warm and engaging, as you turned out to be.

Yeah, but you know what? People who become fans of the Heathers get the joke. We don’t mean it in a literal sense. You can pick apart the movie Heathers, and it doesn’t really make sense for our personalities. We’re just pretending to be like Mean Girls. C’mon, gay people love those stories.

Why can’t we add those elements to our storylines? It’s just fun. It’s interesting. People really jumped onto it. I get Tweets all the time like, “My friend and I call each other ‘Heather.’” It’s sweet. I think that’s fun. It’s a joke. The whole thing can be looked at as a joke really. We’re just dudes in women’s clothes. It’s a competition, though. It’s not meant to be taken literally.

Both Mimi Imfurst and Shangela are good friends of mine, so a week or so ago, when you said I was a ‘Heather’ and I got excited, I felt a little like a traitor.

(Laughing.) Aww… Well, I love Mimi. It’s a sporting event. That’s the way I saw it. You don’t want to go see Jonny Weir and Evan Lysacek hold hands and be like, “Oh, girl! I love you! You’re going to do great! I love your personality!” If you’re at a sporting event, you want to see two teams duke it out. I’ve never been an athletic fellow, but I know this sport like the back of my hand. I know this deep down in my core. I went into it like a gladiator. I knew I was going to have to fight and work very, very hard. That’s what it is, and that’s all there is to it.

You’re traveling, doing lots of performance. You’re in San Francisco all next week.

I can’t wait! I love San Francisco. I love it!

Do you switch up the performances for different cities?

I do different shows everywhere I go. I try to keep it fresh. I don’t like to do the same things over-and-over. I like to mix it up!

I wondered, when I see you Sat., March 26 at Big Top, if I’ll see something different.

I’m definitely doing something different, something more individual. That’s what I have in my head anyway. You know how I pick a number? I pick it by outfit. Some people go by the song first, but I pick the look first. I have to figure out how I want to appear this weekend, what look I want to feature. I’m working that out right now.

On Thurs., March 31, you perform at The Crib for an 18-24-year-old audience. We’re the same age, and it’s definitely not 18. How do you connect with that audience?

I know I’m performing, so I can’t perform any of the music I really, really love. I’m probably going to have to make it a little more pop. That’s one way to do it. I’ve always been a little young-at-heart. People are often surprised I’m 36, because I always act really goofy all the time. I don’t think people really clock that as much. And, you know, I love a twink! I know how to talk to one and what to do.

Awkward. I’m definitely not 36, so moving right along… While you’re here, you’ve allowed me to make arrangements with local nonprofits like LYRIC, Larkin Street Services and Bay Area Young Positives to meet local at-risk gay youth.

I would love to. I was told once that, in order to be able to climb to success, you have to help the people up below you. I think that’s how the saying went. I don’t mean “beneath me,” I mean the people climbing up behind you. You have to help them up the ladder, too, so you can go a little higher.

We’re all going to disappear one day, and our lives are just a glimpse. The thing I want to do as an entertainer and artist is leave a legacy of art and creativity and being an out-of-the-box thinker. I don’t want to disappear off the face of the earth and have no one remember me that way. I would like to say I have a wealth of knowledge, and if I can share it with other people, then by all means let’s do it!

Follow Raja at www.Twitter.com/sutanamrull

Follow "The Queen of San Francisco Media" Pollo Del Mar at: www.Twitter.com/TheGlamazonPDM
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