With over eight years in Burlesque and a lifelong foundation in dance and theater, La Reina is a dynamic creator and weaver of stories. Born and raised in California, but based in New Orleans, they debuted at No 2 in the Burlesque TOP 50 in 2024, and were crowned Queen of Sin City Burlesque and Supreme of Savannah the same year. La Reina is the producer of their ‘love letter to Longform Burlesque’, La Reina Live: At The Lounge.
Here’s their 21.
1. How would you define yourself in three words?
Intuitive, introspective, A-Weird-Little-Guy.
2. Who would play you in a movie about your life?
Honestly, Ncuti Gatwa – they’ve got the range and the fashion sense.
3. What is your biggest strength?
I tend to do the things that scare me the most, perhaps because it leads me to the loudest conversation with my gut. Listening to my body has always steered me towards my best self and highest joy.
4. What is your biggest weakness?
Oh, definitely my pride. It’s also in the top running for my biggest strength, too, because on the one hand my pride can fuel the fire beneath me to do the impossible, to reach beyond myself just to say that I did the thing – but on the other it can pin me from actually achieving my goals, from asking for help when I truly need it, or showing up even more than I do. That fear in being seen in the full is real, but finding and recognizing the balance of the ‘light’ and ‘dark’ parts of myself helps me show up more authentically, no matter how bright I shine every now and then.
5. When are you most happy and inspired?
Definitely when I’m dancing at the club; right next to the speakers (that’s why I don’t have the best hearing) and under the fun lights, I can just be. I love to dance on my own, deep within the music to hear my own heartbeat, feel my breath and discover newer movements in my body without an audience, without lighting notes and markings, just dance.
6. What is your favourite on-screen burlesque moment from film or TV?
Oh that’s easy – Bette Midler’s ‘Otto Titsling’ in Beaches. I don’t know if we as a collective consider this movie ‘Burlesque’, but for me it was the very first film I saw that had the drive, the parody, and the character of Burlesque that drew me to it in the end. Given the way I kept saying ‘Over the Shoulder Boulder Holder’ I’m surprised I hadn’t found it earlier.
7. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received?
Don’t just accept a ‘truth’ that’s been given to you – learn as many ‘truths’ as you can to find yours for yourself, and never stop.
8. If you could switch lives with one person for a day, who would it be?
Probably someone who paints landscapes for a living. Rest.
9. What’s the biggest myth or misconception about burlesque?
That you have to have a certain body or be a certain shape to do it – as if the foundation of it is uplifting society’s decree of who is worthy to take up space and time, to explore the art of their body with the audience, or share their story. Especially the misconception that it’s only for the ‘young’!
10. If you could only perform to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
The more that I perform it, the more that it sinks into my heart: Stardust by the Three Degrees.
11. What surprisingly useful things do you have in your show case?
A two dollar bill, my journal, and a floral blend (iykyk).
12. Do you have a backstage ritual?
I’ll tend to tuck away for a moment or two to breathe, preferably in front of a mirror, staring longingly into my own eyes to have a deep conversation to and with myself before I step into the light.
13. What advice would you give to new performers starting out today?
Examine why you perform, aligning it with the foundations of what this art form means to you and what conversation you’re having with your audience as individuals and as a whole. To tease is to provoke an action from someone, so I challenge you to think about who you are provoking, what action you want your audience to take, and why. And if you want to go a little deeper, why do you want to be the one to tell them? This form is all about being seen, so the last question to mull over is – Who are you?
14. What is your proudest achievement?
Setting my mind to producing The Longest Tease and finally completing the project in the full!
15. What is your biggest regret?
That in the Great Depression of the Grand Panini (the pandemic), I gave away or tossed away about 90% of my costumes so that I could attempt to fit my soul into a very small box.
16. What is the biggest challenge facing today’s burlesque scene?
Poverty. A symptom of the weight of capitalism that pushes artists to the corner to feast and fight on scraps. The stress of it is straining on our mentality, our bodies, our very spirit – and it’s hard to hear or see one another through the shame of it all.
17. If you could go back and tell yourself one thing when you started out in burlesque, what would it be?
Please don’t use Elmer’s Spray Glue on your pasties – it will be near, always lurking in the corner when you may need it most, but ask for topstick or wig tape; someone will have it. *Jumps back into the time portal*.
18. What is a cause or issue that’s very important to you?
This is hard to pinpoint because so many issues have footing in the foundation of colonialism – but: dismantling the white supremacist, capitalist patriarchy, not only globally but within our communities. It’s in how we communicate with one another, how and where we accept our own personal funding, and even in how we relate to the needs of our bodies (ie. resting, releasing shame, and healthcare).
19. What are you currently reading, watching, and listening to?
I’m currently reading The Artist’s Way; I talk about it a lot and it has helped me unearth a lot of deeply held fears. I’m currently watching and rewatching Jujutsu Kaisen because I’m confused. Right in this moment, I’m listening to Jill Scott’s newest album, but lately I’ve been going to more live music sets around my city, meeting more musicians and finding newer places to absorb art from the audience perspective – it’s been great!
20. If you could share a dressing room with one performer for the rest of your career, who would it be?
This one is so hard. I would probably pick Simone Del Mar because we find such beautiful and peaceful quiet when we share a dressing room. We make sure we look like the best versions of ourselves and then some, and definitely keep each other on time.
21. What would you like your life and career to look like in 10 years time?
I would love to have a home large enough to celebrate Black burlesque, decorated with photos I’ve taken of as many Black burlesque performers as I can. I host events to celebrate the arts, to find moments of rest, lead workshops and maybe some yoga classes. Of course, there are cats that meet and greet the traveling performers and artists who stay the night on their way to their next performances. I still write and produce my own burlesque productions, each one bigger or deeper than the last. I travel and bring my productions all around the world. I have a deliciously salacious magazine heralded as a more vibrant and queer-beloved Players, and I’m rereading these questions right before going dancing under the stars in Hollywood to celebrate my award-winning productions.
Follow La Reina on Instagram.