While Manza's actual birthday was back in December, her O Bar birthday show was last night at O Bar. Every birthday show is tailored to the queen celebrating, and last night was a unique celebration of a lot of the things that make Manza unique as a drag artist. She brought in some very interesting guests who helped to round out the night.
Manza was one of the queens who joined the O Divas after the pandemic lockdown was lifted, and she came right out of the gate with a unique physicality you don't often see. Apart from ballroom moves, her repertoire also includes aerial work, pole dancing, and some very sultry floor work. In that first year, it felt like there was a bit of a relentless energy about her - like she was attacking each piece with significant intensity and vigor for one reason or another. But that has been tempered and refined over the years - still the same passion, but perhaps with more control and focus.
It's easy to dismiss Manza as a "trick queen" or something - especially if you're mainly limited to seeing her work in TikTok videos or various social media stories. Over the years, I've learned to appreciate her very deliberate artistry and her efforts to use her performances to tell stories in a way rather unique to her. And while she still has those big aerial show pieces that are designed to elicit reactions from the crowd, she also has slower pieces that I think I love more because of how beautiful they turn out. She's one of the most thoughtful drag artists I've encountered over the years, and the results of her efforts can be a little subtle amid the roar of the O Bar crowd. She's a queen of many facets, and all of them are worth celebrating.
Given the years we've been going to O Bar, I'd like to think that it's fair to say that Tobie and I have developed a fair understanding of drag as a performance art. There are things we've come to like more and other things we had to learn to appreciate because each drag artist brings something unique to the stage. There will always be something new, and we do our best to recognize what that is and help nurture it in our own way when we talk to the girls outside the show. And it's easy to see that Manza is certainly a queen to watch - although the reasons we love her may be different from your average social media viewer or Drag Race fan.
And while we've said it so many times since December, I'll say it again. Happy Birthday, Manza!
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