An interview with Drag Queen Raw Bee Candles
Konstantinos Vagis (he/him, she/her, they/them) is a drag performer, DJ, and one of the main hosts in this year’s Europride. He was born in 1999 in Katerini, Greece. Later on, in 2019, Raw Bee Candles (his persona name) was created in Crete, where his first performance took place. For him, his first experience on stage felt natural, as he had done theater for many years in the past. ‘‘For me, it felt effortless; it was just the queer element addition that made a difference for me’’. He confesses that he shares some personality traits with his persona but has a district relationship with her, determining her limits off stage, while she adds an extra spice to his performance on stage.
Drag is all about performance, or isn’t it? What other dimensions would you say it has?
Of course, Drag has several dimensions. Especially in Greece, it has a deeply political dimension. Drag performance blew up in Greece in a historical period when the country was ‘failing’ in multiple sectors, so every drag show had—and still has—a great political and social meaning. This situation, has made us all even more active and competitive!
In contrast with international Drag shows, what kind of differences do you notice in Greek Drag shows?
Actually, I can’t spot many differences. Drag in Greece has come a long way and has reached a point where many other international Drag shows would be jealous! Is it something that we expected? For me, yes, because Greek drag performers have worked really hard to reach the international standards of performing on stage, and they made it happen! Honestly, we’re pretty popular in the international Drag stage.
In your experience, how do people mostly react to drag performances?
A large percentage of them feel the vibe of the show, enjoy themselves, and applaud in the end. The only type of people that I find annoying are those who seem uninterested, are turning their backs on the performers, or are chatting on social media. Unfortunately, there’s plenty of those, but it’s part of the game after all.
How do you keep up with possible judgments?
I don’t mind the judgment… To be honest, I request it in a way… I’m bored of the positive feedback. I’m more curious about the negative feedback because you have the chance to learn a lot more from your mistakes, than from your successes.
Which drag queen or king do you admire the most?
My favorite drag king is Dr. Oglie Boss (IG:@droglie ). She/he/them is the most well-known and official Drag king in Greece. On the other hand, my favorite Drag queen is Nina Nai (IG: @thedragbaritone), who was the first person to make official and worldwide known the term ‘Drag and Opera’,and was actually my ‘drag mother’.
Is there any fact about Drag performance that you think people don’t know about, and would like to share?
I think that many people do not realize how much fun we have backstage, especially if there’s a lot of us inside the dressing rooms. We’re laughing a lot, while making fun of each other jokingly.
A favorite moment while performing?
I remember that in my first international show experience in Serbia, I was the only Greek/international representative. Everyone around me spoke only in Serbian, and I could not understand a word, but it was a fun and surreal experience after all!
In your opinion, which way do you consider the best to eliminate homophobia?
Actually, I don’t believe that homophobia will ever truly be eliminated, and I am at peace with that. You can clearly notice that, especially in Pride month, all of these different companies are changing up their branding in order to fit in and embrace Pride, but most of the time, they don’t truly believe in that vision, and it shows! It’s known that we live in a deeply capitalistic society, where everything is part of a marketing strategy, and of course that can’t change overnight. The only thing that we can do is embrace and stand up for ourselves unapologetically in our everyday lives, without letting anyone’s opinion define who we are as a person. Although, honestly, for me, it’s a great struggle. You can learn so much about yourself, your limits, your self-expression, crisis management, and especially what you are capable of doing to defend yourself. For me, it even feels challenging to reply to any racist comments on the street because, at this age, I feel mature and whole enough to deal with all of this.
But, for an adolescent who still figures out his sexuality and probably is still ‘‘in the closet”, it feels difficult to stand up for himself, the same way as I do. So, in my opinion, the only thing that we can do is educate both the bullied and the bullies and support the bullied children with a strong self-acceptance mentality and surroundings.
Last but not least, what would you like to advise someone who wants to start a career in Drag performance?
There’s only one rule in Drag performance, and that’s that there’s no rule! Go for it!
Pride may only occur once a year, but we are proud to be ourselves every single day!
Check out Raw Bee Candles social media: @itsrawbeehunty (Instagram profile)
