Ambush Magazine

The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™

Frank Perez

Drag Queen Profile: Coca Mesa

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Where are you originally from? How did you end up in New Orleans? Terrytown, LA, but I reside in NOLA. How long have you been doing drag? Since the year 2000. How did you select your drag name? Collecting Coca-Cola memorabilia. Do you hold any titles? If so, which ones? Southern Decadence Grand Marshal XLIII, 2017 plus Miss New Orleans America, 2004. … [Read more...] about Drag Queen Profile: Coca Mesa

19th Annual Saints & Sinners Literary Festival Set for March 25-27

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The annual Saints & Sinners Literary Festival will return to New Orleans later this month.  The 2021 Festival was completely virtual due to the COVID pandemic. The Saints and Sinners Literary Festival was founded in 2003 as a new initiative designed as an innovative way to reach the community with information about HIV/AIDS, particularly disseminating prevention … [Read more...] about 19th Annual Saints & Sinners Literary Festival Set for March 25-27

Drag Queen Profile: Debbie with a D

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Where are you originally from? How did you end up in New Orleans? I am originally from Baltimore (shoutout to SweetSpotBaltimore!) but I’ve been here in New Orleans for 11 years. The first time I visited New Orleans was in 2010 to help move my (at that time) ex-boyfriend to New Orleans. We were still friends and I volunteered to drive his moving truck with him from Baltimore … [Read more...] about Drag Queen Profile: Debbie with a D

Frank Perez’s French Quarter History Class

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Was Bienville gay? Was New Orleans named after a cross-dresser? Did the Catholic Church let the French Quarter burn down in 1788? Did a gay Jewish man save St. Louis Cathedral from destruction? Would there be a French Quarter today without gay men 100 years ago? Which French Quarter gay bar featured a bath-tub for watersports enthusiasts? Which society matron … [Read more...] about Frank Perez’s French Quarter History Class

King Cake Queen XXVII Regina Adams, The Amethyst Queen

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Ambush Magazine is pleased to announce Regina Adams as King Cake Queen XXVII, The Amethyst Queen. Adams has achieved legendary status in New Orleans as a performer and pillar of the community.  She began performing nearly 60 years ago on Bourbon Street and still performs today.  She has also been a bartender, bar owner, and community activist. Adams has … [Read more...] about King Cake Queen XXVII Regina Adams, The Amethyst Queen

The Lost Krewes of Gay Carnival

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If you live in New Orleans, there’s a chance you’ve attended one of the several gay Carnival balls presented each Carnival season.  If you have, you know these balls are highly elaborate productions requiring hundreds of hours of work and thousands of dollars. Perhaps the most amazing thing about the gay balls is that they are produced by relatively few people, depending on the … [Read more...] about The Lost Krewes of Gay Carnival

“The Children of Yuga”

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The 73rd year of Gay Carnival is upon us.  For those familiar with it, Gay Carnival usually means formal balls produced by krewes such as Petronius, Amon-Ra, Armeinius, Lords of Leather, Mwindo, and Narcissus.  But Gay Carnival did not start out with krewes or balls.  It began with a group of gay men who decided to do lunch. It all began in 1949 when Bob … [Read more...] about “The Children of Yuga”

Drag Queen Profile: Analia XO

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Where are you originally from? How did you end up in New Orleans? I was born and raised in Honduras, but I came to the U.S. when I was 10 years old. At the time, I was living with my mom in South Carolina, but was having financial struggles, so our aunt offered her a job here in New Orleans back in 2009, and I’ve been here ever since. How long have you been doing … [Read more...] about Drag Queen Profile: Analia XO

National LGBTQ Task Force Comes to New Orleans

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The National LGBTQ Task Force’s annual Creating Change Conference, originally scheduled to be held in New Orleans, will be held virtually from January 12—16, 2022. Begun in 1988, in part as an outgrowth of the 1987 National March on Washington, the Creating Change Conference focuses on networking and grassroots organizing skills.  In recent years, the conference has … [Read more...] about National LGBTQ Task Force Comes to New Orleans