Meet the Maker: Pancha La Flor
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Welcome to Meet the Maker, a series dedicated to shining a spotlight on local creators of all kinds.
Meet Pancha La Flor, an Indianapolis drag performer with deep theater and cosplay roots.
The inspo: La Flor tells Axios her journey to the drag stage began several years ago with a desire to emulate the looks of female video game, comic and anime icons like Chun Li, Poison Ivy and Sailor Saturn.
- "I was very ambitious at the beginning," she said. "I would style all my own wigs and make all my own outfits. And then I realized that that was just not always feasible."
Zoom in: As the time demands of the cosplay game began to pile up, drag — something she always wanted to get into — came calling about two years ago.
- She first hit the stage thanks to a friend who was a drag performer in Fort Wayne and never looked back.
- "I was hesitant because I think in the past, we've always thought of drag as sort of being gatekept or being for a specific community or a specific type of performer. And I didn't necessarily feel like I fit into that," she said. "But it's not just about being a drag queen. It can be about being a drag king. Or it can be more inclusive and be about being a drag artist. Drag is art."
What she's making now: More trips to center stage. La Flor has a show in Bloomington on Friday night but will return to Indy on Saturday to perform at Latinx Pride at The Vogue.
- On July 20, she will do commentary alongside Vanity Rex during a screening of "Troop Beverly Hills" at Kan-Kan Cinema and Brasserie.
- During Gen Con 2024, you can catch Pancha La Flor at the "Dragons, Dice and Divas" event.
Check her out: On her Instagram.
Do you know a maker we should meet? Tell us about them at [email protected].