Text: Paul Hofman
Photo: Rob Jacobs
Hair: Jean baptiste Santens
Video: Paradox Productions
Boris Itzkovich Escobar (33) is better known by her stage name Envy Peru. Like ambassador Paul Morris, she comes from South America.Drag queen,actor, model and makeup artist Envy Peru became the winner of the television show ‘Drag Race Holland’ a few years ago. This year the drag queen shines not only on stage but also as an ambassador for Pride 2022.
Now that corona measures have been lifted she is busier than ever. She is the country’s first Drag Race Superstar. It is a great honour for her. ‘Just like being asked to be an ambassador for Pride.’ How did that come about? ‘You don't become an ambassador just like that. You represent the LGBT community and that carries great responsibilities. For me it means being seen as an example and I consider that a great honour. Especially when you realise where I come from.’
Latino
‘Paul Morris and I were invited by Lucien Spee when we were guests on a New Year’s special ofdrag queen Niki Today. Paul and I have been incredibly good friends for years and that makes our ambassadorship even more special. I love that we have at least two Latino representatives. It’s wonderful. I am genuinely grateful for it.’
The theme is close to Envy’s heart. ‘My Gender, My Pridemeans to me that whoever you are and whatever you do, embrace it and be proud. It is a freedom to be yourself and not be put in a box.’
Friends
Envy remembers her first Pride as if it were yesterday. ‘I was only nineteen. I went with my two best friends. I was still fully in the closet and so it felt very exciting. I remember seeing Megan Schoonbrood and Sugi on the canal near Leidsestraat. I looked at them in admiration. At that time I had not often seendrag queensbefore. It was incredibly beautiful.’ She could not have imagined then that years later she would be performing as Envy Peru herself. ‘Not for a moment did I think I was looking at my own future and that I would one day do it myself.’
Diva
How did her name come about? ‘My mother raised me with a lot of love for my roots. When she chose mydragname she wanted to make a connection with Peru because I am extremely proud of the culture I come from. I want to give my birthplace which is underrepresented more visibility.Envy means to envy someone and to find them beautiful. By that I mean that someone from Peru is more than a stereotype of small indigenous people, pan flutes and llamas. Someone from Peru can also be a gorgeousqueen and diva.’
As adrag queenshe wants to build bridges between the LGBT community and the rest of the world. ‘I can use my own platform for that. This community has supported me so incredibly much over the years. I would like to mean something and give back to those who have given so much.’
Art form
She is undoubtedly a role model for immigrants, Envy says. ‘I have come a long way. As an undocumented immigrant I came to the Netherlands at age five. I spent seven years of my life in children’s homes and with foster families because my mother couldn’t care for me for a while then.’ At eighteen she returned to live with her mother. ‘I then began to discover who I am. Through hard work and strong will you can make your dreams come true in a new country. I therefore see myself as a rich person because of the experiences I went through at a young age. Despite everything I have remained positive about the future.’
She is proud of her ‘profession’. ‘Dragwas primarily appreciated within ourcommunity.I bring it to a wider audience. You know, there are still so many prejudices about our art form. I hope that when people outside our community see or hear me, I can change their minds and that itdragbecomes normalised.Drag is an art form.
As an ambassador and as adrag queen she overflows with energy. Envy does have some worries. ‘There is the fear that we will go backwards. I think we as LGBT people are still not sufficiently protected when it comes to discrimination and violence. That really needs to change. I have great faith in the openness of the new generation. Unfortunately they are not yet the leaders of tomorrow. I hope to live to see a time when every member of ourcommunity can freely love whoever they want.’
When we ask her who she regards as her greatest example Envy replies without hesitation: ‘That is my mother. When she had me she had to give up a lot at a young age to give me a better future. At 24, with a four-year-old child, she emigrated illegally to another country. Not many would do that. She succeeded and I am eternally grateful for it.’
Pride ambassador since 2022
