As part of the efforts to mark International Day Against Homophobia Wednesday, the Museo Nacional de las Culturas offered a fantastical tour of the history of drag queens from cultures around the world, including Rome, Greece and Japan.
The glamorous performers treated the 150 strong crowd to a tour of the museum, cleverly detailing the history of gender nonconforminty and sexual diversity with the help of the museum’s artifacts, music, dance and storytelling.
The tour’s first call was to the Indian sub-continent, where the audience was taught the religious and cultural significance of the Indian hijra. Hijras are born male but are recognized as people of the third gender and are considered to have certain sacred powers, having renounced sexuality.
Others performers dressed spectacularly as onnagata, male actors who play female roles in Japanese theater, as well as the Greek poet Sappho.
The performers said that they hoped the guided tour would teach the audience about the important role of transvestitism, transsexuality and homosexuality throughout history and across diverse cultures. They explained that the guide, held only weeks prior to LGBTQ Pride Month in June, highlighted that sexual diversity is celebrated in many parts of the world.
