Bianca del Rio cares about a lot of things, but whether or not you like her is low on the list. The insult comic and drag queen is the Season 6 champion of RuPaul's Drag Race — the first Latina to hold the title. In fact, Del Rio (who's known as "Roy Haylock" when not on stage, and " Roy Lady " to some of her greatest fans) almost stopped performing before auditioning for the drag reality show. Fresh off touring her stand-up show, " Rolodex of Hate ," Bianca sat down to chat with Flama about her journey, her critics, and her special brand of hatred.
FLAMA: I feel like you're the first queen to win RuPaul's Drag Race that hasn't immediately put out a music video.
BIANCA : I think in fairness, I was also the oldest that's come out of there, as far as winning. So I knew what I didn't want to do and that was definitely one of those things. And not because I have anything against it. It ain't me, and not the path I wanted to take. How do you stand in a pile of ten thousand queens, doing the same auto tuned bullshit, it doesn't work for me. It's definitely not what I wanted to present to the world. And so I just went a different route, something that I've done for a long time, which was comedy and hate.
FLAMA: You named your comedy special Rolodex of Hate . You're an insult comic, and I know people like Joan Rivers were an influence on you. What do you think keeps audiences coming back to insult comics?
BIANCA: Well, as long as it's funny. But it's also getting people to make fun of themselves. You can't just be rude, you have to make fun of yourself and make fun of everything. Everything to me is a joke. Nothing is off-limits.
No matter what it is, someone always has something to say thanks to social media. I lived in a time when none of this existed… so it doesn't affect me on that same level. I find it laughable when someone attacks me or feels the need to make a hateful comment.
FLAMA: Your mother is Cuban, your father is Honduran. Did that influence your sense of humor growing up at all?
BIANCA: For me, comedy comes from any truth that there is. There are lots of things that happened to me as a child, which is what I use in the shows as comedy, because I know it. If I can laugh at it, then it's fine because it's my life. I don't know if it actually was anything from my heritage, it was experiences that I had. And I was able to look at it in a funny way. Not necessarily anything specific to being Hispanic, but it came from obstacles.
FLAMA: So when was "Bianca" born?
BIANCA : Twenty years ago. In 1996/97…I was working in theatre and makeup and it led to doing drag. It evolved in doing a gig here and there at a bar, and then it sort of snowballed. Ten years in New Orleans, ten years in New York. And then I just re-located to Los Angeles. A wild ride. My intentions were to put a cap on it at forty, and be done — cause, okay, great, I've had a good ride. I did Drag Race at 37 and then it shifted all my plans. Cause after twenty years of being in a bar with drunk people, I definitely had my share of fun.
FLAMA: So what prompted the move from New Orleans to New York?
BIANCA: I had been there a while and the hurricane happened and I was in those moments in my life where I was thirty and ready for change. So I moved to New York and I was doing costumes, wigs and drag, but it was just on a larger scale. It was exciting, and something new. I was ready to do something. And it was a great run for the ten years that I was there. And now, will definitely go back to New York at some point, because I do love it.
FLAMA: When did you decided on "Rolodex of Hate" as a name for your comedy special — and what prompted you to take it on tour?
BIANCA: To be very vague about it, I had to give a title as soon as I could. Ru from Drag Race had asked me where my sense of humor comes from, and I said it's from my "rolodex of hate." Winning Drag Race, you're traveling a lot and doing a lot of gigs and events — pretty tight. My manager talked to me and said "I think it'd be great if you did a one person show, as a stand up special." I've always wanted to do that. It's a daunting task to write, I'm not a good sit down and write person. It's usually instinct or in the moment, so the process is overwhelming. Immediately, they booked the Gramercy Theatre in New York in November. And I was horrified because — 600,700 seats — people in New York are not going to pay to come see me when they could've seen me for free all these years. And then it sold out. It was like one night sold out, two nights sold out, three nights sold out.
FLAMA: I'm sure you're asked some crazy questions during the Q+A at the end. What are some of your favorites?
BIANCA: Oh god, let me think. Oh, "What did Ru's dick taste like?" That was really funny. I said, "I had to suck his dick because I couldn't eat his ass because Michelle Visage was in it"… that was one of those. It makes me laugh, they're clever enough to come up with something like this.
FLAMA: Did you grow up speaking Spanish at all? Do you have a favorite Spanish curse word, you might have heard growing up?
BIANCA: Not that much... my mother spoke English with us so "fuck" was just "fuck." In general, it was always funny coming out of her mouth because of her accent. It wasn't Spanish curse words but she Americanized it quite a bit. Which was interesting, but just having a mother say "fuck" on a normal basis is probably why I use it in real life all the time.
FLAMA: So where can we catch you next?
BIANCA: The Vimeo special ["Rolodex of Hate"] is available now, you can check it out, you can buy it, you can rent it, you can do whatever you want!
FLAMA: You're working on a movie as well, right? Will we be able to see you in "Hurricane Bianca" soon?
BIANCA: My friend is editing and getting it all together! We wrapped filming this summer. Margaret Cho's in it, Ru Paul's in it, Alyssa Edwards…Rachel Dratch. So all of that information is at HurricaneBianca.com.