#aRIDEthroughFASHION: Category is... BALL CULTURE

¿Cuántos de los que estáis leyendo esto habéis visto RuPaul's Drag Race? Sin duda ''Mama Ru'' ha visibilizado y elevado a la comunidad drag como nadie, de hecho muchas drag queens son consideradas celebrities hoy en día y por eso él es la figura que es hoy en día. Reinas del Drag, su programa, ya lleva 11 temporadas y All Stars 4. Lo que muchos a lo mejor no sabéis es que, directa o indirectamente, este programa rinde un gran homenaje a la cultura del ball.
If you're reading this, how many of you have ever watched Rupaul's Drag Race? There's no doubt that Mama Ru has elevated the drag community to the top and he's made it more visible than ever, in fact many drag queens are nowadays considered as celebrities. Drag Race, his show, has already celebrated its 11th season and All Stars the 4th. But, what many of you may not know is that this show is a great tribute to the ball culture.

También conocida como drag ball culture o house-ballroom community, la ball culture tuvo una gran presencia en Estados Unidos a finales del pasado siglo. Podría considerarse una rama del extensísimo árbol que es la comunidad LGTB. Se trataba de un evento en el cual los participantes desfilaban acorde a una determinada categoría en frente de un público y de un jurado para ganar trofeos, premios, reputación y, sobre todo, evadirse de la triste realidad. Los participantes y asistentes eran en su mayoría gays, lesbianas y transexuales de raza negra o latina. Pero en mi opinión, lo más bonito de toda esta subcultura era que los participantes pertenecían a 'Casas', vivían juntos y emulaban una estructura familiar tradicional, con una Madre o un Padre al frente y en la que todos se ayudaban unos a otros. Si aún es duro hoy en día salir del armario, imaginaos en los años 80. Muchos integrantes de estas Casas eran personas LGTB que habían sido repudiados por sus propias familias por ser quienes querían ser.
Also known as drag ball culture or house-ballroom community, the ball culture had a great presence in the United States towards the end of the past century. It could be considered as a branch of the huge tree that the LGBT community is. It is en event in which the participants ''walk'' according to a determine category, in front of an audience and a jury in order to win trophies, prizes, reputation but, above all, get away from their sad reality. Most of the participants and the audience were mainly gay, lesbian and transgender black and latin people. But, in my opinion, the most beautiful aspect of this whole subculture was that most participants belonged to ''Houses''. They lived together, emulating a traditional family structure, with a Mother or a Father in charge, and giving support to each other. If nowadays it is hard to come out, just imagine how it was to do it in the 80s. Most of them were LGBT people who were forced to abandon their real homes after being repudiated by their own families for trying to be who they really wanted to be.

No creáis que esto es algo que pertenece al pasado. Todavía siguen existiendo estas casas, repartidas en más de 15 países a lo largo de toda América. Las mejores Casas, aquellas que consiguen más trofeos, alcanzan el rango de ''legendarias''. Existen Casas legendarias como, por ejemplo, House of Ebony, fundada por Richard y Larry Ebony; House of Ninja, fundada por Willi Ninja; House of Aviance, fundada por Madre Juan Aviance; o House of Xtravaganza, fundada por Hector Xtravaganza y Angie Xtravaganza. Lo común era que, al entrar a formar parte de un determinada Casa, se adoptara como apellido el nombre de dicha casa.
But don't you think that this is something that already belongs to the past. There're still Houses spread through more than 15 countries all over the United States. The best Houses, those with more trophies, get toreach the title of ''legendary''. There're legendary Houses such as the House of Ebony, founded by Richard and Larry Ebony; the House of Ninja, founded by Willi Ninja; the House of Aviance, founded by Mother Juan Aviance; or the House of Xtravaganza, founded by Hector Xtravaganza and Angie Xtravaganza. The tradition was that, once you were part of a House, the name of the House became your surname.

Se tenían muchas cosas en cuenta a la hora de juzgar a un participante: su forma de desfilar, de hacer ''voguing'', de posar, los looks que vestía, su actitud... Baile, música y moda eran los ingredientes principales de estos eventos. RuPaul's Drag Race está lleno de guiños a la Ball Culture, pero también hay muchas otras referencias. Lady Gaga se refiere a su propio equipo creativo como House of Gaga y a ella misma como Mother Monster; el grupo Icona Pop y el videoclip de su canción All Night rinde homenaje a este fenómeno; y en Netflix tenéis disponible (y la recomiendo 100%) la serie Pose, que gira en torno a los balls y a la epidemia del VIH a finales de los 80 en Nueva York.
There were several things that had to be taken into account in order to judge a performance: the way of walking, voguing, posing, the outfits, the attitude... Dance, music and fashion were the main ingredients of these events. RuPaul's Drag Race is full of signs to the Ball Culture, but there're also many other references. Lady Gaga refers to her own creative team as the House of Gaga and to herself as Mother Monster; the group Icona Pop and the video of their song All Night pays tribute to the balls; and Pose is already available in Netflix (100% recommended), a series focused on the ball culture and the HIV epidemic in New York at the end of the 80s.