Growing up Latinx in McAllen, a small border city in South Texas, Arinna Heys felt trapped. “Being openly queer in my hometown was tough, and drag was hush-hush—sometimes even a little scary,” she admits. It wasn’t until she relocated to Austin—Texas’ most liberal city—that Heys’s career as a performer really began, but it wasn’t without its setbacks. “I did everything I could to make a dollar. I danced my butt off, did hair, tables…the lot,” says Heys of those first few months when the pandemic shut down live entertainment.
Steadily, the 24-year-old made a name for herself with support from local queens Diamond Dior Davenport and Louisianna Purchase and found herself with a packed calendar of appearances at downtown’s core LGBTQ+ venues. It was around this time that Heys began paying it forward to other drag artists early in their careers. She began by affording affordable hair styling to young queens, particularly around competition time. Then came Slaybill, her monthly show at Neon Grotto, where she recruits young queer entertainers and offers them the freedom to express themselves, something which Heys didn’t have the opportunity to do back home in McAllen.
“When I began, having someone to look up to was such a beautiful thing, and now I’m seeing younger entertainers come to me for advice, inspiration and help. I want to encourage them to be their unapologetic selves and thrive in this world, starting right here in Texas.”
“I wake up and immediately start playing any sort of drag podcast,” says Arinna, who spends the first part of her day organizing and cleaning as a way to ground herself. Once she’s spent that first part of the morning enjoying a moment to herself, Arinna gets “coffee down the road at Epoch Coffee where one of my drag sisters works.”
Arinna’s favorite lunch spot is a local Filipino food place called KAPATAD. “My drag sister showed it to me and everything is absolutely delicious. It’s got lovely, homey vibes.” PhoNatic, a popular Vietnamese food restaurant in the area is also high on her list of places to go for lunch. On weekends, she’s eating between shows. “If I’m out working, there’s a queer, Black-owned restaurant called Trap House Caribbean that cooks amazing food for brunch, which I host on Saturdays.”
When the weather is nice and the sun is out, you can find Arinna at Lake Travis, where she relaxes, tans and dives into new music. “It really gives my brain some time to unwind and air out all the madness that is drag,” she adds. Otherwise, she’s home squeezing in a nap. “Working as many days as I do, you have to try and get as much sleep as you can while you can.”
Once she’s rested, Arinna spends the afternoon doing hair for other queens (or for herself if she’s performing). “My fave local girl to do hair for is Tatiana Cholula because she loves a fierce disco diva hairpiece or a vintage hairstyle, and I have so much fun doing those,” she says. “And when I do her hair, I make sure to always go out and support her at her all-Latinx drag show called Divina at Oilcan Harry’s.”
If she didn’t make it to a show, she might have spent the afternoon shopping. So by early evening, she’s wrapping up her beauty supply shop run. She stocks up on lashes, lip liners, bobby pins, hair accessories and other drag essentials. “Hair is so important. If you have a cute piece of hair on, it can really help you stay motivated and that’s why I got into offering to do affordable hair for others. Doing drag is insanely expensive. Investing is one of the hardest things I had to learn.”
Getting ready takes a while, which leaves little time to make dinner before her drag show. “I have to start getting in drag nice and early because it takes me a cute minute to get ready. Therefore, Uber Eats is my best friend!” Her favorite? Mediterranean food. “I get Halal Taza delivered, and I usually order lamb wraps—they are absolutely delicious.”
Arinna is usually on stage at 11 thanks to a pandemic gig at Coconut Club that became a permanent slot as host and performer three nights a week at Coconut Club and Neon Grotto. “They’re such amazing venues because everyone that works there is like family, and I love seeing familiar faces. They are the bars where I feel the safest.”
“The show is pretty quick so I try not to do a lot of mingling because I get really excited to see other people perform,” she says. Arinna is done before midnight and heads straight home after taking off her makeup. “I always take all of my face with cleansing products and completely de-drag at the club so when I get home there’s no hassle. I just get back, put everything away, and hit my pillow.”
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