By Dr. Tim Seelig–
Drag queens have been at the forefront of our fight for equality for decades. It was drag queens at the center of the Compton Cafeteria riots here in San Francisco. Three years later, Stonewall became the major turning point in gay rights thanks to NYC queens. Recently, drag queens have again taken center stage in our country due to their subversive reading of books to children in libraries, Ron DeSantis’ probe into the horrors of a drag queen Christmas show, and the first former drag queen to be elected to Congress. Drag queens are a huge part of our lives. They are at the bars, at the riots, in the schools, and raising money for worthy causes. But wait, there’s more. Go with me here.
The arena is packed with fans ready to rumble. The energy is off the charts. The air is thick with sweat and anticipation. The lights begin to dim on the crowd. Almost blinding spotlights come up on the ring. Smoke is pouring out of the entrance. Suddenly, a deep, resonant voice grabs the attention of the crowd with an over-articulated and animated announcement: “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Saturday night wrestling!” The crowd goes wild. “Please welcome to the ring, the one and only Pollo Del Mar!”
At this point, the 7-foot heal to wig goddess enters. Shockingly, the cheers turn immediately to jeers and boos. This is not in response to the fabulosity of Pollo or because they are repulsed by the sight of a drag queen in bubba land. No, it’s because she and her team have been hired as “heels” for the night, the antagonists, the bad “guys.”
As the crowd continues screaming, the “voice of god” introduces Pollo’s team, MONEY POWER RE$PECT. Pollo is joined by dark and handsome Marco Mayur and blonde and hunky Fabuloso Fabricio. You may remember Marco from a previous column (https://tinyurl.com/mta54dkp). He had lost 100 lbs. and appeared in Positive Resource Center’s Bear Chest Calendar in 2019. The three of them make up the hottest tag team trio in wrestling today. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up the “bad boy” role because the crowds adore them.
What? How did this happen? To understand it, we need to go all the way back to a very middle America home in the suburbs of Houston. As was the case in many homes, young Paul was introduced to all the things a little boy is supposed to love: football, baseball, karate, etc. None of it stuck. Finally, out of desperation, Paul’s dad sat him down to watch Saturday morning pro-wrestling. It was as if the heavens opened and angels sang a huge chord. Young Paul was smitten. Not with the wrestling, but the personalities. He remembers huge, dyed blonde hair, flashy outfits, and flamboyant moves. He was hooked. He and his dad had found something in common, kind of.
Fast forward to Paul’s move to San Francisco. He had still not done drag. Finally, he succumbed when asked to appear in drag for a sober community benefit. That was that. Earlier, he had laughed with friends while looking at the menu at a Mexican restaurant and saw Delicias del Mar. He quipped, “That would be a great drag name.” But he had friends named Delicia and it was too close. It was about the same time that Jessica Simpson asked the question questioning whether Chicken of the Sea was chicken or tuna—in front of millions of people. Pollo Del Mar was born.
What happened is a meteoric rise in the fields of drag, journalism, and acting. Pollo has won too many awards to begin listing them. Check out her Wikipedia page! (https://tinyurl.com/543srwju) As a journalist, she has covered sports for such publications as the Huffington Post, GLOSS Magazine, and the San Francisco Bay Times. Her favorite subject to write about is wrestling, though. In 2017, she joined Wrestling for Charity and all her lives collided into the mind-blowing pro-wrestling personality she enjoys today. And it is huge. Bigger than her hair!
She began hosting monthly wrestling at the El Toro bar in the Portola district where she met a young wrestling fan, Marco Rodriguez. She encouraged him to take his love for wrestling to the ring and give it a try. And he did! He began training and was a natural. They then met Fabricio, who rounded out the trio perfectly. A gay, a straight, and a drag queen. Sounds like the beginning of a joke. But it was far from that. Marco’s signature move is the “sexy time splash!” Fab is known for his big, broad sexy shoulders. Pollo is just famous. Seriously famous.
They began appearing as a team and killing it. They’ve now appeared together all over the Bay Area, Las Vegas, Chicago, Los Angeles and Jacksonville, FL. More than that, they have become a family. At one point over dinner, Pollo declared to Fabricio, “You’ve obviously never had a drag mother.” Well, as a 23-year-old straight boy, he had not. She took him under her wing, and it wasn’t long until he began calling her “Mama.” The three of them are inseparable, although each of them appears individually in addition to the team.
MONEY POWER RE$PECT has broken new ground by bringing a wrestling ring to both the Folsom Street Fair and the Bearrison Street Fair. Their straight wrestling colleagues have all come over to the gay side to join in the fun.
They have made an impact on the wrestling world—and their fans. They have countless stories of the kids who attend matches with their parents. The kids are fascinated with the wrestlers and their outrageous outfits. Marco has been making his own outfits since the start and occasionally helps other contestants make theirs. But they are especially drawn to the giant woman as they stare up at her asking for an autograph. They have had numerous parents thank them for a positive representation of the LGBTQ+ community in a place they never imagined something like that would exist. In fact, they have been around long enough now to have heard stories of fans who have found the courage to come out thanks to their appearances.
None of the members of MPR (with a $) ever imagined the lives they are now living. They are making a difference in the world. They are representing in the best possible way. Their story provides huge lessons for all of us: be yourself, chase your dreams, and if someone irritates you, throw them up against the ropes. OK, two out of three.
Pollo, Marco and Fabricio are heroes and sheroes. They continue to show the world there is nothing we can’t do, no barriers we can’t knock down. We have nothing but RE$PECT for all they are doing.
Dr. Tim Seelig is the Conductor Laureate of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus. http://www.timseelig.com/
TLC: Tears, Laughs and Conversation
Published on February 9, 2023
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