Today we’d like to introduce you to Julia Montminy.
Hi Julia, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I got into drag in the senior year of my undergraduate schooling. I went to my institution’s drag show in February of 2017, and enjoyed it so much that I wanted to try it the next year. I had originally settled on the name Deirdre Lavatica, as a play on the name Demi Lovato, who is one of my favorite artists. About a month before the show, I forgot what my first name was supposed to be and was quite distressed. One of my friends suggested that I just go with the single name of Lavatica, which I ended up doing. The next two years, I only performed at my undergraduate institution’s show. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I wouldn’t get the opportunity to perform until my final semester of graduate school. I had chosen to attend Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, which at the time I moved, didn’t really have a drag scene. By the time I returned to performing in the spring of 2022, a scene had been established and was growing. I did two shows in Boone, which were my first two paid shows. Those shows, and the financial success of those shows for me was what made me realize that I could do drag as a side hobby to my full-time job. Once I knew that my career path would take me to Salt Lake City, I made a goal for myself to start performing regularly. After a relatively short period of time, which did include some thoughts of quitting out of discouragement, I finally landed my first paid gig in Salt Lake City for the end of December. I intend for that show to be the first step in my drag journey in Salt Lake City.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The biggest struggle since I got to Salt Lake City was the level of imposter syndrome I had. I had done a couple of open mic drag performances, but that didn’t result in the success that I had hoped. I went to a show at the end of September that I knew that one of my new friends would be performing in. On that day, I was seriously considering quitting because I hadn’t gotten the bookings that I thought I would.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I have been a drag queen since February 2018. My talent with makeup has definitely improved during that time, and I would still definitely consider myself a performance queen. What I’m known for is also what I’m most proud of. I make it a point to involve the audience during each of my numbers and make them feel like they’re part of the show. Additionally, in April of 2022, I learned how to death drop and now that I’ve gotten comfortable doing the move, I try and look for points in all of the numbers I do to throw in a death drop. Some of the songs actually have more than one.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Having lived in Salt Lake City for just over five months, I have enjoyed how welcoming the city is. When I interviewed for my full-time job, I was told that Salt Lake City is thought to be a future queer capital of the world, which one find surprising given that the city is also the home of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. So far, I have had no problems in finding a community outside of my workplace environment.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: official_lavatica
