What started in 2018 as an annual event in Olympia to bring the Latine community together and honor LGBTQIA+ families has continued to transform, adding recurring nights in celebration of the vibrant Latine culture and Queer empowerment. “Azúcar: A Latine PRIDE Night Experience” is hosting its final show of the 2024-25 season on June 14, featuring resident burlesque and “draglesque” performers.
The event is produced by Latina K Presents, a performing arts organization based out of Olympia, and is run by Latina Kash Turner D’Ho, a veteran burlesque and drag performer who immigrated from Ecuador at the age of 28. She told the SGN that the shows during the first couple of years (when it was called “Azúcar: A Celebration of Latin and Hispanic Heritage”) had the standard burlesque and emcee combo for introducing acts, but things are done a little differently under its new name.
“It borrows elements from a talk show format, which means that we have two hosts who are permanently sitting on the stage,” Turner D’Ho said, adding how this type of living room setting includes bits of banter and addresses topics that affect the Queer Latine community in a more lighthearted and educational way.
“That’s how we also introduce our performers, and we talk about them a little bit and we have some audience participation in the form of games,” she added.
The June 14 event will be hosted by Turner D’Ho; Risqué and Rye, one of the three resident D’Hos of Azúcar, who is known as “The Angel Face of Olympia”; and Vida Catastrophe D’Ho, another Azúcar resident and talented creator of costumes, who is known as “the International Macabre Queer Boricua.” Papaya Magic Cabaret, an all-Latine burlesque group based in Olympia, will also perform.
Sherwood Ryder Ryder is one of the two founders of the Emerald City Kings Ball, which, according to its website, celebrates “all Kings and Beings of Drag.” Ryder will be joined in a duet by West Texas native Ryder Nightlong.
Turner D’Ho gushed that everything about the upcoming event excites her, though it’s a bittersweet end to the season. But with the rise in attacks against the Latine community in this current political climate — combined with the intersectionality of Queerness and drag, which are also under attack — she expressed the value of community support.
“Support your immigrant-owned arts organizations right now. It is more important than ever, in the middle of what we have going on, to support your immigrant community and this is one of them,” she said. “This is where we need you to show up.”
And this applies to any nationality: give all immigrants who own businesses as much support as possible, she emphasized.
Latine PRIDE Experience’s roots
Since its beginning, Turner D’Ho has produced each of the “Azúcar” burlesque showcases, which used to be held at the Capitol Theater in Olympia. The COVID-19 pandemic put the shows on hold for a few years, but at the end of 2022, she came to a realization.
“I was ready again to produce the shows and decided to bring this show night back as a Latine night cabaret experience,” Turner D’Ho said.
It now takes place 4-5 times per year; dates generally depend on venue availability, she explained. Additionally, the show became regular in September of 2023, with event spaces including the Cryptatropa Bar in Olympia.
“This is the last show of the 2024-25 season. We had six shows this year,” Turner D’Ho noted.
Turner D’Ho mentioned how the 2024 Pride Latine burlesque celebration was held at the Olympia Ballroom, and that the Latine Night Cabaret Experience has been using Kenneth J. Minnaert Center Black Box Theater and South Sound Community College since.
Meet Risqué And Rye, “Azúcar”’s newest cohost
Risqué And Rye, whose pronouns are They/Fae/God-Ass, provided the SGN with the following statement:
"As a proud Haitian, they believe it is important for shows like ‘Azúcar’ to be supported, because they highlight the varied talents of local Queer, Trans, disabled, and other marginalized performers of the global majority. (This Pride season, Olympia is home to many shows highlighting the local LGBTQ+ community, including ‘Free Range Drag’ and ‘Morningwood Manor.’
“Risqué And Rye is a multidimensional artist and performer, a soft, silky, succubus on stage serving sensual slowburn, splits, and silly. They backbend into your hearts and wallets, and bare their soul and self for audiences, from seedy dive bars to festivals. Prepare your bank accounts for your trust fund’s walking worst nightmare.
“Risqué And Rye will be embarking on their annual West Coast Drag, Burlesque, and Pole tour this summer from June 27 to July 10. Sticking true to the roots of the first summer tour with Vida Catastrophe and their mentor and mother Dahlia ‘VenDetta Petty’ Kash D'Ho (who transitioned to an ancestor this past January, leaving the continued legacy of ‘The Rock Show’ in Olympia and ‘Melange’ in Portland), ‘The Wh0re Tour: In Me-WH0RE-ium’ will travel from Seattle to Olympia, down to Portland, before circling Oakland and San Francisco. The tour is currently fundraising for travel and other tour-related costs. For information on how to support, please see Risqué's Instagram @RisquesDivineTemple.
“You can catch Risqué And Rye at the next ‘Azúcar’ June 14, Cap City Pride After Dark June 28, and Panty Riot here in Seattle at The Wash on June 30.
“To find more and keep up with this Queer Blacktiné intimacy doula and stripper, follow them on Instagram @RisquesDivineTemple.”
More info for the final event of the season
To improve future performances for community members and attendees, this final event will include audience engagement, such as a conversation to collect feedback about attendees’ experiences and feelings seeing themselves represented and celebrated in such an environment.
“Azúcar”’s Pride party has an intimate capacity of about 90 people. Presale tickets are available until June 13 for $35 with a $10 discount at www.azucarcabaret.com. People can also pay what they can at the door for accessibility purposes in this challenging economy.
“’Azúcar’ is also a recipient of an Inspire Impact Funding grant that we received from the City of Olympia last year,” Turner D’Ho said, noting how this helps with ticket costs.
The fund was made possible by the city’s voters, who favored this grant for arts and culture, funding it by self-tax, she added.
For those driving to the event, there’s plenty of free parking at the Kenneth J. Minnaert Black Box Theater, located at 2011 Mottman Rd. SW.
For more information visit azucarcabaret.com/tickets.
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