Gay Umbria: Local Color

Yes, Roberto, there is a gay Umbria. Although there are a limited number of drag queens here, you never know where you might run into them.

I was taking a group of gay guests around this fall on a week of guided tours. Their week did not coincide with the one bi-weekly gay event and they were a tad disappointed they could not experience the fullness of our gay scene — such as it is. As we finished climbing up the long flight of stairs that leads from the Tre Archi in the center of Perugia, and just passed the que in front of Grom, when what should we happen upon but some local color. Yes, three lovely ladies, dressed in sequined white gowns sashaying their hearts out. (Really ladies, why not learn the words to the songs so you can actually lip sync.) But I do not want to criticize and take away from their loveliness.

From Baby Love to New York, New York (odd choice, I know) they worked that room (street, actually) to the amazement and cheers of a very mixed crowd. Each taking a lip synced turn, they strutted and waddled and treated those sequins to whirlwind spins flinging them here and there in what can only be described as an endurance test for a high octane espresso. They worked them to within an inch of their sparkly little lives. Oh, the sequins from La Cage aux Folles would have been jealous.

After a few numbers, we walked on to enjoy some of the more traditional cultural sights of Perugia all the richer for having experienced a little glitz and glitter. Amazing what one can discover in Umbria.