Villain Theater's Doll Linkup Drag Series Centers Miami's Trans Performers

When Veronica Veliz began venturing out into Miami's drag scene, she didn't know if there would be a space for her. The self-proclaimed "bioqueen" was already playing with makeup and starting to come into her queer identity but, as a cis woman, she felt isolated in a world she perceived as being dominated by cis gay men.

That all changed when Veliz met fellow Miami native and trans drag queen Ariesela Diaz, known mononymously in the local drag scene, at a party back in 2020. The pair immediately bonded over two things: their obsession with RuPaul's Drag Race and their desire to do drag despite feeling excluded in cis gay-dominated spaces.

"My trans awakening was starting," Ariesela tells New Times. At the time, she also felt South Florida drag hubs like Miami Beach and Wilton Manors didn't offer much accessibility for new performers, especially femmes.

Veliz and Ariesela found solace in Wynwood's alternative queer scene, where they often ran into each other at drag shows like Gramps' Double Stubble. At the time, Veliz was also tapping into her creativity by performing comedy at the Villain Theater as a company member. By the end of 2023, she pitched Villain co-owners Jannelys Santos and Peter Mir on a weekly drag show and Drag Race viewing party at the venue. When they asked who Veliz would like as a cohost, her mind went to Ariesela.

When the two got on stage together, something clicked, and for the past year and a half, Ariesela and Veliz, stage name Linerbaddie, have cohosted the Villain Theater's wildly popular Doll Linkup. Billing itself as "Miami's Girliest Drag Show," the series aims to spotlight women, trans, and nonbinary entertainers within the drag industry; provide a platform for emerging queer artists via its weekly open stage opportunity; and "party with a purpose" by promoting access to health and wellness resources through partnerships with local non-profit organizations such as Call to Action, a recurring mutual aid party benefiting Miami's trans community.

Performers include Opal Am Rah and Angel Nova, along with eight trans women who rotate within the larger cast. Doll Linkup is the only women-run weekly drag show in Miami that centers trans performers. In the spirit of inclusion, the open stage offers newer drag performers opportunities to hone their craft in front of a live audience and take home tips.

"Liner and I, and the dolls, represent the unity between femme beings across the board," says Ariesela. "Regardless of whether you're a trans man, or non-binary, or a trans femme, or a cis woman, we all experience the same fight of going against the patriarchy and misogyny, and it's smarter that we unite."

The opportunity to occupy and create a space for trans joy also inspired her to begin her medical transition. "I literally took my first [hormone replacement therapy] shot the same day as the first Doll Linkup," she says.

In the current political climate, those instances of trans joy double as trans defiance and rebellion. As executive orders seek to ban gender-affirming documents and care for trans youth, and to bar trans people from the military and sports, Florida has followed suit with a spate of anti-LGBTQ bills over the past several years.

Linerbaddie says that makes Doll Linkup's existence all the more vital right now.

"We want to be that beacon," she says. 'We want people to know that we're here — it's okay. You know, Florida and Miami really suck right now, but we have this one safe space where you can queen out and be yourself."