Skip to main contentHowie Baggadonutz is one sick puppy.
Last Tuesday, as I was devoting my attention to Michael J.'s televised tribute to himself, the promoter of all things queer barged into my house with Thai food and a videotape.
Now, normally nothing (except perhaps a Falcon Crest repeat) could tear me away from such an occasion as watching the "Gloved One" perform with the likes of Luther Vandross, but I usually trust Howie's instincts. And, well, he did have food.
I'm glad I listened to my gut, because that was the night Howie introduced me to the wonder that is "Dina Martina."
So who--or what--is Dina Martina?
You could describe the Divine Miss M. as a little bit camel toe and a little bit shlong-and-roll. She's the lounge-act equivalent of Baby Jane. Arty types might even go as far to say she's an American version of the late Euro clown Leigh Bowery. What/whoever she is, one thing's for sure: Over the past decade, Miss Dina's become the toast of Seattle's hipsterati. Now Howie has decided it's Portland's turn to witness her power in a one-woman show titled "The Dina Martina Holiday Show."
In search of Dina, I rang up Grady West (a.k.a. D.'s male alter ego) for a little insight.
"She's the underdog who doesn't realize she's the underdog," says the 38-year-old West of the off-kilter character he first created for a piece performed at an arts center near Seattle's notorious Lusty Lady way back in 1989. "She thinks she's on the top of the world."
And although West admits he's a drag queen (he is a man dressed as a woman, after all), it's a label he refuses to pin on Dina.
"I like to think of her as a separate entity," West said. "There are several things that Dina won't do. She's won't be mean to people. She's not catty or lewd. She's not a drag queen."
What Dina is, though, is very gay...as in hilarious.
According to West, Dina was born in the Appalachian Mountains, then moved with her mother to Las Vegas. It was here that Dina learned to be an entertainer like her inspirations, Anne Miller and Loretta Lynne. And just like her mama, Dina's a single parent, too: She's adopted a doll-puppet daughter named Phoebe (pronounced fo-eh-bee). But don't come to Dina looking for love. West says that, although Dina likes to give out door prizes (she calls gifts "jifts"), she's never been approached for "favors" in return. "Dina's the person you'd like to have coffee or dinner with," says West, "but you'd never want to touch her."
But that's exactly what makes her so touching. Just like that crazy great aunt you never seem to forget, Dina will be in your head forever once you've experienced her greatness. Now, pass me a salad roll.
WWeek 2015