Barbada de Barbades is the stage name of Sébastien Potvin,[1] a Canadian drag queen most noted as one of the drag house mothers in the reality competition series Call Me Mother.[2]
Barbada de Barbades | |
|---|---|
 Potvin in 2016 | |
| Born | Sébastien Potvin |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Occupation(s) | Drag queen, music teacher |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Known for | Call Me Mother |
Career
editPotvin, the Black Canadian son of a Barbadian father and a Québécois mother, first began performing in drag when he entered the 2005 Star Search drag competition at Cabaret Mado. Although he was eliminated from the competition, he entered again in 2006 and won.[3] He continued to perform regularly in drag at Cabaret Mado, becoming one of the club's regular headliners and winning Rita Baga's Mx Fierté pageant in 2017.[1]
In 2017, Potvin participated in Ils de jour, elles de nuit, an Ici ARTV documentary series about drag queens, alongside Rita Baga, Gaby, Lady Boom Boom, Lady Pounana, and Tracy Trash.[4]
Potvin, an elementary school music teacher by profession,[5] has also been prominently associated with Drag Queen Story Hours in Montreal,[6] including an annual special event at the Grande Bibliothèque of the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec,[7] and is a frequent host of Montreal drag brunch events.[8]
Since 2021, he has served as one of the drag house mothers in the first season of the reality competition series Call Me Mother.[2][9] The series was the highest-rated original production in OutTV's history.[10] Two days after the first-season finale, OutTV announced the renewal of the series for a second season, slated to air in 2022.[10]
In 2022, Potvin debuted as the host of Barbada, a children's series about music broadcast by Ici Radio-Canada Télé.[11]
On September 18, 2022, Barbada de Barbades, Rita Baga and Mona de Grenoble presented an award at the Prix Gémeaux ceremony, reading the nominees before bringing out Gisèle Lullaby, the third season winner of Canada's Drag Race, to announce the winner.[12]
In 2023 she also hosted the first season of the drag design competition series Sew Fierce.[13]
References
edit- ^ a b Samuel Larochelle, "Barbada de Barbades, une drag queen haute en couleurs". Huffington Post Québec, August 7, 2017.
- ^ a b West, Rachel (June 2, 2021). "OUTtv Announces New Drag Reality Series 'Call Me Mother' Hosted By ET Canada Pride's Dallas Dixon". ET Canada. Archived from the original on June 3, 2021.
- ^ Patrick Brunette, "Ils de jour, elles de nuit : En direct de l'univers des drag queens". Fugues, March 21, 2017.
- ^ "« Ils de jour, elles de nuit », Radio-Canada et Zone3 dévoilent l'univers des drag queens". Lien Multimédia, April 6, 2017.
- ^ Sarah Laou, "Enseignant de jour, drag queen de nuit". Métro, May 31, 2017.
- ^ Dominique Scali, "Une drag queen lira des contes à des enfants". Le Journal de Montréal, October 20, 2017.
- ^ Valérie Simard, "Une Heure du conte pas comme les autres". La Presse, August 16, 2019.
- ^ JP Karwacki, "Drag Brunch MTL will strut its fabulous stuff once again this summer". Montreal Gazette, May 28, 2021.
- ^ Ryan Porter, "'Call Me Mother' part of a wave of reality shows with 'RuPaul' alumni being produced by OutTV". Toronto Star, October 25, 2021.
- ^ a b Kelly Townsend, "OUTtv renews original drag format Call Me Mother". Playback, December 15, 2021.
- ^ Yan Lauzon, "L'univers musical de Barbada". Le Journal de Montréal, April 2, 2022.
- ^ Caroline Bertrand, "Les drags brillent sur la scène des Gémeaux". Métro, September 18, 2022.
- ^ Christopher Turner, "New Drag Competition Series 'Sew Fierce' Shines A Spotlight On Drag Designers & Costumers". In Magazine, April 13, 2023.