A Queer Night to Remember in Mykonos
Since I was a kid, I loved wearing my sister’s skirts. I was just a small, clever boy acting like a drama queen. As I grew older, my appetite for dressing like a lady faded, and I leaned more toward elegant men’s clothes. Still, every now and then—especially after a few drinks—I find myself drawn to drag bars, where the queens’ free spirit feels like home.
One of my favorite memories of this kind of night happened in Mykonos when I was about 23. I was on vacation with a group of friends, and one evening they all decided to go to Cavo Paradiso, one of the island’s famous clubs. I wasn’t in the mood, so after a few drinks together, they left me behind.
Being a night owl, I couldn’t imagine going to bed early. I wandered out under the starry sky, the usually wild wind unusually calm. I walked until I reached the iconic windmills, sat on the stairs nearby, and soaked in the magic of the night.
That’s when I heard a gentle voice behind me:
“My friend, can you take a picture of me?”
I turned, and my breath caught. Before me stood the best Tina Turner impersonator I had ever seen. I joked, “I’ll take your photo if you teach me how to do makeup like that.”
Tina laughed and said, “Let’s go.”
We walked together until we reached Jackie’O, the legendary queer bar I had heard about but never visited—my friends weren’t into that scene. Inside, the atmosphere was electric, impossible to capture in words. Tina introduced me to people at the bar, then pulled out a small mirror and some makeup from her handbag.
“Come on, let’s go crazy,” she said.
I tried to apply it myself, but Tina smiled and gently helped me. The intimacy of the moment, the laughter, the shots and beers—it all blurred into pure joy. Soon, Tina was on the podium singing, and I found myself dancing on top of a table, swept up in the wild energy of the crowd.
Later, I slipped into the bathroom and had a brief encounter with a guy, but I didn’t linger. I wanted to return to Tina. We ended the night together, and while I won’t share the details, I will say this: it was a night worth remembering.
