"BARBADOS ..." A CONVERSATION WITH DIVA ALEXANDER 13

CG- How do you define beauty? What is beautiful to you?
DA- Personality.
CG- So then, why the emphasis on the physical?
DA- The physical is just a symbolic thing. Beauty to me is in the spirit. I
 look into the eyes. Beauty to me is a thing that flows like the chi. It
 flows out.
CG- Do you have any drag kings here? Women who are dressed like men?
DA- We have girls here who actually pass for guys on the block. Up to two
 days ago, I myself was looking at this guy walking and Bianca [one of
 the other performers in Diva's Ragamuffins show] said, "that is a
 girl," and Isaid, "What?! A girl as in a girl?" She said, "That is a woman
 not a man there."
 Oh my god. It was like a paradigm shift. There she was eyeing me and
 I was eyeing her and I just laughed. It was funny. We have girls here
 who look like real guys. Some have like a beard thing going on. Some
 have breasts taped. This girl's name is Shelley but she goes by Shawn
 and you would never know. She looks like a beach boy. She had me
 going for a while and I had her going at one point too. Another girl too
 that I used to hang with. She was a lesbian. She died. God rest her. This
 is for you girl [pours some of her wine on the ground].
CG- What does spirituality mean to you?
DA- Well it doesn't matter what color you are. If you're gay or you're straight.
 He [God] ain't about that. There are some gay people who are very
 nice. There are some that are very nasty. There are some straight people
 who are very nice and some who are very nasty. The rain falls on the
 just and the unjust and people need to understand that spiritual means
 not physical. We really need to look into that. Churches don't teach
 people what they need to know. They just want people to come to
 church-put money in that box. They're not feeding them the truth. As
 long as I am here and God give me the breath, I will educate people
 about what I know and what works for me.
 We have to respect the Earth number one because she's our foundation.
 Respect each other 'cause we're all part of each other. We're all family.
 You are my sister. You are my brother. In this world when you get
 anything, give it back. It's not yours. If you get a blessing today, give it
 back tomorrow. Share it with somebody. Don't keep it. If you're born
 into money, blessed are you, but give something. Do something for
 somebody. Plant a tree. Do something. Give the Earth back her due
 and that's what we're not doing. We're concentrating on money. Money's
 the biggest thing now for people.