Queer Across America: Phoenix, Arizona and the Queerest Rodeo

On this week’s Queer Across America adventure, I’m in Phoenix, Arizona exploring the LGBTQ+ community and visit the Gay Rodeo hosted by the Arizona Gay Rodeo Association (AGRA).

YES—A GAY RODEO!

I spend the early part of the day wandering around the Melrose Curve, which is the central queer area on 7th Avenue (not to be confused with 7th Street that inexplicably runs parallel a couple blocks away). The area has plenty of queer bars like the trendy Stacy’s, the saloon-themed Pat O’s Bunkhouse, the ultra-divey Rock, and the chaotically massive Charlie’s. 

Beyond the bars, however, I grab a coffee from Window Bar followed up by an authentic Puerto Rican lunch at Phoenix Coqui where I have the most savory Mofongo con Pernil (fried plantain and pulled pork) while completely understanding why the queer-owned business has such a high rating on Yelp.

After the meal, I stop outside Sazerac in the Downtown area, a bar I worked at for a couple of months in 2020 right when the Pandemic hit. I elect not to go in when I remember how they accused me of wanting to collect unemployment money because I was “lazy” for refusing to go into work when COVID was at its peak. I later learned that they allowed MAGA events to be hosted at their bar. Suddenly, I was relieved that I stopped working for them. 

But now it’s time for me to go over to the gay rodeo—YES, A GAY RODEO!

My car rolls through the dirt parking lot of Corona Ranch. I’ve never been to a rodeo in my life and certainly never even knew a gay one existed. The DJ’s Cumbia music serenades my entrance as I weave my way through groups of queer people boasting blue jeans, flannels, and cowboy boots. Of course, every individual is rocking a cowboy hat. I immediately feel out of place with a bare head.

I stagger up a ramp into a stadium to find rows of bleachers filled with proud LGBTQ+ cowpoke cheering the events that are taking place in the center. I make my way to the iron bars that separate the spectators from the spectacle. In the center of the dirt-covered arena is an angry 2,000-pound bull bucking and jerking in an attempt to throw a drag queen off its back.

YES—A DRAG QUEEN!

The queen desperately tries to hold on to the rope around the bull’s neck. Sweat drips across her bold makeup and polished eyebrows. Her flannel and jeans are covered with dirt. Miraculously, her wig is secure. It flails side to side, up and down, but remains on her head. Then, BOOM! Her grip rips, and the queen is launched 12 feet into the air before slamming down onto the dirt. In less than a second, she jumps up, dusts herself off, and heads to the sidelines—wig intact.

For the next hour, I watch some of the physically toughest LGBTQ+ people compete in various events like “Chute Dogging,” “Pole Bending,” and “Barrel Racing.” There is even an event called “Steer Decorating” which does not involve decorating a steer with a cute little wig and a riotous pair of sunglasses as I expected, but instead showcases a trans man diving face first into the dirt after successfully tying a ribbon onto a bucking steer’s tail. I also learn rodeo jargon like “honker,” “Piggin’ string,” and “hooey.”

The event is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. I’m wildly outside of my comfort zone, but that’s the whole point of my road trip around the United States. I want to see the different queer communities in each state and how they cater to the needs of their citizens. 

I turn to leave the event, but a stack of cowboy hats at one of the vendors’ tables catches my eye. I can’t resist and decide to fully immerse in the culture, purchasing a black, Johnny Cash-style hat. It’s heartwarming to see that there’s a community for all queer interests. Not every LGBTQ+ person wants to go to the bars or clubs or find refuge in coastal hubs. Many enjoy rodeo culture and the good ol’ Southwest. Whatever your interests are within the queer community, there’s a place for you.

Ride into the sunset next week with my Queer Across America journey as I visit Albuquerque, New Mexico, where I battle through a raging sandstorm to visit a surprising amount of queer-owned businesses. 

Photos courtesy of social media