Greenwood Pride remembers southside queen with a ‘big heart’

Rain on Saturday literally but not figuratively dampened festivities at Greenwood Pride.

At Woodmen Park, attendees enjoyed the music, shopped at dozens of vendor booths, ate food and honored an Indianapolis Drag Queen who died of suicide earlier this year. Performers were given the option to forgo the final show because of the rain, but many wanted to continue in honor of Drag Queen Tristyn St. Clair.

“Rain or Shine. This one is for Tristyn,” one organizer said.

Tristyn St. Clair, who’s given name is Tristan Bustos, was a well-known drag performer in Indianapolis who died on Jan. 5.

Bustos attended the University of Indianapolis and was known for their theatre and drag performances with Footlite Musicals and the Indy Drag Theatre. Their headline performances included Legally Blonde, Mean Girls and the Little Mermaid.

Organizers dedicated the finale performance to Bustos to honor them and to raise awareness about suicide among the LGBTQIA+ community, said John Michael Jones, assistant director and founder of Greenwood Pride.

“I just want them to remember that their life meant something and they are leaving something behind,” Jones said. “Love wins. At the end of the day, love is love and love wins. Our board and Greenwood Pride and the people associated with Greenwood Pride, we would never ever want to forget what Tristyn did for us. Because we don’t even know the fullness of what Tristyn did. We don’t know who watched Tristyn perform last year, whose lives Tristyn touched, but I’m sure they touched many. So I just want to keep their memory alive.”

LGBTQIA+ youth are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers, according to The Trevor Project. Research suggests that rejection and a lack of affirming spaces increase the risk of suicide among LGBTQIA+ community and those who live in an accepting community report much lower rates of attempting suicide than those who do not, according to the Trevor Project.

“If you get those feelings like you feel like you are alone or whatever, reach out because those of us left behind feel like we failed them,” Jones said. “So we wanted to say ‘Hey, We’re sorry. We could have been better friends.’ Suicide is so final and if you just reach out, it can make a world of difference.”

Tristyn St. Clair was the first queen that Greenwood Pride Festival asked to participate in the performance, said organizer and drag king Hoosier Daddy. They were a mesmerizing performer with a natural talent, Jones said. They were also a friend to many, an oldest sibling and the firstborn of five children.

Honoring Tristyn makes the event feel extra special, organizers said.

Bustos’ mother, Amy Nochebuena was in attendance volunteering with her family. As soon as she got her volunteer shirt, she drove to New Whiteland and had her sister add Bustos’ name on the back in rainbow lettering, she said. The day was a mixture of tears, grief and love as she and Bustos’ siblings sat under the tent to watch the final drag performance. Nochebuena said she owes it to Bustos to show up in their memory.

“Days ahead I can say I was proud to take part in this, emotionally I’m attached to this. I owe Tristin this,” Nochebuena said.

She wants people to know what a superstar Bustos was both as a person and performer.

“It’s a hard loss because Tristan had such a big heart,” Nochebuena said.

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She encourages others who may be in a similar position to seek help. She wants others to know that anyone can or may be considering suicide and to reach out and support them.

“I want everyone to know, just because you give doesn’t mean you can’t receive and you do have love and support,” Nochebuena said.

Jones is a Greenwood native and said the level of acceptance has definitely grown, though there’s more work to do.

“We are so blessed because our city is behind us and supports us,” Jones said. “I couldn’t be prouder of being from Greenwood. I’m proud to call it my hometown.”

Pride is about much more than drag, it gives LGBTQIA+ people a place to celebrate who they are and for allies to show their support. The festival also gives people who just want to learn more about the community a place to do so. Providing an environment where people can both be comfortable and learn from each other is important.

“If I would have had this festival to come to ever year, that would have been life-changing,” Jones said.

Noelle Selby attended Pride with her husband last year and wanted to bring her daughter, Max Johnson, 17, this year, she said. Selby wore a “Free Mom Hugs” hat and hugged anyone who asked. She likes Greenwood Pride because it feels more personal than other events she has attended, she said. People are quick to address if someone is acting out of line and everyone is very friendly.

Johnson got two flags painted on their face during the event. At first, the painter didn’t know the flags that Johnson was asking for, but they showed the painter a picture and she color matched perfectly, Johnson said. It’s hard to put into words how they felt at the event, but it was great they said.

Johnson and Selby said to anyone thinking about attending Pride, but is on the fence to “just go.”

“Honestly, it’s so fun. It’s so accepting. There’s so much love,” Selby said.

How to get help

• Indianapolis Queer Grief Community is a community organization that provides affirming spaces for grieving queer people to find support. They can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Instagram @queergriefindy
• The Trevor Project provides confidential support for LGBTQIA+ youth in crisis 24/7. The TrevorLifeline is 1-866-488-7386. Confidential online instant messaging can be found at thetrevorproject.org. Text START to 678-678 for confidential text messaging with a Trevor counselor.
• Trans Lifeline is a 24-hour hotline available in the U.S. and Canada staffed by transgender people for transgender people. The number is 1-877-565-8860
• 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
• Find LGBTQIA+ friendly therapy from Mental Health America at https://shorturl.at/PkGCV