“The Lady of the Mountain”, the traditional living symbol of Iceland featured every Independence Day, will this year be played by famed drag queen Gógó Starr.
Gógó is no stranger to Grapevine, and is arguably one of the country’s most famous drag queens, if not the most famous. GayIceland now reports that Gógó will have yet another chance to shine, as this year’s Lady of the Mountain.
“Even since before I started doing drag. I’ve always loved the concept of this Lady of the Mountain and wanted to embody that woman, and I’ve desperately wanted that headdress for ages,” Gógó’s alterego, Sigurður Heimir Guðjónsson, told GayIceland. “So I got in touch with the right people at the city office and asked if I could do this and they were just like: ‘Sure, why not?’ At first we were thinking about the traditional performance of the Lady, but then they asked if I didn’t want to lead the parade and get to shine rather than standing stiff on the stage reciting poetry. That sounded good to me, so here we are.”
While the Lady of the Mountain traditionally recites poetry at Austurvöllur, the square in front of Parliament, Sigurður says an actress will be filling in for that job. Instead, Gógó will be leading the official parade through Reykjavík.
“It’s a sign of how the main stream culture is embracing the drag scene and the queer culture more and more,” he told GayIceland. “It’s become a part of the Icelandic culture scene and I think that is great,” pointing out that a trans woman portrayed the Lady of the Mountain last year in Hafnarfjörður.
“I’m just incredibly excited as well as exceptionally proud,” he says. “I’m so happy that my bid to be a part of this was so well received by the city authorities, because I thought this was an absolutely absurd idea when I presented it to them. And now it has become reality and everyone is so excited about it. It’s literally a dream come true.”
Independence Day celebrations will be held this Sunday.
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