Since the first Cornyation satire show kicked off in the 1950s, the debaucherous and outrageous rebuke of the frills of early Fiesta San Antonio and its Coronation of the Queen of the Order of the Alamo has pushed the envelope — so far, in fact, that it was put on pause for more than a decade between 1965 and 1982 for being too “modern.”
The production turns the lavish, debutante pageant crowning a queen of the festival on its head, mocking the elite by creating their own flamboyant duchesses, empresses and queens, accompanied by performers in drag, as chronicled in the 2017 book on the tradition by Trinity Professor Amy Stone.
The queer community in San Antonio was heavily involved in the creation and production of the event from the early stages, and has remained involved throughout the years, Stone’s book Cornyation, San Antonio’s Outrageous Fiesta Tradition, details.
The biting satire and raunchy subtext has made it among the most popular events in the 10-day Fiesta festival. The show was also an early and inclusive space for representation and community.
That LGBTQ+ influence remains relevant today, especially as Texas’s cultural and political climate shifts to be more hostile toward that community.
For example, Texas Senate Bill 12, a “drag ban,” would have fined event organizers up to $10,000 for “sexually oriented performances” if they were seen by anyone under the age of 18 (Cornyation does not allow anyone under 18 into the show). The law was halted by a lawsuit, but is in the process of appeal and could go back into effect.
Organizers, including Ray Sanchez, who helped spur the revival of Cornyation, are careful to differentiate the production from a drag show, instead calling it a theater production.
Jesse Mata, who writes Cornyation’s scripts, said the show has not pulled any punches or changed the direction as a result of the proposed law.
In the last two years, the show has taken aim at Gov. Greg Abbott, focusing this year on book ban policies. National figures that were satirized this year included ultra-conservative members of Congress U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado) and U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia).
In a nod to the ongoing sensitivities surrounding the oft-controversial show, while Cornyation remains an official Fiesta event, Stone said their book about the tradition was never sold in the official Fiesta store, which has since closed.
“I was not at that meeting, so it’s hard for me to say … [but] the explanation that I got is that they know their target audience, and this wasn’t a good fit,” the author said.
Fiesta Commission officials didn’t return multiple requests for comment about the book.
Cornyation’s history
Organizers are very strict about Cornyation being for mature audiences only, but the law still opens up a risk, Stone said.
“Sexualized drag is subjective,” they said, adding that a fine could impact the fundraising ability of the event. “It creates these unnecessary hurdles, in my opinion, for these fundraising groups.”
“Cornyation is not a gay event, but it’s one that’s always been informed by [and] there’s long history, particularly of … white and Latino gay men in San Antonio, being really kind of very campy and very critical of existing power structures,” Stone told the San Antonio Report.
That visibility was particularly important in the early decades of the festival.
Representation and acceptance of other groups was also common, Stone said, pointing to a pregnant performer at a time when pregnancy was rarely shown on TV.
The diverse cast and mocking spirit helped to crack open the more exclusive festival to all of San Antonio, Stone added.
“The original [Fiesta] was very centered around events that were run by a kind of White, non-Hispanic people,” they said. “Mostly people who are middle or upper class.”
Mindy Miller Hill, was a master of ceremonies this year, said the community surrounding Cornyation grew closer together in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down production for two years.
“The LGBTQ community really came together after the pandemic,” she said. “There just seems to be a general sentiment post-pandemic, a want for community, and a freedom of expression that this show provides.”
The friendly tension between the mock royalty and the Fiesta royalty has also remained a feature of the show.
“We are probably seen as the antithesis to coronation,” Miller said. “We’re more of the people’s performance .. there’s an inside running joke that we’re the invented royalty. We’re not real royalty.”
Beyond Cornyation, the influence of the LGBTQ community has had an impact on festivals across the country. Stone explored that influence in another book, called Queer Carnival, Festivals and Mardi Gras in the South.
“The LGBT community has impacted festivals in terms of making them more expansive and inclusive in terms of bringing a certain kind of artistry and outrageousness,” they said. “Also creating a way for LGBT people to feel like they belong in the city. Belonging is a struggle for the LGBT community, so feeling like you are embraced as an important group, which is what happens during a festival. It becomes really symbolically important.”
Beneficiaries of the 2024 Cornyation include the San Antonio AIDS Foundation, BEAT Aids and Thrive Youth Center.
