We recently connected with Butterfly Valdez and have shared our conversation below.

Butterfly, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Any advice for creating a more inclusive workplace?

I would say that in creating a more inclusive workspace, create the environment that you want the environment that you would see, and that you would be like wow that’s something inspiring, and that I want to be a part of. In my personal journey as a queer black burlesque entertainer, I’ve had to create a lot of the opportunities myself. I’ve had to cultivate the community that I want and I feel like in doing that. It has brought out a lot of other entertainers and inspired them in ways because they’re like oh I see this person doing it I feel. I think that it’s both empowering for me to be able to do that for the community and also empowering just for me in general as a entertainer as a person in this business.

Butterfly, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’ve been in entertainment since I could walk. I owe a lot of that to my grandmother. My grandmother was a dancer. She was in traveling dance groups. She put me in every activity ever from dance, to gymnastics to ice-skating to acting to singing all of those things. My grandmother instilled the love for Art very early. I went to school for theater and have a bachelors in performance arts. Initially, my plans were to move to California or New York like any other you know Artist because we’re told that that’s where we should be. However, I have found that I’ve been very lucky in Columbus Ohio. Right out of college I was teaching theater at the King arts complex, which was incredible. And then started performing a nightlife. I had a dance group with some other local entertainers. And then in 2015 that’s when I fell in love with burlesque. And I kind of took that, and I’ve ran with it, and it’s been my main art form ever cents. Although you know it’s all the drama, all the theatrics, the tease, the costuming, the Musicality it really incorporates all of those things that I already love. Burlesque is such an inclusive art form. It’s all genders all body types all expressions whether it’s alternative or classic neo. You can literally do anything that you want to do in burlesque and I love being able to just put , my work on a stage, I love being able to sit down and come up with concepts and build from it . I would say maybe five years into being an entertainer and burlesque I started producing I’ve now been producing a lot since then. I produced a queer dance party called queer bomb, which is a burlesque show as well as a party I produce a new show, called the review, which is strictly burlesque, I also produce a Black History Month festival called paying tribute. Which is an all black cast of all forms of art whether it’s burlesque whether it’s dragged whether it’s singing live music . I am also the manager and cofounder of a burlesque troop pier called the villainous vices. I’m also lucky enough to be one of the main cast for less babes at District West here in Columbus, Ohio. I would say the things that I’m the proudest of our watching what my tribute show that started out just as a show now it’s a three day event and I’m super super proud of that. It’s like my baby it’s also paying homage and lifting up you know black artist that have influenced me or that I look up to. I think the thing that I would want people that aren’t familiar with me to know the most is that I really enjoyed pouring into the community. I’m very passionate you gotta be passionate to do less because we don’t make any money because of the world around us and art is never been held at a high like you have to really be famous to be making the big bucks and you know cool I would love to be famous, but I just am actually just happy with pouring my passion in and using the stages as my therapy, and just like being able to be my most authentic self on the stage and off the stage

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I have faced a lot of different challenges not only you know I’m day-to-day life, but as a black entertainer it’s very very hard to get the recognition that we deserve. It’s also like we really have to work twice as hard as everyone else. I would say what I have learned in the last specifically three years as I was a part of another group at one time, and, I learned that I should just follow my gut and trust that not everyone has your best interest in heart and you just have to go in knowing that not everyone’s going to to be a genuine person and some people really just wanna mooch off of the hard work that you have done and like, I understand that people will be like that. Unfortunately not everyone’s out for community. Some people are just out for themselves and I would say like protecting your own peace and trusting yourself in your art and just in life has helped me kind of pivot and not take these things that are negative that have happened to me and made them define who I am.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I think one lesson that I had to unlearn in all of this is that if you want something to go after it if you believe hard enough in yourself and really put the work into it like you can you can do it. Sometimes I look back at the things that I’ve done and a lot of times. It’s it’s hard when you’re like in it to even like step back and see oh man I really I really did that or oh wow I created that. I think I’ve learned to slow down. I think I’ve learned to appreciate all of the things that I have and the things that I have done. And I think that I’ve realized yes, some people have helped you and giving you a boost but you did this work yourself. And I think that the backstory or where that comes from is like in the beginning of my burlesque career, I was promised a lot of things and I was given a lot of praise coming out. I was promised a lot of things, and it was just like words with no action and I think that that kind of stifled me for a bit because I was like well you’re promising me and telling me all these things and all this stuff and I’m actually the one that’s been doing all of the things and the stuff for myself, and for my business

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @its_butters_fly @its_butterfly_media69
• Facebook: Mariposa valdez

Image Credits

@chaycreates (ig)

@neondemonphotography(ig)