Adira is an Arabic slang term from Levantine queer culture that describes a powerful and accomplished person with a strong presence. It also serves as the name of a Berlin collective organizing club nights and events that celebrate the diversity of queer Arab culture, including the annual ADIRA Drag Festival which held its third edition in late October.
Celebrating Imperfect Divas
This year’s festival theme, “Who’s Your Diva?!,” united drag performers honoring legendary figures from the Eastern Mediterranean who became queer icons, ranging from Egyptian music legend Umm Kulthum to Turkish star Bülent Ersoy and Lebanese pop icon Haifa Wehbe. Hassandra, co-founder of ADIRA and the festival, performed as Lebanese pop star Elissa, telling Deutsche Welle: DW.com that Elissa’s discography features romantic and soft tracks reminiscent of Adele.
Hassandra explained to Deutsche Welle: DW.com that Elissa’s personality contrasts sharply with her music, noting that the star is very blunt, unfiltered, and feisty. Elissa is known for speaking out on Lebanese politics and supporting Middle Eastern LGBTQ+ communities while frequently sparking controversy across the Arab world. Hassandra’s festival performance addressed this complexity by tapping into those controversial political opinions.
The festival theme also encourages audiences to avoid idealizing pop divas blindly. Hassandra stated that pop divas are imperfect in nature, providing an opportunity to critically revisit their legacies so people learn never to follow any politician, political party, pop diva, or activist blindly.
Building Community Through Drag
Born in Beirut in 1994, Hassandra studied theater and stage acting at the Lebanese University before relocating to Berlin in 2017 at age 22, an impulsive decision driven by worsening economic conditions in Lebanon. In Berlin, Hassandra engaged with the independent art scene and queer nightlife, utilizing drag for self-expression to challenge conventional understandings of gender and identity through theatrical intensity, political humor, grotesque aesthetics, and tenderness.
Hassandra’s work explores displacement, home, nostalgia, and queer Arab culture, themes that are central to ADIRA. Founded in 2023 by Hassandra and Syrian-German DJ and cultural producer Zuher Jazmati, also known as xanax_attax, ADIRA fosters community-building and collective participation through panel discussions, music events, and performances.
As homophobia and Islamophobia rise alongside the far right, spaces like ADIRA provide belonging and support for Arab queer communities. This community support became even more vital following a deadly Islamist terrorist attack during Berlin’s Christopher Street Day pride parade in July.
In the aftermath of the Pride attack, Hassandra felt caught between different identities, stating to Deutsche Welle: DW.com that Arab queer individuals often face a wave of racism. Hassandra emphasized that the Arab community is sad about the incident while rejecting any resulting racism, adding that the community is frequently used as a punching bag. Rather than letting the attack fuel hatred and racism, Hassandra stated that Germany should be made safer for everyone because it is a huge country with a place for everyone.
