Librarian by day, Lourdes the Merry Virgin by night: How drag saved this Edmonton artist

Lourdes the Merry Virgin is just one of the many fabulous subjects featured in Canada's a Drag, a docu-series from CBC Arts that showcases drag artists from across the true North strong and fierce. You can watch all 21 episodes here.​

Four years ago, Edmonton librarian Jonathan Busch was feeling depressed. But after considering going into therapy, he decided to take a more unlikely route to remediation: he start doing drag.

"I assessed the cost of therapy, and I was like, 'Well, at least with drag I'd get to keep stuff.' And I'd heard RuPaul describe drag as therapy so I was like, 'OK, we'll do that.'"

On that fateful day, Lourdes the Merry Virgin — Busch's drag alter ego and the centre of our Edmonton episode of Canada's a Drag — was born.

What started as therapy turned into what Busch calls "an ongoing creative research project."

STREAM NOW ON CBC GEM: Canada's a Drag – Lourdes the Merry Virgin, Edmonton

"Lourdes and Jonathan are essentially the same person," he says. "I think that's one brilliant element about drag is that it has, against my will, crafted for me a fictional character out of my own skin and ideas about living. That and I get to become a sexy bombshell like the ones I idolized from my childhood." 

Busch says that the aesthetic of Lourdes has often been "to both alienate and seduce a crowd," which he initially thought wouldn't garner him that many fans.

"But it turns out a lot of people respond to it," he says. 

Busch considers the Edmonton drag scene "inclusive and open-minded," which has led him to appreciate the city for fostering such a "kind-hearted community."

"I may never have realized how cool this city can be if I hadn't started drag," he says. "Shortly after I started drag, I joined the House of Homo-cidal and met a crew of best friends who I love dearly, all of whom are brilliant artists and performers and just lovely humans."

Beyond finding that community, Busch also found himself in his drag — literally.

"I think the one thing about when you scrub out of drag, there's a split second moment when you kinda get a glimpse of what you look like outside of yourself. It's kinda cool. I noticed it the first time I ever painted myself. Once it was washed off, I was like, 'Oh my god, that's my face...and I don't hate it.'"

Stream seasons 1 and 2 of Canada's a Drag now on CBC Gem.