Ask anyone in the gay Miami nightlife region, someone will surely have something to say about decades-long drag veteran Noel Leon, born Eddie Figueroa.

When news of the entertainer’s passing circulated around South Florida on Dec. 29, those who knew Figueroa from one walk of life or another were dismayed to learn the community had lost another dear member of the local LGBTQ+ circle.

Editor’s Note: Just days before Figueroa’s untimely passing, Palace bartender Koren Sinclair (known as Thaddeus Gurley) died unexpectedly. Earlier in 2024, South Florida drag legends Chyna Girl and Amy Rivers also passed away.

On Jan. 28, the South Florida LGBTQ+ community came together for a Celebration of Life event for Figueroa at Nathan’s Beach Club, 1259 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach. The tribute, hosted by Kitty Meow, Tiffany Fantasia and Joval Valdivia, focused on remembering the entertainer and her accomplishments in the community. Former Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Góngora, on behalf of the City of Miami Beach, issued a proclamation declaring the day of the tribute “Noel Leon Day.”

This writer not only had the privilege of knowing Figueroa and being friendly with him and his mother, Luz Marina, at his drag shows at the internationally-known drag bar, Palace. I also interviewed him and filmed him on several occasions throughout the years. Noel was such an amazing entertainer, and so funny. She was one of the first drag queens I remember being mesmerized by when I first started exploring the gay Miami nightlife scene in 2006. Figueroa was famous for kicking the highest high-kicks, performing the most amazing splits and doing cartwheels, too.

Transgender drag performer Naomi Aguilera, known in the community as Poizon Ivy Lords, saw Figueroa start her drag career and knew from day one she would be a success.

“I saw a huge potential in her from the start. She was always charismatic and very flexible with her splits,” Aguilera said. “She also did a lot of Latin culture music, which I stand by as a queen, a Latina. She was my co-host for over four to five years, side by side at the Palace Bar. We hosted the Latin Night together. It’s a major loss felt in the community.” 

Jake Keirn, a Palace patron from the old location on 12th Street and Ocean Drive, said he has so many pictures and video of Figueroa on his Facebook page. The drag bar was
always his “go-to place over the years.”

“The news of her passing actually devastates me,” Keirn said. “Her poor mom, she was so supportive. I’m so sad. It’s killer when one of those lights passes.”

Valdivia also has hundreds of pictures of Figueroa taken during his prime on the South Florida drag scene. He says “Noel was a fierce queen. Her look and shows electrified the Palace Bar.” Valdivia first met Figueroa in New York City when he was vacationing. “I told him, girl, I like your drag, but you should try to do Bette Midler, which I had never seen her do,” he said in a Facebook post. 

Though Valdivia says he and Figueroa had their differences at times, where they were “both shady to each other,” he said, “Noel always took time for me and posed for flyers [of different gay bars and clubs from South Beach to Wilton Manors]. When it came to me promoting a flyer, most of the time Noel helped me promote by taking a photo with her and the flyer. I was closer to Noel’s mother. We always had great conversations. My heart goes out to Luz and to Noel’s close family and friends.”

Valdivia is no stranger to honoring drag legends after death. He hosted Celebration of Life events for Anthony Lee (aka SoBe Wanda) in 2013 at Score, Jackie Wilson in 2016 at Twist and Chyna Girl Sengmany and Hector Cerna (aka Amy Rivers) in 2024 at Twist and Nathan’s Beach Club, respectively.

“These things bring people together, so let’s forget who blocked who, who doesn’t talk to who, and come together for Noel Leon,” Valdivia said. “She was truly one of the queens of the Palace. Towards the end, when I saw her in drag, she seemed distant at times, like something was wrong. Hard to say this: R.I.P. Noel Leon.”

Figueroa was very well-known in the South Florida drag scene, including the now-defunct Trannie Palace in Fort Lauderdale, but particularly South Beach, where he performed more than a decade at Palace. Marina, Figueroa’s mother, was just as well-known as her drag queen son, attending every one of his drag shows, brunches and special events, such as SAVE’s annual Luminaries and the now-defunct Flamingo Awards. This writer can attest theirs was the most beautiful mother/son relationship I’ve ever had the pleasure to witness in action in our LGBTQ+ community.

Figueroa once told filmmaker Dmitry Zhitov for his documentary, “South Beach on Heels” that he thought it was “unbelievable” that he created a drag persona that people grew to love in the community and subsequently treated him “really nicely.”

“Noel Leon, my drag persona, she is 100 times me,” Figueroa stated in the film. “When [I] worked for the theater, I was always backstage, getting all these famous women done up and beautiful.” Figueroa said he felt like a “star” in the process. “I created this character that people love. Sometimes I sit back and look at the people that are waiting for me at my shows and it’s unbelievable that they like me.” 

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 4 contender and All-Stars contestant Latrice Royale, in the same documentary, said in a word, Figueroa as a drag queen was “just polished.”

“What she does is totally just Goddess, above perfection.” Royale said. “She’s so clean. She is the epitome of what you want to see when you want to see a polished drag queen.” 

This writer interviewed Figueroa in 2017 when Palace was in transition changing venues on Ocean Drive. Then, Figueroa said he had been working for Palace for 11 years and was the person and founder responsible for starting the drag brunches there.

Current 12 years-long Palace queen Joanna James considers herself fortunate enough to have worked with Figueroa on and off the drag scene. Prior to joining Palace in 2013, James and Figueroa shared a booking agent in common and worked in the hair and makeup field together. 

“I had met Noel outside of drag. We were doing hair and makeup with the same agency on South Beach,” James said. “I had come to Miami from Provincetown, Boston to just focus on my hair and makeup job. I was getting away from drag. I met Noel on one of those jobs and we got to talking and knowing each other and we hit it off.” 

James said Figueroa was the one who convinced him to stay in the drag game. As the years went on, they not only performed together at Palace but also used each other as assistants on hair and makeup jobs that had nothing to do with drag, such as weddings. James said he thinks he and Figueroa shared the same agent. 

“I did come to Palace and we ended up performing in the same shows for years at the old Palace [on 12th Street and Ocean Drive] and the newer and current Palace [on 10th Street]. It was just lucky I ended up in the same show as Noel [Champagne With the Stars, Wayback Wednesday, etc.],” James said. “We could talk and have conversations that had nothing to do with makeup or high heels or anything like that. I liked that in a queen if she wants to talk about life in general and where you’ve been. 

“It takes a while for people to open up sometimes, but those are the people I head straight to,” James continues. “I’m going to get to know you whether you like it or not. Noel and I shared many a conversation, a lot about makeup and high heels. We talked the same language: Is that a smokey eye? Are you going to wear a frosted lip? [laughs] But I miss Noel very much. I loved her talent.”

While Palace was closed, Figueroa served as an entertainment director and “dragtender” at Molto Bar and Restaurant on the other side of Lincoln Road between Alton Road and West Avenue. There, she managed and booked the roster of talent whom performed nightly while serving drinks behind the bar (hence, the term “dragtender”) and working with her best friend and then bar co-owner Raymond Ortega. Though Molto was open for a short period, Figueroa and Ortega accomplished a lot there together, including starting a weekend drag brunch and weekly one-woman show and hosting a fundraiser for the victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Both Figueroa and Ortega are from the island. 

“My heart aches with the news of [this] loss,” said Out of the Closet, Into the World host Ada Arencibia, better known in the transgender community as Taina Norell. “No more pain, my sister. Fly high and rest in eternal peace. I am holding you and your family close in my thoughts during this incredibly difficult time. I am especially wishing your mom immense strength and comfort as she navigates through this unimaginable pain. Please know that I am here for you [and] sending love and prayers to uplift you all.”

Francina Holliday said she was working the door at Parliament House in Orlando in 2018 when she was called up in the middle of the Miss Florida FI at Large Pageant and crowned an Honorary Miss Florida FI at Large. The reigning Miss Florida FI at Large that year was Figueroa.  

“Noel was so talented. [She] and I shared the year she was the reigning Miss Florida FI at Large. I was the Honorary. My dream was to be a Miss Florida, but this was as close as I got.” 

Holliday said Figueroa’s death at such a young age is heartbreaking. “What a waste of a talent gone too soon,” Holliday said.

Transgender drag performer Brianna “Bawddy” Kane first met Figueroa when she was “just a patron at Twist and Palace, back when I used to sneak into Palace underage just to watch the shows.” Kane said the first time Figueroa laid eyes on her, the drag legend made a bold statement that still stays with Kane today. She shared an an observation, a prophetic comment about a budding new queen in her presence who she saw had huge potential.

“‘There’s something special about you, I can tell. Never let anyone or anything dim your shining light.’ [That’s what she told me.] I’ll never forget how those words pierced straight to my heart,” Kane said. “From that moment, we became close and she became my drag mother. She was one of the first people to truly see me, to claim me as her daughter, and I loved her for that.”

Kane says what made Figueroa so special “wasn’t just her sparkle; it was her heart. Figueroa was always there to give Kane advice, to uplift her when she needed it; or to just “let loose and forget about life’s worries.” 

“We shared so many nights at Waterloo and Twist, being divas and living our best lives,” Kane said. “She had this rare authenticity that’s so hard to find, especially in Miami. Noel was unapologetically herself, always telling it like it was, even if it came with a bit of shady tea which, honestly, made me love her even more.” [laughs] 

Kane says Figueroa was “truly a magical soul.” When she walked into a room, all eyes were drawn to her like she carried a light no one could ignore. She was a star — brilliant, bold and beautiful — taken from this world far too soon.

Kane says one of her favorite memories of Figueroa was the time she invited her to a random Art Basel event, “completely out of the blue.” 

“Of course, I said, ‘Hell yes, I’ll be there.’ That night was unforgettable,” Kane said. “We had backstage access, endless drinks and met so many fabulous people. Noel made me feel like royalty, and being with her was like stepping into a world of glamour and excitement, where everything seemed larger than life. She had that gift. She made magic feel normal.

“I miss [Noel] so much. My heart aches knowing she’s gone,” Kane continues. “I can’t help but feel a bit of guilt, too. When she pulled back from the scene and distanced herself from the community, I wish I had reached out more. I did check on her a few times, but part of me feels like I could’ve done more. Maybe I could’ve reminded her of the love she gave so freely to others.”

Kane says Figueroa was a “light in so many lives, including mine. I’ll carry her spirit, her advice and her love with me forever. Rest in peace, my shining star. You’ll always be in my heart.” 

Appolonia Cruz met Figueroa at the club scene over 20 years ago back home on South Beach. She had been living on South Beach since the late 1980s until a little after the millennium. They performed together at many clubs on South Beach and Fort Lauderdale, including Palace, Twist, the Trannie Palace and the Miami Beach Pride festival on the stage on Ocean Drive. 

“We were everywhere, we were always crossing paths,” Cruz said. “What I noticed about her was that she was very genuine, she was very popular but she was not full of shit. I always looked forward in crossing paths with her because she was a feel-good type of individual just like me. When I worked at the clubs and theater or whatever, people would always tell me you’re so fun to work with behind the scenes because many of the girls out there, very talented girls out there, when you deal with them on a personal level behind the scenes, you can tell that they are evil witches. Not Miss Noel Leon, honey. She was genuine. I always loved being around her.” 

Cruz said Figueroa was very giving in the community and she admired that about entertainers who give back to the community. 

“I’ve been doing that for such a long time. I’ve been in this business for over 35 years,” Cruz said. “I worked with many of the legends around the country. And when I met Noel Leon, I was like ‘oh my God, I love this bitch.’ [laughs] She was so cool, so, so cool and since day one, I knew she liked me, too, because we clicked, honey. It was always a kiki with her all around town.” 

Cruz echoes the sentiment of everyone in the LGBTQ+ community at the present time: 

“She is going to be deeply missed in the community and the pageant scene,” she said. “I’m still trying to process what happened. Why did she leave us so young? I felt she had so much to give. But the memories she left behind will comfort us, those that really liked her in the community. My condolences to all of her fans, to her mom, her family, her drag daughter Nikki Wyte, to everyone that Noel Leon touched. It’s crazy that we lost so many of the South Beach legends in 2024: Noel, Chyna, Amy Rivers. It’s heartbreaking. I shared stages with all of them for so many years. May they all rest in peace.”

Published with premission from miamilgbtnews.wordpress.com.