The court of Albuquerque began in October 1992 as a Barony, with Baron I CC Parr and Baroness I Comrade Helga. It began with the Land of Enchantment tour by a drag troupe called the Sunset Girls. These queens met monarchs Mark Merriman and Anita Ramona Baez of Colorado Springs who taught them about the Imperial Court System. A group of interested people was talking and having drinks at the original home bar of the court, Foxes Lounge when the future baron spotted a dollar on the floor. Bar manager and first corporation president Paul Gallagher picked it up and declared it the first dollar raised. That dollar still exists in a frame at the home of Empress III and Emperor VI.
CC and Helga reigned for 18 months and were crowned as Emperor and Empress I in April 1994 before turning over the thrones later that night to the first elected monarchs, Emperor II Joseph Michael Chavez and Empress II Yvette Ross. There was no official corporation or bylaws until they were filed during Reign III by Ian Gioseffi and Rik Burkard (Rikki Lee Reddick), at which time Jose I officially recognized the court of New Mexico for the first time. Then known as the Royal Imperial Sovereign Court of the Land of Enchantment Empire, the court was virtually the only drag in Albuquerque for many years, and as a result, was highly profitable for their charities that at the time included the New Mexico AIDS Services food bank. Poverty is quite rampant in New Mexico, and the court has from its inception made it our mission to feed the hungry. At that time, the court members volunteered their Saturday once a month to hand out food baskets at the NMAS foodbank, and our major fundraiser during the year was and continues to be Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners to hundreds of New Mexico families.
The early reigns of RISCLEE grew progressively each year, and our shows were known to raise hundreds of dollars. During Reign 7, the court reincorporated as The United Court of the Sandias, bringing overall monarch and Prince and Princess Royal titles from the prior corporation. That year also saw the creation of two fundraisers that continue in some form to this day, the Turkey Trot that allows members to sponsor the turkeys for our Thanksgiving baskets, and an annual drag queen softball tournament. Eventually, our reigns saw a downturn in fortunes as a for-profit drag proliferated in Albuquerque while the court’s home bar closed. The court carried on, having less frequent shows, and increasing the use of alternate fundraising such as car washes to continue supporting our charities.
Finally settling at a new home bar at the Albuquerque Social Club, UCS began a major resurgence in Reign 20. We have expanded our membership by reaching out to younger members of the New Mexico community and training them for leadership. We have also expanded the scope of our fundraising, providing backpacks of necessities to homeless people in Albuquerque. We also offer financial support to the Transgender Resource Center in honor of the multiple transgender monarchs and members who have worked to better our community. Monarchs now take more seriously the title of the monarch of ALL New Mexico and have started branching out to do Pride events throughout the state.
On February 27th, 2020 we announce that we for a third time have reincorporated and changed our brand name and identity from The United Court of The Sandias Inc. to The Imperial Sovereign Court of New Mexico. The name change came because of a rebranding effort designed to mirror the growth and transformation of our organization.
Throughout all its history, RISCLEE and UCS have been focused on community outreach, HIV and AIDS education, and community services. As a result of this effort, RISCLEE and UCS have become iconic brands, developing individuals into leaders not only within our community but throughout the United States.
Nevertheless, our organization has undergone a significant transformation in the last few years, and we as an organization felt it was time for a change. Our new identity had been designed to satisfy all the existing expectations of what our original mark stands for. In this sense, represents an evolution from our previous experiences, origins, and roots.
So, what makes the ICSNM a special court? Since our first empress, we have a history of electing people who do not necessarily fit into a traditional mold in the LGBTQI+ community. We have had two bearded empresses. We have elected people with physical disabilities, transgender people, and cis women, drag queen emperors, we have elected some of the youngest monarchs in ICS history. We elected the very first emprex in the ICS in Northern America as proclaimed by Queen Mother I of the American Nicole the Great. We also have the first elected Native American Empress in the ICS in North America as proclaimed by Empress I Jose Sierra. That is the spirit of New Mexico…embracing, breaking down the normal and celebrating our differences for their beauty, and making everyone feel welcome.
