B y T a y l o r S t a u b a c h // P h o t o B y G r e g o r y C h e r i n
Ma Bella !
BELLA SANTARELLA FINDS JOY AND A DREAM HOME IN THE BERKSHIRES
Before the night was over at Methuselah Bar & Lounge in Pittsfield , Bella Santarella will have danced and lip-synced to a lively crowd at Pride Night Dance Party , held the first Thursday of every month . Decked out in metallics and teal topped with a perfectly blonde coif , Bella bustles behind the bar , crafting specialty cocktails , exchanging banter , and bopping along to the infectious beats of DJ Pup Daddy . A sign on the wall behind her reads , “ We should all do what , in the long run , gives us joy .”
It wasn ’ t until I caught up with her the morning after that I realized the quote by E . B . White perfectly captured the essence of this person I was about to get to know . I am introduced to Joshua Williams , self-proclaimed “ Cinderfella by day , clown by night ,” co-owner of the one-of-a-kind Santarella Gardens in Tyringham , performing arts teacher , and event coordinator extraordinaire . One thing is clear to me as I talk with him : Whether Bella or Joshua , this larger-than-life personality contains a boundless enthusiasm and effervescence for the life he is building .
Good morning ! You are upbeat for someone who must ' ve gotten home late last night . I think I arrived around 1:30 . I was in the shower by 1:40 , and I was eating rice in my bed by 2 o ' clock .
Why did you move to the Berkshires ? If anybody said the Berkshires to me , I would have no idea where it was three years ago . Even though I ' d been coming up almost every summer to visit a friend who worked at Belvoir Terrace , I didn ' t necessarily know where I was . My last trip here was in June of 2020 . I decided to spend a couple of days with my close friend . He picked me up from the train station and said , “ Have I ever shown you this place called Santarella ?” So , we drove up . We stopped . I was , like , “ Oh , my gosh ! It ' s for sale ! We don ' t have money , but the banks have lots of money ; they just give it away .” My friend made a call and got me in for a showing the next day . I got to look at the property , and I just fell in love with it . I came home and told Shaun [ Joshua ’ s partner and co-owner , Shaun Mosley ], “ Remember that ONE thing you told me not to do ? Well , I did it , and I want us to move .”
I think we ' ve all fantasized about buying a fixer-upper in the country , especially during the pandemic . Many people actually did , but you did that to the extreme with Santarella . How do you balance the renovations ? It does feel like we ' ve done the fixer-upper on steroids . It ' s not just one house . At first , I had my brother here from Arizona , and he was truly helpful in getting us up and running . We ' ve done a lot ourselves . I would say I love a challenge , and also I have the perfect partner . We jumped into this , and we learned a lot about each other . We work so well together that we ' re able to do it day in and day out from the moment we wake up until we go to bed .
When did you start doing drag ? I started doing drag when I was 20 . I did it pretty regularly for a few years , and then sporadically because I was focusing on my teaching career . When we moved here , I found that the queer community wasn ' t necessarily coming together in one spot like in New York . I wanted to get involved to see how I could help , inspire , and produce something that brought people together and made it feel like the Berkshires is a safe , active place for the queer community . I heard about Pride Night at Methuselah — I think it was late-2021 . DJ Pup Daddy was showcasing Cher , and I thought , I ' ll come as Cher . And I walked in . And he ’ s , like , would you be willing to perform ? Sure ! And then I had someone come up to me afterward and ask , “ Do you do birthday parties ?” I ended up doing a special birthday party the next day , where I showed up in drag for someone . After that , I just thought , okay , well , let me see what else I can do .
It sounds to me like there was a need for someone to help facilitate a more communal and inclusive space . Yes . I partnered with one of my close friends , Shawn Hollenbach , who was on the same trajectory to do more for the community . We put together the first all-queer variety show . I started doing drag brunches at The Elm in Great Barrington , and I was contacted by Berkshire
50 // BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE Holiday May / June 2023 2024