Drag in Mexico is a tough journey, queens are paid little to nothing and face death due to the macho nature of Mexico. Many cannot dress outside the gender norms without the danger of being killed. There is another blog post about Mexico that best describes the dangerous and masculine culture of Mexico, so I’ll try not to repeat the same information. A common challenge among drag queens is that it is tough making a living. Gigs do not pay well and the ones that do are too far or not even worth it. In a 2017 interview with three drag queens, they all agree that that “there [is] no money to pay what is costs to do drag.” (i-D Staff). Drag queens have to rely on their limited closets, but this also adds uniqueness to the community.
Despite the challenges, the drag community is becoming more visible and popular due to shows like Las Mas Draga (The Draggest) and La Carrera Drag de la CDMX (The Drag Race of Mexico City). Both shows are similar to RuPaul’s Drag Race, but the team behind Las Mas Draga made it clear that is not about competition, but unity and inclusion. After season one of Las Mas Draga, they planned to have “cis and trans woman contestants.” (Donohue). Las Mas Draga and the drags queens also wanted to boost the community since, in Mexico, the drag community is already isolated. Even though it is a competition similar to RuPaul’s Drag Race, the drag queens tend to keep the shade to a minimum and end beef with hugs. Since the popularity of Las Mas Draga drag queens were able to increase their performer fees and book more shows throughout the country. Currently, the show has ran for three seasons since 2018 and there are hopes that season four will come out this year.
Also, a beautiful observation/side note is that drag queens embrace surrealism and the mystical nature of Mexican culture and traditions. One could see the Virgen de Guadalupe transform into a piñata or maybe see Baby Jesus walk down the runway.
Prior to the creation of these shows, in 1994 there was Las Hermanas Vampiro, a theater group/company of drag queens that did shows in the popular cities of Mexico. They have been credited as the first drag show in Mexico and Latin America, but this is coming from Wikipedia and there might have been other drag shows that were not recorded. The founding members did become activist in marching for LGBTQ+ rights in Mexico City and other cities in Mexico.
Although, the most important figure, in Mexico, is Paris Bang Bang who is a pioneer in the drag scene and the founder of La Carrera Drag de la CDMX. Paris Bang Bang is la madrina (godmother) of drag in Mexico, making it visible to the public and accessible to other drag queens in the country. “Paris Bang Bang leads the drag scene” (Lopez) and deserves all the praise she can get, plus her inspiration is Britney Spears. In 2019, Paris Bang Bang played a critical role in Las Mas Draga 2 which only means that season 1 was popular and successful enough for another season. She is also a musical artist, who produces/creates club bangers and many other songs under her name.
Another prominent drag queen is Margret Y Ya, who also makes songs and one of runners-up in the first season of La Mas Draga. She also started a series to explain the show to non-Spanish speakers and has invited guest from RuPaul’s Drag Race. I do like her name a lot as when translated it means “Margret and that’s it”, which is fierce. I interpret the “that’s it” to imply the same meaning or feeling as, for example, “okay, that's it, you've cried long enough". Or it can also mean that Margret is the only name you need to know, which again adds character and personality.
I did want to focus on my family’s home state, Durango, but I could not any information about drag in the state. The closest thing I did find relating to Durango was the popular drag queen, Bárbara Durango who was a runner-up in season one of Las Mas Draga. (Picture below is Bárbara Durango).
I did find laws regarding the LGBTQ+ community which made me feel relief. In Durango, Mexico gay marriage is legal, being a homosexual is legal, anyone in the LGBTQ+ can adopt, donate blood, and join the military. Discrimination when it comes to employment and housing is illegal and one can change their gender, but requires surgery. The sad news is that conversion therapy is not banned, but recently Mexico city did banned it so we are close to seeing it banned everywhere in Mexico.
Overall, I can see drag becoming more and more popular in Mexico. Las Mas Draga has proven that drag queens can prosper in Mexico and hopefully the public are willing to learn more about gender. I do hope that season four of Las Mas Draga releases this year and that covid did not stop the hype and hustle for the drag scene.
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