After RuPaul’s Drag Race launched Valentina’s career, she is excited to return to the franchise as the co-host of Drag Race Mexico. Since her run on Drag Race, the Mexican-American drag queen has appeared on TV and in movies in Rent: Live, In the Heights, and La Usurpadora: The Musical. And Valentina considers it a full-circle moment to channel her experience in the industry to soon launch the Mexican spin-off in a country that she has proudly represented.
“To be coming into a position of now being a host, it’s such an artistic challenge and a graduation,” she tells Remezcla. “The next level in my career is in changing the history of the way people view queer people and queer stories in Mexico. It’s truly an honor.”
Valentina first competed on RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2017 during the ninth season. She returned again for the fourth season of All Stars a year later. Now she will be co-hosting the first season of Drag Race Mexico with Mexican drag queen Lolita Banana, who competed on Drag Race France last year. Valentina will bring her bicultural perspective to the judging panel.
“I was in a bilingual household where both languages were being spoken, so culturally I know a lot of references, and having worked in Mexico for very long periods of time is something that I’m using as a big source of inspiration for things that I do artistically,” she says. “I’m 100 percent Californian. I’m 100 percent Mexican and it is an honor to be waving both of those flags at this moment.”
When comparing Drag Race Mexico to other shows in the franchise, Valentina notes there will be a difference in the drag and art that her drag queens will be showcasing this season. Drag queens from the north to the south of the country will be competing for the title of “Mexico’s Next Drag Superstar.”
“These girls have to work under the circumstances of what they’re able to buy in their country, their city, and their pueblo,” she says. “They have to be creative. Some of these girls come from a big city. Some of these girls are from pueblos, so my queens are under a lot of pressure to deliver top-notch drag with their resources. Mexico is so creative and so artistic. There’s so many references pulled from Mexico. I can’t wait for people to tune in and enjoy what Mexico has to offer.”
Another aspect of the show Valentina is excited about are the lip-syncs. She promises that Mexican culture will also be represented through the songs. “The music is going to be incredible!” When asked about her own music, Valentina hopes to manifest an album and a Spanish collaboration with RuPaul in the future. “Everybody will go crazy!” she adds about the prospect of working with Mama Ru.
Valentina is also developing her first solo tour that she says will be inspired by vedetismo, Mexican showgirls, and Mexican icon Maria Félix. She hopes to first bring it to fruition in Mexico.
“I’m ready to be in a different level of my career where I’m seen as Valentina, the artist, completely 360 around that sings, dances, acts, and designs,” she says. “Hopefully I can start to open up and show more of the real Valentina, that’s not just the brand, and also show real glimpses of the heart behind the person.”
