PREMIERE: Valentina Looks Back on ‘Drag Race’ Journey in ‘Portrait of a Queen’
Valentina is revisiting her journey on RuPaul’s Drag Race. The Mexican-American drag superstar also looks back on her life before the series in Portrait of a Queen, which is premiering exclusively on Remezcla.
Portrait of a Queen is an Emmy-nominated digital series that documents the lives of RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni following their time on the franchise. The series is returning today with Valentina, who competed on season nine of Drag Race and season four of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars. Among the iconic moments she talks about are Aja’s “aggressive compliments” towards her and when she tried wearing a mask during a Lip Sync for Your Life. Valentina also revisits when she won Miss Congeniality and her castmates wanted to change the title to “Fan Favorite.”
In Portrait of Queen, Valentina delves into her life before and after RuPaul’s Drag Race as well. She opens up about growing up in Los Angeles and the struggles of understanding her queer identity. In a full-circle moment, Valentina goes to a special event at a Mexican supermarket from her childhood, Northgate González Market. There’s also footage of her getting ready for this year’s Downey Pride Festival where she was crowned as the “Princess of Southeast L.A.” Valentina also talks about the time she starred in Rent: Live on Fox in 2019.
For fans of Valentina’s run on the All Stars spin-off, she also reflects on the “Club 96” idea with Naomi Smalls that led to her elimination. Valentina returned to the franchise last year as a co-host of the first season of Drag Race México. She decided not to come back for the show’s second season.
Valentina’s episode of Portrait of the Queen is the first of many to come. Other episodes will include Gigi Goode, Jimbo, Shannel, Thorgy Thor, and Vanessa Vanjie Mateo. And new episodes will stream on the RuPaul’s Drag Race YouTube Channel every Saturday at 12 p.m. EST.
Watch Valentina’s episode of Portrait of a Queen below!