GLAAD contributor Enrique Torre Molina is a diversity, inclusion and LGBTQ+ community activist, speaker and consultant working with companies, nonprofit organizations, government agencies and media. He co-founded Colmena 41, co-hosts the “Mafia Gay” podcast and lives in Mexico City.
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Spoiler alert: this article contains details about Drag Race Mexico’s season 1, episode 4.
The episode began with the participants entering the werk room, now without Vermelha Noir, eliminated at the end of episode 3. Serena Morena acknowledged that Vermelha was one of the younger queens who “had given it her all” and Pixie Pixie mentioned that “I feel more tense because I already see people are fewer and more competitive.”
Lolita Banana entered to explain the mini challenge of the week: “To be a drag star you have to learn to read” – because reading is fundamental (a classic challenge in the Drag Race franchise). The pit crew brought in two briefcases containing several pairs of glasses, for each contestant to read the others.
Lady Kero made everyone laugh: “Regina, I know you’re a great, great singer. And why wouldn’t you be? You’ve been opening your throat for years.” Argennis was the most read at and the least capable of talking back: she couldn’t even complete a sentence. (Later, she was visibly sad and affected by all the “shade” she received). Gala Varo was the most sarcastic and daring enough to read the hosts: “Valentina, Lolita, how do you feel about a Mexican finally getting to win on Drag Race?” (Valentina was on RuPaul’s Drag Race season 9 and Lolita Banana was on Drag Race France season 1, but neither won.) The winner of the mini challenge was Margaret Y Ya, taking the prize of 18,000 pesos (approximately $1,056).
For the maxi challenge, Lolita Banana explained that the contestants would have to show “their talent for singing and moving on stage with the first ‘Rusical’ of the season: Dragapulco Shore.” They were given scripts that they would have 24 hours to learn, and began to discuss and fight over the characters that each one would play. They all put on heels to rehearse with the guest choreographer Nelson Parra.
Later, Lolita Banana and Valentina introduced judge Oscar Madrazo and the episode’s guest judge, Karime Pindter, an influencer who became famous for being on MTV’s Acapulco Shore. The participants put on 5 musical numbers, and the most outstanding were Gala Varo, Cristian Peralta and Regina Voce, who has experience as a professional musical theater actress in plays such as MentiDrags and Everybody’s talking about Jamie in Mexico City. Oscar Madrazo recommended that she not accept “any other role other than the protagonist.” My favorite moment was when they sang “No one is more transparent than a drag queen,” a song with the potential to become an anthem for the drag community beyond the show.
After the Rusical, we saw everyone walk the runway in golden outfits (the most spectacular of the season so far), as the theme of the night was gold. Lolita Banana told them: “Look at each other. This is the quality we expect.”
Matraka, Lady Kero and Margaret Y Ya were saved, and Cristian Peralta won the challenge — her second win this season.
For the lip sync battle, Argennis and Pixie Pixie interpreted Mío by Mexican pop singer Paulina Rubio, known as “the golden girl“, after the title of her first album. At that point, Argennis finally showed an attitude that she’d lacked during the episode (some people perform better under pressure) and even did a jump split. At the end of the song, she cried. Her passionate performance was enough to save her and Pixie Pixie, considered a potential frontrunner by many fans, was eliminated.
Drag Race Mexico S1 airs every Thursday at 2am ET on WOW Presents Plus, with its local airing in Mexico on Paramount+.