Valentina Drag Queen, Rent Live: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know | Heavy.com
Valentina Drag Queen, star of RuPaul's Drag Race, is set to play HIV-positive percussionist Angel Dumott Schunard in Fox's live production of "Rent," which airs Sunday night.
Valentina, who came out as non-binary earlier this month but still uses she/her pronouns, said she hopes her role in Rent will inspire others.
"People like me, that are triple minorities, that are overcoming a lot of adversities, need a sense of hope to know when you fight for what you believe in, it does make a difference," Valentina told NBC News.
"I want to be able to pave the way to give more visibility to people like me, for others to see themselves through me on TV to give them hope that they can achieve great things like this, too.".
Here's what you need to know about Valentina:.
Valentina starred on Season 9 of RuPaul's Drag Race & Returned For All Star's Shortly After.
Valentina, whose real name is James Andrew Leyva, cemented herself as a fan favorite with a good chance of winning when she joined the cast of RuPaul's Drag Race.
However, despite being a smash hit with fans and deemed generally safe throughout the first half of the season, she was eliminated during episode 9, sending shockwaves across social media.
She was eliminated following a poor lip sync battle against Nina Bo-Nina Brown, while the two performed Ariana Grande's "Greedy.
" It was clear that Valentina didn't know the words after RuPaul forced her to remove her face mask, which led to disastrous results.
Valentina was actually called in to audition for Rent because of her role on RuPaul's Drag Race.
She told NBC News: "I was called in because one of the casting directors was a fan of mine from 'Drag Race,'" Valentina told NBC News.
"Without even knowing if I knew how to sing or if I had the experience or the potential for this, they invited me to come in and audition.
They saw something in me.".
She Plays a Young Drag Queen & Musician Who Struggles With Life in New York While Battling AIDS.
Valentina's character, Angel — a young drag queen and street percussionist living with AIDS — is a part of a group of young artists "struggling to survive in New York City's East Village under the shadow of HIV and AIDS," according to NBC News.
Valentina is thrilled to play Angel, and wants others to know they can also achieve their dreams if they continue to persevere.
"Angel really is like an angel, because he came in so quick and turned all these people's lives around and showed them what it's like to be compassionate and selfless," Valentina told NCB News.
"Like the kind of person that just walks into the room and changes all the energy, you know?".
She continued: "I want to be able to pave the way to give more visibility to people like me, for others to see themselves through me on TV to give them hope that they can achieve great things like this, too.
Valentina Considers Herself a "Glamour Girl" Who Immersed Herself in the Arts as a Child.
In an interview with LA Weekly, Valentina was asked how she categorizes herself as a drag queen.
She responded by saying she is a "glamour girl," and a passionate performer, and that she wants to shed light on the challenges that queens endure.
It's hard to say because I'm quite new to all this.
I think I would consider myself a glamour girl, but I think it depends on my look and my level of performance.
I consider myself a very passionate performer.
I feel like I'm shedding light to the art form of drag that's very classic in the sense that I can go on stage in a beautiful gown to a very deep song and command attention and emotion through my movement and really be connected to the lyrics.
That's another side of drag that I feel like I'm a big part of and it's not really common anymore.
What's really common is putting on a Nicki Minaj, a Lady Gaga, or a Beyoncé and getting up there and doing a Vogue death-drop and the audience will live.
The challenge that I have for myself is how do I get on the stage and emote my vision and command the attention of the audience through my art without doing a death-drop or a split.
Valentina stressed that Rent is more than just entertainment, and that she hopes it will be a learning experience for audiences, too, according to NBC News.
"I hope that people, especially in the LGBTQ community, take away that we've really come a long way since the '90s and since the AIDS epidemic.
Not only with science, with things like PrEP, but just topics of conversation, like gender identity.".
She Recently Launched a Singing Career & Released Her First Single in December, 2018.
Valentina recently launched her career in the music industry after releasing the song "A Prueba De Todo" in December, 2018.
She has amassed more than 1.1 million followers on Instagram, and often shares behind-the-scenes footage from the set of Rent.
In the same interview with LA Weekly, Valentina says that her Latin identity is essential to her drag persona because all of her references are powerful Latina women.
"I try to incorporate the romance of the Spanish language into what I do.
What I do is very romantic, very regal, very elegant.
Being Latino and being Mexican, it's everything that I am and I try to make sure no matter what I'm doing, it's always through the eye and through the lens of a powerful Latina woman.".
Check out her translated lyrics for "A Prueba De Todo" here.
She Identifies as Non-Binary, Although She Still Uses The She/Her Pronouns & is Openly Gay.
Valentina explained to Out in a Jan.
14 interview that, although she identifies as non-binary, she continues to use the she/her pronoun.
"I identify as nonbinary.
I don't completely feel like a man, I don't completely feel like a woman.
I feel like a goddess.
I feel like I'm my own gender," she told the publication.
Valentina is looking forward to translating her experience into her character on Rent, whose identity has been debated for years, as fans have speculated her to be a transgender woman, drag queen or genderfluid, according to Out.
"I get to bring that aspect to my Angel character and really have an idea of like, 'Why is she so happy and so confident in her armor, in her drag?' I do take the responsibility of being a gay nonbinary drag queen person taking on a really important iconic role like Angel and I hope [audiences] tune in for it.
Be sure to check out Valentina tonight in Rent Live on Fox at 8pm ET/PT.
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