‘Whatcha Packin’ for ‘Drag Race 16’ episode 8: Xunami Muse describes ‘culture shock’ and being a Muse with Michelle Visage

Each week on “Whatcha Packin’,” Michelle Visage interviews the recently eliminated queen and shows us some of the runway looks they didn’t get the chance to use on the show. Following her episode 8 elimination, Xunami Muse invites the audience into her life as an immigrant child from Panama, her relationship to an All Star alum, and how she’s “always been drawn to pretty things.” Watch the full episode above via the official RuPaul’s Drag Race channel on YouTube.

In her interview with Michelle, Xunami tells the story of how she met Kandy Muse at Pieces Bar in the West Village of New York City when Kandy pointed to her and declared, “You remind me of me.” From there they started hanging out and Kandy eventually offered her last name to Xunami so they became sisters. Xunami also discusses what it was like to move to NYC from Panama at the age of 13 as the youngest of nine kids in her family. Xunami believes herself to be the only queer one of the bunch and says about her mom that she had to “win her over,” but now she’s her “biggest fan.”

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As a self-described fashion girl, Xunami says she’s “always been drawn to pretty things and sparkly things” before getting a fashion marketing degree, interning with fashion companies, worked as a stylist and then eventually finding drag as a natural progression from all of that. As a kid she idolized RuPaul Charles and stars like Celia Cruz, who she actually considered impersonating for “Snatch Game,” but didn’t. On her own fashion for the show, Xunami tells Michelle she didn’t make anything herself and instead had it all made for her by friends in the industry. For Xunami, the most important part of assembling her looks for the runway was shoes because she “cares about a silhouette.” At the end of the day, Michelle and Xunami agree that “you don’t have to have money to do drag, but you do have to have taste.”

Check out Michelle’s conversations with the previously eliminated queens of the season: Hershii LiqCour-Jeté after episode 3, Mirage after episode 4, Amanda Tori Meating after episode 5. Geneva Karr after episode 6, and Megami after episode 7.

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