Chiquitita on embracing her heritage and pushing boundaries through drag
Brooklyn-based drag queen Chiquitita opens up about her drag persona and how her drag journey helped her to discover her own identity.
Video Transcript
CHIQUITITA: Drag means everything to me. There is very few things that make me feel butterflies in my day to day. But that moment right before I get on stage is so anxiety-inducing, and it feels so good. It keeps you alive. It reminds you that you're alive. And if you've never been in drag before, try it out, and you'll understand exactly what I mean. Hi. My name is Chiquitita, a.k.a. Chiqui. And I am a Brooklyn-based drag performer in New York City.
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Who is Chiquitita? I mean, it's in the name. I'm very cheeky. She's also very glamorous, very sultry. She has this essence to her that I don't really see too much in other drag queens. But I see it in myself, and it's-- it's pretty powerful. I started incorporating my Hispanic roots pretty early on in my drag. And any time someone from Central America sees me or DMs me, it's just so special to me because there is so much machismo in Hispanic culture. I think it's empowering to be like, I'm actually not going to entertain that.
I found drag before I figured out who I was. And it later led me to the realization that I never wanted to take the drag off. There's all of these core memories that shape you. And sometimes it takes 20 years to figure out what they mean. I want to take in and acknowledge the now. I want to be grateful for that.
