Bianca Del Rio to Co-Host the Daily News Show “NewsBeat”

Posted on May 27, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Bianca Del Rio is tacklin’ the news…

The 45-year-old Cuban and Honduran American drag queen, comedian, actor, and costume designer, whose real name is Roy Haylock, will speak the tea regarding the top headlines for NewsBeat, from Politicon and executive producer Clay Aiken.

Del Rio, the winner of the sixth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, will appear alongside fellow Drag Race alum.

NewsBeat, which will also feature Lady Bunny, Lyle and Delta Work as correspondents, seeks to provide a serious daily news show for the next generation of viewers. The program will center around hard news headline, political analysis presented by West and Del Rio.

Each episode will highlight two or three top news stories of the day. A guest panel of political pundits will join the anchors via satellite to discuss the biggest stories. Each episode will also feature a pre-taped field package with one of the correspondents interviewing a major newsmaker or politician.

The pilot episode will feature interviews with James Carville, Touré and Scottie Nell-Hughes.

“Staying informed and knowing what’s actually going on in the country and the world is really important, but I, and so many people I know, finally just turned off the news over this past year. So we wanted to find a way to keep people really informed — give them important news and objective information — and still keep it entertaining and engaging,” Aiken said. “We wanted to make the news appointment TV again without needing to sensationalize it or scare or depress folks. NewsBeat is really about facts first, but it is also about making the news interesting again.”

Valentina to Make Guest Appearance on Season 13 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race”

Posted on January 4, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Valentina is headed back to the Race…

The 29-year-old Mexican American drag performer, actor, television personality and singer will make a guest appearance on Season 13 of RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Valentina, who finished in 7th place on Season 9 of the acclaimed reality series and 7th place on the fourth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, and fellow Miss Congeniality winners from past seasons Nina West and Heidi N Closet will appear in future episodes.

Cynthia Erivo, Nicole Byer, Loni Love, TS Madison and Jamal Sims are slated to join the RuPaul’s Drag Race judges panel this season alongside mainstays Michelle Visage, Carson Kressley, Ross Mathews and, Mama Ru (RuPaul Charles).

In addition, RuPaul’s Drag Race superfans Anne Hathaway and Scarlett Johansson will surprise queens later this season with interactive video master classes.

The 13 queens vying for the ultimate title of “America’s Next Drag Superstar” this season include Denali (Chicago), Elliott with 2 Ts (Las Vegas), Gottmik (Los Angeles), Joey Jay (Phoenix), Kahmora Hall (Chicago), Kandy Muse (New York), LaLa Ri (Atlanta), Olivia Lux (New York), Rosé (New York), Symone (Los Angeles), Tamisha Iman (Atlanta), Tina Burner (New York), and Utica Queen (Minneapolis).

World of Wonder to Launch “Drag Race España”

Posted on November 17, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Life will soon be a drag in Spain…

World of Wonder will be furthering the global reach of RuPaul’s hit reality drag queen competition Drag Race with a new edition, Drag Race España (Drag Race Spain).

The Emmy-winning competition series has brought its fabulous brand of charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent to different parts of the world including Thailand, the United Kingdom, Holland, Chile and Canada.

Now, World of Wonder, the production company behind RuPaul’s Drag Race, has will launch Drag Race Spain exclusively on WOW Presents Plus in the US and other international markets, day-and-date with the Spanish airing on ATRESplayer Premium.

“It is such an honor to welcome Spain to the Drag Race family, partner with Atres, and bring the fierce fabulous glamour of Spanish queens to new audiences around the world on WOW Presents Plus,” said World of Wonder co-founders Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey. “In these dark and challenging times we believe people need Drag Race‘s joy, laughter, and heart now more than ever.”

The host, judges, cast, and premiere date of Drag Race Spain will be “Ru-vealed” in the months to come.

Drag Race Spain is produced by Atresmedia TV in collaboration with Buendía Estudios.

Valentina to ‘Drag Out the Vote’ at Variety Show “Divas For Democracy: United We Slay”

Posted on October 5, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Valentina’s prepared to drag out the vote…

The 29-year-old Mexican American drag performer and former RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant will team up with some of her fellow queens and Broadway celebrities to get out the vote for November’s presidential election.

Valentina and divas from the drag world and icons of the stage will come together for Divas For Democracy: United We Slay, a one-night-only variety show extravaganza promoting voter participation and key issues relating to the LGBTQIA+ community in the upcoming 2020 election.

Presented by the nonprofit voter engagement organization Drag Out the Vote and hosted by RuPaul’s Drag Race star Nina West and Entertainment Tonight‘s Keltie Knight, Divas for Democracy: United We Slay features scores of talent who’ll sing and lip-synch through dazzling performances of theater classics and pop songs.

Special segments will highlight LGBTQIA+ activists in a nonpartisan effort to shine a light on community participation in the political process, including celebrity appearances by Tony winner Cyndi Lauper, Drag Race panelist Michelle Visage, Harvey Fierstein, James Monroe Iglehart, Bianca Del Rio, Shangela, Cheyenne Jackson, Mila Jam, and Oscar-winning actress Allison Janney.

In addition to Valentina, other drag superstars slated to perform during the broadcast include Alaska, Jinkx Monsoon, Jujubee, Peppermint, Cynthia Lee Fontaine, Shuga Cain, Honey Davenport, and Drag Out the Vote’s national co-chairs Brita Filter, Marti Gould Cummings, and Pixie Aventura.

Broadway figures set to appear include legendary three-time Tony-winning actress Chita Rivera, as well as Tony winners Stephanie J. Block, Lea Salonga, Nikki M. James, Beth Leavel and Annaleigh Ashford. Also joining the program are stage stars Shoshana Bean, Eden Espinosa, Jenn Collela, Chilina Kennedy, Keala Settle, Tamika Lawrence, L Morgan Lee, and Our Lady J.

The presentation will be directed by Josh Rhodes and Lee Wilkins, whose joint careers include work choreographing Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, First Date, It Shoulda Been You, and Bright Star on Broadway. Tony winner Stephen Oremus will serve as music supervisor.

“One in five LGBTQIA+ people is not registered to vote, and 100 million people did not vote in the 2016 election. We must fix this,” said Drag Out the Vote founder Jackie Huba in a press statement. “We are excited to bring together the worlds of Broadway and drag to inspire voters to sashay their way to the polls or their mailboxes.”

Divas for Democracy: United We Slay airs October 18 at 8:00 p.m. ET exclusively on StageIt. Tickets — available on a “donate-what-you-can” basis — go on sale Thursday at 10:00 a.m. ET at divasfordemocracy.com.

Ricky Martin to Serve as Guest Judge on Season Five of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars”

Posted on May 21, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Life’s a drag for Ricky Martin…

The 48-year-old Puerto Rican superstar will serve as a guest judge on the fifth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars.

The “Livin’ La Vida Loca” singer kick things off as a guest judge for the premiere episode of the reality drag race competition, which will premiere on Friday, June 5 at 8:oo pm ET/PT on VH1.

In addition to Martin, the star-studded lineup of guest judges includes Tessa Thompson, Jane Krakowski, Nicole Byer, Bebe Rexha, Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman, Sam Richardson, Madison Beer, Sarah Hyland, Martyn Lawrence Bullard, Tommy Dorfman and Drag Race regular Todrick Hall.

In the premiere, Martin will help judge the all-star queens from seasons’ past as they take part in a reading mini-challenge and hit the runway for a “Werq the World” variety extravaganza.

T fifth season has thrown the traditional elimination rules out the window. RuPaul has shaken things up and has “Ru-vealed” that each week she’ll name a top all-star and that queen will lip sync for her legacy against a mysterious lip sync assassin, chosen from the most iconic performers in Drag Race“herstory.”

If the top all-star of the week wins the lip sync, she wins a $10,000 tip and the power to eliminate the bottom queen of her choice.

If the lip sync assassin wins, a bottom queen selected from a secret group vote gets the chop, and the money rolls over until a top all-star wins.

The 10 queens competing for a spot in the “Drag Race Hall of Fame” and a grand prize of $100,000 are Alexis Mateo (Season 3, All Stars 1), Blair St. Clair (Season 10), Derrick Barry (Season 8), India Ferrah (Season 3), Jujubee (Season 2, All Stars 1), Mariah Paris Balenciaga (Season 3), Mayhem Miller (Season 10), Miz Cracker (Season 10), Ongina (Season 1) and Shea Couleé (Season 9).

Cynthia Lee Fontaine to Perform at Hurricane Relief Show for Puerto Rico “Queens United/ Reinas Unidas”

Posted on November 2, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Cynthia Lee Fontaine is ready to lip sync for her tierra…

The 36-year-old Puerto Rican drag performer and former RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant, whose real name is Carlos Hernandez, is set to perform at a drag benefit to raise funds for Puerto Rico.

Last month, fellow Drag Race star Phi Phi O’Hara announced the Hurricane Maria relief show, titled Queens United/ Reinas Unidas. Along with Fontaine, who competed on seasons eight and nine of Drag Race, the show will feature more than 25 queens of Drag Race fame, and will take place November 6 at First Avenue in Minneapolis.

Other Latina drag performers set to perform include Jade Sotomayor, Naysha Lopez and Yara Sofia.

Billboard will host an exclusive live stream from the show on its Billboard Pride Facebook page.

All proceeds from the show — tickets, meets and greets and merch sales — will go to Somos Una Voz, a relief initiative started by Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony. The foundation is rushing food, shelter, medicine, power and means of communication to Puerto Ricans in need after the island’s devastating natural disasters.

The full lineup includes: Acid Betty, Alexis Michelle, Bebe Zahara Benet, Bob the Drag Queen, Chad Michaels, Cynthia Lee Fontaine, Ginger Minj, Jade Jolie, Jade Sotomayor, Jaidynn Diore Fierce, Jessica Wild, Jiggly Caliente, Kandy Ho, Katya, Kimora Blac, Madame LaQueer, Manila Luzon, Mariah Paris Balenciaga, Max, Milk, Mrs. Kasha Davis, Katya, Mystique Summers, Naysha Lopez, Ongina, Pandora Boxx, Phi Phi O’Hara, Phoenix, Trinity k. Bonet and Yara Sofia.

The show is sponsored by Flip Phone MSP, and O’Hara has launched a crowdfunding page as well.

Tickets are available for purchase here.

Hispanically Yours

Celebrating the Latino Influence

Tag Archives: Drag Race