Drag Race España chat lounge

[Music]

That talent show was without a doubt the best ever. So many of the queens would have won if they were in the talent show episode on other seasons. And the runway was AMAZING!

 

[Alla]

Yeah, obviously I get all the jokes/references so I guess I enjoy it much more and I'm far from impartial, but this episode was just incredible.

 

[COB]

Jesus Christ, I cannot fucking BREATHE after that episode Definitely the greatest talent show ever - the way it started with a queen transforming from a car on stage then somehow got better and better! Juriji's opera moment! Estrella's burger striptease featuring ketchup bukkake! Diamante jumping from the judges' table! And let's not forget the LIVE ALIEN BIRTH I even thought the queen who left had a strong talent performance that would've been comfortably safe in just about any other series, and her song actually sounded pretty great to me.

The runway was fantastic, on another level to even the US series when they've done the occasional horror themed runway. Onyx as the wasp actually FLOORED ME, I know it's just two episodes in but has there ever been a look queen quite like her before? Just amazing

I will say that if

Spoiler

Samantha

is in the bottom again she should probably go, I like her in general but her messy lipsync style where she ends up just throwing all her clothes around isn't for me.

 

[COB]

Oh and this just in from MARICON WATCH

This week I believe that WOW+ translated every instance of maricon/es as bitch/es. They also fully capitalised LIP SYNC every time it was said, which was slightly distracting!

EDIT: I loved when one of the Javis made the pun "Putankhamun" for Venedita's look, particularly as our friends at WOW+ decided the most appropriate translation for that was "Slut King"

 

[COB]

OMG just remembered the reading challenge Maybe it was the translation but it seemed like some of them were being really bitter and personal! Sharonne just batting back all the weak reads and destroying anyone trying to come for her was quite fabulous.

 

[Alla]

the way it started with a queen transforming from a car on stage

I had to stop it and go back because I couldn't believe what I just watched, that was everything.

 

[Alla]

Oh and this just in from MARICON WATCH

This week I believe that WOW+ translated every instance of maricon/es as bitch/es. They also fully capitalised LIP SYNC every time it was said, which was slightly distracting!

EDIT: I loved when one of the Javis made the pun "Putankhamun" for Venedita's look, particularly as our friends at WOW+ decided the most appropriate translation for that was "Slut King"

You know, as I watch it on Rula TV, I get the version with subtitles, and sometimes I'm more focused on how they translate everything than the episode itself

 

[Alla]

OMG just remembered the reading challenge Maybe it was the translation but it seemed like some of them were being really bitter and personal! Sharonne just batting back all the weak reads and destroying anyone trying to come gor her was quite fabulous.

Some of them have personal issues, Jota seems to dislike EVERYBODY but these passional readings getting very personal is also very made in Spain, so no shock there

 

[COB]

Spanish queens being a lot? I refuse to believe it

 

[Alla]

This is the moment that had me gagging, now watching it again isn't the best thing ever (still AMAZING) after all that was still coming up, but it was so unexpected that my jaw was on the floor, literally.

Spoiler: SPOILER FROM EPISODE 2

Also if you're wondering why this queen is always wearing those massive heels, or whatever you call them (platforms here), that's what every single queen in Canary Islands wear, I don't know the reason, a cultural thing I guess. You might remember the other queen from season 1 wearing them, also from Canary Island. I believe they sleep wearing them

 

[COB]

It's honestly just so EXCITING

 

[COB]

The fact she did all that while wearing those huge Canarian HOOVES as well!

 

[Alla]

Btw, The Canary Island queen, Sethlas, related how she had her Elena's El Diablo moment with some fanatic Christians after him because of the performance that made her win the Canary Islands Carnival, which is massive there. This was VERY polemic here back in the day, and watching it you can tell why

 

[Alla]

And about Samantha, I remember watching her live IGs during lockdown, because a friend who is obsessed with her (and every drag really) insisted me, and she was HILARIOUS. She was so messy and dirty, even revolting, that I can imagine her hanging out with Martha Skidd and being BFF, it was too much but you couldn't stop watching. However her humour doesn't translate here very well, you can't be just one note, so I'm afraid she might be going home next.

 

[COB]

Btw, The Canary Island queen, Sethlas, related how she had her Elena's El Diablo moment with some fanatic Christians after him because of the performance that made her win the Canary Islands Carnival, which is massive there. This was VERY polemic here back in the day, and watching it you can tell why

Now thats what you call DRAG The Judas moment and the perfectly timed lash from the whip are my favourite moments apart from the obviously iconic crucifixion, and she clearly knows her Madonna references (paging @Suedey as you may enjoy this!). They should have sued her for burning up the stage

 

[Phoenix]

This was a 10/10 episode until the elimination. I’m so over Samantha and that lipsync was shameful. Her shtick is even worse than Poopi.

Onyx (who was rough in places but very entertaining) I felt was at least safe compared to Marina who came off very humorless and was a boring performer.

Sharon is great and it makes sense that she was in contention to be the judge.

There are still too many girls and some I can’t remember.

 

[Alla]

I don't think Samantha won the lipsync, I think the other one lost it for not offering much more than the others during the episode. I think they're trying to keep Samantha at all cost because she's funny, brings chaos and her talking heads are great, but she's definitely going soon because she's a total mess. Mind you that's exactly her style, a complete mess all the time and not much more, so they knew what they were getting from her.

 

[Phoenix]

They’re keeping her for the acting challenge so she’ll be here a few more weeks at least.

 

[dUb]

Hang on did nobody else find Sharonne's act a bit icky? I expected to see quite a bit of DISCOURSE around that but haven't.

It was an enjoyable episode though. The car and ONYX ON THE RUNWAY OMG were my highlights

 

[Phoenix]

I certainly thought it was a bit off but then the song started and it made some sense. It wouldn’t fly in the US version.

 

[COB]

Earlier that day I'd read about how Sharonne did blackface on TV relatively recently (I believe on the same show that R*th L also did it, @Alla to confirm) so when the puppet came out I did feel a bit , but thankfully it wasn't anywhere near as dodgy as it COULD have been.

 

[Dark Carnival]

WHAT DIRT DOES SAMANTHA HAVE ON SUPREME???

 

[Alla]

Earlier that day I'd read about how Sharonne did blackface on TV relatively recently (I believe on the same show that R*th L also did it, @Alla to confirm) so when the puppet came out I did feel a bit , but thankfully it wasn't anywhere near as dodgy as it COULD have been.

I had to google it because I had no idea. The show where Rula L**** did it is "Your face sounds familiar", which is for famous people (the irony with R*** there ) so it can't be that one, unless it was the edition for unknown people, I don't know. Anyway, blackface is fine here, there is no racist connotations and we don't have a tradition of black people here so we're not taking the piss at all, there is no bad intention. It's true that lately people are suddenly very concerned about it because we have to import every fucking thing from USA, so if it's bad there, it has to be bad here even when the context is totally different and it makes no sense.

 

[Dark Carnival]

But it is still wrong in any context really.

 

[Alla]

But it is still wrong in any context really.

We have our own traditions, like the 3 Wisemen that bring the presents for Xmas (that old hammered man was never that popular here), one of them is black, so in every single town is Spain we do full blackface every single Xmas, since forever, because there were no black people here. In recent decades that we are more open to the world (we had 40 years of dictatorship) there are more POC here so in many places we have a proper black man incarnating the black wiseman for the parade. But think this happens in every single village, and the wisemen pay a fortune to do it (it's a big honor, specially in big cities), so they have to do blackface.

I TOTALLY understand how wrong blackface is in other cultures, don't get me wrong, but we don't have a tradition of black people, slavery and all those things, we always did blackface to celebrate Xmas, in good spirit, and I can't see anything wrong about it. it's not a mockery. The black ones has always been the favourite of most kids (includes me there), he has never had the role of the simple one or anything that makes you see him with funny eyes. So yes, I'm very cautious with this subject when I talk about it with people from other cultures, but I hope you understand my point of view too.

 

[Alla]

The Xmas Parade is what probably made me gay. It's more drag than Drag Race itself.

 

[Beverley]

Spain doesn’t have a history of slavery?! That’s news to me.

 

[Alla]

Spain doesn’t have a history of slavery?! That’s news to me.

A "recent" history of black slavery, I'm not talking about what happened 500 years ago which is AWFUL, probably more terrible than anything ever. But that's a different story that has nothing to do with blackface.

 

[Beverley]

Even a very rudimentary Googling reveals that Spain has its own, centuries-old practice of minstrelsy. If it’s not a big deal in Spain, that might just suggest that the discourse isn’t developed enough there.

 

[Alla]

Even a very rudimentary Googling reveals that Spain has its own, centuries-old practice of minstrelsy. If it’s not a big deal in Spain, that might just suggest that the discourse isn’t developed enough there.

Which centuries are you talking about? Just to put this in context.

 

[Beverley]

Which centuries are you talking about? Just to put this in context.

Spanish minstrelsy is as old as the 16th-18th century, it seems. Older than blackface in America. So it seems inaccurate to pitch the objection to blackface as an American thing when minstrelsy, of all kinds, is rooted in the dehumanisation of black people.

 

[Beverley]

FYI, even the invention of racial categories, or the idea that people of colour were less than, was pioneered by several Spanish thinkers. My point being that Spain can’t divorce itself from practices that are seen to be racist today. Objectively, minstrelsy has a racist history everywhere.

 

[Alla]

There has been no deshumanisation AT ALL in our Xmas culture, I'd love to have an example, giving that you know more than me about everything and have the need to educate me about my own culture.

 

[Alla]

Bev, the US didn't even exist when Spain (and other countries) were doing all kind of terrible things. CENTURIES AGO. Of course the origin of everything is here, but how does that have anything to do with what I'm talking about? I don't understand the need to see everything from that point of view. Anyway, I have stuff to do, have a good day. x

 

[Beverley]

Bev, the US didn't even exist when Spain (and other countries) were doing all kind of terrible things. CENTURIES AGO. Of course the origin of everything is here, but how does that have anything to do with what I'm talking about? I don't understand the need to see everything from that point of view. Anyway, I have stuff to do, have a good day. x

I like you, Alla, and you can claim what you want. But if I can find objections from Spanish organisations about racist blackface in the culture, your insistence that no such sentiment exists is either lazy or deliberately ignorant. Kisses!

 

[Alla]

I like you, Alla, and you can claim what you want. But if I can find objections from Spanish organisations about racist blackface in the culture, your insistence that no such sentiment exists is either lazy or deliberately ignorant. Kisses!

Excuse me sir, I NEVER claimed blackface here has never a racist background, how am I gonna say that, specially in 2022 when everybody is f*cking insane? We were talking about "Your face sounds familiar" and programmes like that, and I explained it with our Xmas tradition to give some context of blackface in Spain. Of course it doesn't mean there aren't some horrible people doing wrong things, I can confirm that and I would give you examples, the recent rise of one of the most racist political parties is worrying and terrifying. But I was talking about what I was talking about, don't twist my words for your interest or to picture me as an ignorant, thank you very much. x

 

[Apoca]

Very similar (hi)story in Germany re: people in blackface and the 3 Wise Men are also a tradition here; up until very recently one of the kids would always be in blackface (there seems to be a little more sensibility on this example now though) - just like people used to colour themselves faint yellow if they "dressed up" as someone from China for Carnival until very, very recently. ()

So I get where @Alla is coming from and I know most people didn't/don't have any ill intentions. But our generation should challenge these "traditions". Just because it has been commonplace or even custom for a long time, doesn't mean it should still fly without being questioned in 2022.

Spain/Central Europe is definitely still in a somewhat different place when it comes to general POC topics compared to the US and UK - for a myriad of reasons. But it's worth accelerating the discussion.

 

[Alla]

OMG a Moopster is doing a cameo in this week's episode of Drag Race España

It's

Spoiler

The sexual Goose

 

[COB]

OMG at the Javis crying as soon as that wig came off in the lipsync (sorry, LIPSYNC as the subtitles are still translating it), presumably because they knew she was GONE GONE GONE

 

[COB]

Fun episode, though I definitely didn't get a lot of the references and subtleties in this one. I enjoyed the OnlyFlans case the most, but it was probably the most broad/obvious one so I think I mostly got all the jokes The mysterious host 'Putricia' getting involved and covered in flan was great, Ru would never! That out of the blue Untucked drama was fabulous, I felt bad for Marina but I can also see how she's a bit of an Eeyore type that people probably wouldn't naturally gravitate towards. Juriji has really charmed me with her performance on the show so far, she's one I'd love to see on a future international All Stars (possibly in English since she mentioned being fluent).

Also I've decided that Onyx is VERY attractive out of drag, and also all that nasty nonsense he was doing while in dog drag was slightly doing it for me? Yes, it's another data point for @Penelope's "is COB a furry" cork board, get the coloured string out love