We all are born naked, the rest is Drag

Music shapes our lives. Whether we liked it or not, it does. That’s why every sport club have songs, every politician use uplifting songs before a rally or every single product advertised on TV have a jingle song. It sends a subliminal message, and those messages will eventually push us to buy the product. So, when it comes to music, there’s always songs and musicians that shape our lives. A song can encourage you to do that little project you have been leaving for later, or make you say yes to that guy that have been calling you for weeks asking for a date, if you are a romantic like I am.

In my life many musicians have left marks since my youth, mostly all of those that sing cheesy hopeless love songs. LOL. But, in a most serious note, there’s one that has really shaped my life, showing me a whole new world and telling me that I’m not a weird case but rather one more in a large community. Her name is RuPaul, and although RuPaul is a man, for me and many, many others, RuPaul is a Queen.

RuPaul Charles, started his singing and acting career since the early 90’s in New York, and from the very beginning was a trailblazer and broke stereotypes when his single “Supermodel” was a hit. He had to fight a double battle, being not only black, but a drag queen, probably the most discriminated and isolated minority in a patriarchal and “Christian” society, where been a gay man was enough to put you in jail. Nonetheless, RuPaul went ahead and became an icon with a few singles in the Billboard top 100 songs and a modeling career with Mac Cosmetics.

When I came to the U.S. I was just a normal guy, although I always felt and wanted to be a woman I was afraid to even tell anyone. I got married and was living “a normal life.” But by the time I was thirty, I couldn’t deal with it anymore. My marriage went kaput and I started looking for information about why I was like that. I started going to some LGBT clubs and, Oh my! I discovered a whole new world! By then, RuPaul started a small reality TV show in the LOGO cable outlet and with a small budget, he showed the world how some of those marginalized drag queens could become stars, on their merit and talent. At the same time, his new singles encouraged a whole new generation of gay, lesbian, transgender and nonconforming youth, that often times find themselves thrown from their own families just because they want to be themselves, that it was ok to be like them. That no matter how hard you have to fight you can success, you can have a career, you can be a professional and you can love and be happy. Singles like “Champion”, “Never be home again”, “If I dream”, “The Beginning” or “Get your rebel on” inspired and gave strength to not only me but to countless others. That small reality TV show grew to become one of the best reality TV shows, winning several Emmy awards, and moving from a small LGBT focused cable channel like LOGO to a massive mainstream audience channel: VH1. Many of the contestants have became stars on their own like Shangela, Willam, Kelly Mantle and others, appearing in Hollywood movies, TV series, video clips and releasing music singles. Rupaul bear a great deal of responsibility on the drag performance art becoming mainstream culture and not only that, also improving the visualization of being Transgender in society, making it more normal, not a weird psychological disease.

Because he made so much changes in my life, I set myself for a treat in 2015. I purchased a VIP package to DragCon in Los Angeles and went straight to meet him. It was one of the best experiences of my life! Spent time with some of the stars of the show, went to the taping of the final episode of season 7 in the Orpheum Theater. But the most uplifting experience was to meet RuPaul in person and get an autograph and a picture taken with him. Something I will never forget and that I will treasure my entire life. “Mamma Ru”, as we all call her, we owe you a big deal!

So, yes, music shapes our lives. And will keep doing it as long as we are alive. The question is, are we conscious of that? What kind of music are we allowing to shape us and to where is taking us? No matter what’s your battle, keep fighting it, keep listening that song that helps you wake up every morning. The world without music would be a very sad place. Enjoy your little successes and keep pushing, and remember what RuPaul says: “We all are born naked, the rest is drag”