Fans, drag queens remember Paquita la del Barrio

Los Angeles Times

21-02-2025

Periodically, the Latinx Files will feature a guest writer. This week, we've asked De Los contributing columnist Alex Zaragoza to fill in. If you have not subscribed to our weekly newsletter, you can do so here.
The world has lost its greatest soldier against machistas, malagradecidos and inútiles.
Música Mexicana legend Paquita la del Barrio died in her home in Veracruz, Mexico, announced in a heartfelt statement released via her official Instagram page on Feb. 17. She was 77.
'A unique and inimitable artist who leaves an indelible mark in the hearts of all those who knew her and enjoyed her music … Rest in peace,' the statement reads. 'Your music and legacy will live on forever in our hearts.'
Born Francisca Viveros Barradas in 1947 in Alto Lucero, Veracruz, Paquita became an icon across Latin America — particularly in her native Mexico — with anthemic rancheras and boleros delivered with an impassioned venom that became her trademark, along with her electric blond coif and darkened chin mole. She became a beacon to women who have been wronged, telling it like it was with ferocity.
With 'Rata de Dos Patas,' she gifted scorned women the ultimate spite jam to be sung loudly, lately and with breath thickened by tequila. On 'Tres Veces te Engañe,' she confronts a useless partner with a guttural '¿Me estás oyendo, inútil? ' and lets him know he's deserving to be cheated on. It's no wonder why her music was a constant in the kitchens of generations of women tired of cleaning up after ungrateful men.
But it's not just señoras who felt a kinship with Paquita. Drag queens and Latinx celebrity impersonators have long brought their version of the late singer to the stage, mimicking her slow, creaky walk, elegant posture and rage-filled vocal delivery with affection.
'If you do somebody like Paquita, you have to understand her mannerisms and her way of standing there commanding a stage,' explained drag queen Torta Jugosa, who performs as Paquita at the Long Beach location of the famed drag restaurant Hamburger Mary's. She hosts a drag show called Mujeres Chingonas, where she and other queens honor Latinx divas like Paquita, Jenni Rivera and Selena. 'And the mole is a staple. When you think of Paquita, you think of the mole.'
'For me, impersonating Paquita, you have to get yourself in that position mentally, like 'I'm heartbroken. I just want to unleash on someone,'' added Carlos Friel, who performs as Carla and has been doing Paquita drag in L.A. for the last year. 'It's kind of limited because she didn't dance. There was not a lot of choreo. You have to perform with your face, with your hands, and you have to really feel the song. You have to believe it. 'I hate you right now, you are the one who hurt me.''
Despite Paquita's death, the impersonators and drag queens I spoke to doubled down on their commitment to honor her moves, music and, of course, the mole, keeping her alive for fans and introducing her for generations to come.
'I received a lot of calls the day that she died, sending me condolences as if she were my family,' said Rubén Cerros, a professional imitator of 14 years who is widely considered one of the best Paquita la del Barrio impersonators in the industry, having shown off his talent on the Colombian reality competition series 'Yo Me Llamo,' winning the grand prize in 2012.
'In reality, I did see her as family because I got to meet her personally,' he added. 'Without Paquita, without having imitated her, I wouldn't have been known to so many people. I've always done my imitation with respect to the lady and, because of that, her death has already changed life for me with more work and more blessings.'
In body and scowl, Paquita radiated like the Disney villain Ursula — a character also inspired by a drag queen, famed actor and performer Divine — but in spirit and heart was far from the sea-dwelling witch who stole an innocent mermaid's voice. Quite the opposite, actually. For many women, particularly those who have been mistreated and disrespected by the men in their lives, Paquita gave them a voice to dress down a man who deserved their righteous ire. That's something important impersonators and drag queens have always wanted to channel.
'She wasn't afraid at all,' Jugosa said. 'With Paquita, she represented a lot of women and gave courage to them. Like, you can be who you want to be without having to have a man by your side. You can, as they say, wear the pants in the relationship. She was an advocate to women who didn't have a voice and gave courage to them to speak up and live their own lives the way they want to.'
It's that fearlessness and unshakable sense of self that is inspirational to so many and now in death, bringing Paquita la del Barrio to life carries more weight.
'Now you have to honor her legacy,' said Friel. 'If you are performing Paquita now, you have to bring the best memories of her to people.'
Years back, I went to a queer bar in Tijuana with my mom and her friend, Richi, a gay santero who after a reading in my mom's kitchen insisted we take in a drag show. Amid a thick cloud of cigarette smoke, we knocked back a cold Pacifico and watched the stage light up as a Paquita la del Barrio drag queen stepped onto the stage. She moved in her same slow, measured manner, as if weighed down by the aches of dealing with a-holes for too damn long. But behind the arthritic movements was the same fierceness emblematic of Paquita. If there were any rats in that room — four-legged or two — they didn't stand a chance.
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