The owner of the Babar Hair Salon in Mérida, trained at the School of Arts. He has been the winner of numerous national titles for his characterization as Priscilla Osiris, in the Drag Queen Gala of the Carnival of the Eagles, the Carnival of Cartagena and the Roman Carnival of Mérida.
Do you think there is progress or regression with respect to LGTBIphobia?
I really think we are going backwards. We are losing rights that we have earned with sweat and blood. This could be a metaphor, but in many cases it is a fact.
Do you think that today a homosexual person does not have to go through a process as complicated as before or that there are still barriers in accepting one’s own and others’ sexuality?
Nowadays I think that in most cases it is much simpler, both in personal and social sexual acceptance. However, there are still people who have a very hard time, most of the time, because of their families.
Do you think this process was experienced differently in the towns than in the cities?
Is it still happening? What was your personal experience?
Personally, I think it was and still is much harder in a town, since in a city you live more anonymously.
I believe that it continues to happen both in towns and cities, basically because of the education that children receive from a young age. The thanks and teasing that elders make imply that children live these comments normally until they include them in their daily lives.
My personal experience living in La Zarza has been generally positive, I would like to think that because of my strong character and personality. However, it is difficult to forget some negative moments suffered in my childhood, such as the insults in the schoolyard shouting “faggot.” Now it is over, but I would like to address the people who did it and tell them: Today the majority of you will be parents, take good care of your children, educate them in values, so that they do not suffer discrimination for being the way they are, or for feeling different. , nor make the rest suffer.
Would you say that your sexual orientation is an aspect that defines you as a person?
Your actions define you, not your sexual condition. My sexual orientation does not make me who I am, nor does it define my personality.
Regarding the drag world, what attracted you and continues to attract you to it?
What attracted me most and continues to attract me most about the drag world is the artistic part. It’s pure creativity: costumes, makeup, set design, choreography, acting… I think being drag encompasses all existing artistic fields.
What background does the drag world hide that is not taken into account from the outside?
The drag world is a world that, although not perceived with the naked eye, is linked to art. Maybe there are people who don’t see it that way and simply see someone dressed up, but when you go out on stage there is a lot of artistic work behind it. You transmit to the audience feelings that may have been unknown to them until that moment.
Do you consider the celebration of Pride Day necessary? What does this celebration mean to you?
I consider it very necessary. The day we achieve all the rights that as human beings we should have, that we do not suffer discrimination in schools and jobs, and that we are not attacked for being who we are, then that day will not be necessary to celebrate.
For me it is a continuous fight 365 days a year, not just once, you have to be at the forefront daily.
The video he made for Pride Day and which was published on @disfrutalazarza, mentions that education is not only in schools, but also in homes. Do you think that sex-affective education should fall mainly on families? Shouldn’t schools and institutes also have an important role in this matter?
Education in the first place falls on the family, they are the ones who have to instill values in the little ones so that when they get to school they can continue that education. If the foundations are not built at home, the education that they try to instill in them at school will be of no use, it will not penetrate them. Of course it will serve to reinforce and is necessary, but not essential.
What do you think about allowing political parties, with such a broad public speaker, to promulgate messages of hate and non-acceptance towards the LGTBIQ+ collective?
Is everything fair in freedom of expression?
I find it retrograde, shameful and I consider it illegal, it is a hate crime. Freedom of expression only has one limit, and that is the fact of harming someone with
words. What these political parties do cannot be called freedom of expression but rather promoting hatred towards people.
What do you think about the fight that now confronts a large LGTBIQ+ sector with the feminist movement? What would be the formula for these two sectors of the population to fight together and not against each other?
If we all fought together, we would win together. Groups of people affected by any discrimination must support each other and fight for a common good.
There is no magic formula, we need dialogue, finding what unites us and not what separates us, looking for middle points that do not affect either movement.
Do you consider that La Zarza is a town open to diversity? It has always been like this? What initiatives do you think are necessary for this opening to advance and not retreat?
Yes, it makes my soul happy to go to my town and see how everyone treats me, and the love I receive. That is why I focus so much on education from a young age, because when we are adults we realize the damage we could have done to other people, and it is a damage that we could have avoided.
For me it has not always been like this, but the important thing is to forgive and fight so that no one else suffers because of their sexual or gender condition. And the truth is that today, I can’t do anything other than thank the entire town of La Zarza for the unconditional support they have given me both in my business and in the drag world. I am proud to be a Zarceño. Also to my family who has supported me from the beginning in everything I have done, and especially to my parents who have always accepted me as I am.
As an initiative, I consider important everything that involves making everyone aware that this is not an illness, that it is not something that is chosen. We don’t know what each person has to go through to become who they really are. You have to be happy for the happiness of others and let each person live their life as they want.
Participate in the fight for non-discrimination against the LGTBIQ+ group. What mark would you like to leave on the world with your personal struggle in this area?
I would like to contribute to ensuring that tomorrow there is no type of gender discrimination. I think that with drag shows a lot of visibility is given to the group and many behaviors that were previously demonized are normalized, and with this I try to contribute my grain of sand. I feel very satisfied seeing the children’s excited faces every time I go on stage. In the future, these children will have it in their hands to make the group normalize and no one is strange for being who they are.