• Log in
    Out.comFashionEntertainmentDesignLifestyleTravel & NightlifeOut ExclusivesNewsPrintWeddingsVideo
    ADVOCATEPrideOut TravelerPLUSADVOCATE CHANNEL
    Email NewsletterSubscribeSubscriber Services
    CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
    © 2023 Pride Publishing Inc.
    All Rights reserved
    Out MagazineOut Magazine
    Scroll To Top

    By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.

    Accept

    10 Photos of Mexico City Drag Queens You Need to See

    Donald Padgett
    | 08/24/20

    10 Photos of Mexico City Drag Queens You Need to See

    Machismo Metamorphosis

    While inverting the cultural concept of Latino machismo was not the stated goal of Mexican photographer Pedro Lujan Vales in his most recent project focusing on drag queens, it wasn't entirely unintentional either.

    "It was not my main objective to upend machismo, but when you do a project like this, the challenging part comes with it whether it is your intention or not," Lujan says. "On the other hand, doing this project gives me the opportunity to show that not all Mexicans are 'machos' and close-minded."

    His latest work featuring some of Mexico's most popular queens tosses aside toxic masculinity along with gender-normative expressions, he says, to reveal how "every one of us is a whole fascinating universe."

    Lujan had been captivated by the drag scene for years before beginning this project in 2019. "But this is not just a drag project--the drag is part of it," he says. "I want to express how it is to be yourself, including the stuff we like about ourselves and the things we don't."

    After a stint in New York City (where he studied at the International Center of Photography and the Fashion Institute of Technology), Lujan returned to his native Mexico where he photographs well-known drag queens from around the country.

    "They are fabulous, amazing!" Lujan gushes, telling how they "got it perfectly" after he explained his vision for the project. "They felt totally free to express their personality, which was also the idea."

    Local drag legends like Little Miss Salma, Luna Lasam, Barbara Durango, and others posed in a series of pictures that challenge gender norms and traditional concepts of masculinity and femininity. The imagery is bright and seductive but also jarring. In one, Lujan seamlessly adds a second head to the body of a model, causing the viewer to instinctually contrast the imagery confronting them with preconceptions of what constitutes body and gender.

    "I like to show emotions by telling surprising stories, and give a sharp twist or a striking punch," declares the 43-year-old gay artist.

    Lujan attended the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City and also received training in photography from Centro de Arte Fotografco, Centrol Cultural El Nigromante Bellas Artes, and Academia de Artes Visuales.

    He's generally inspired by pop culture--music, movies, television, fashion, even magazines. But there's nothing conformist about his work (or his models). Hunky males with chiseled physiques appear just as comfortable wearing a pleated skirt as they do a suit and tie. Oftentimes it is impossible to distinguish between genders, and perhaps that is the point. Lujan's work is upending the existing concepts of masculinity, inserting instead more expansive, inclusive, and intersectional definitions.

    "Everyone is unique!" the award-winning photographer insists. "And what better way to say this [to the world] than through a drag queen?"

    Aurora Wonders

    Aurora WondersAurora Wonders

    @aurorawonders

    Barbara Durango

    Barbara Durango

    @barbara_durango

    Mad Fork

    Mad Fork

    @madison.fork

    Yayoi Bowery

    Yayoi Bowery

    @yayoibowery

    Androx Bondage

    Androx Bondage

    @androx.bondage

    Little Miss Salma

    Little Miss Salma

    @littlemisssalma

    Pixie Pixie

    Pixie Pixie

    @pixie.pixie_

    Luna Lansman

    Luna Lansman

    @lunalansman

    Nina de la Fuente

    Nina de la Fuente

    @ninade_lafuente

    Latest Stories

    Anthony Bowens
    Fashion
    Badge
    gallery

    Anthony Bowens Stars in Savage X Fenty's Sexy New Pride Collection

    13h
    Boomer Banks Reveals Which 'Drag Race' Queen He Hooked Up With (and How)
    sex
    Badge
    gallery

    Boomer Banks Reveals Which 'Drag Race' Queen He Hooked Up With (and How)

    14h
    Here's How Hollywood Reacted to the Loss of Tina Turner
    Celebs
    Badge
    gallery

    Here's How Hollywood Reacted to the Loss of Tina Turner

    May 25 2023 1:24 PM
    matt bomer and jonathan bailey
    Television
    Badge
    gallery

    Matt Bomer, Jonathan Bailey Look Historically Hot in 'Fellow Travelers'

    May 25 2023 1:10 PM
    LA Pride 2023 lineup
    Music
    Badge
    gallery

    LA Pride 2023 Announces Full Official Lineup of Performers

    May 25 2023 11:44 AM
    Yam Yam on Survivor 44
    Television
    Badge
    gallery

    Meet Yam Yam, 'Survivor's 1st Out Gay Winner of Color

    May 25 2023 11:11 AM
    Yasmin Finney; Kit Connor; Joe Locke
    Celebs
    Badge
    gallery

    Here's Where to Follow All the 'Heartstopper' Actors on Instagram

    May 24 2023 5:45 PM
    Drag Race Mexico
    Television
    Badge
    gallery

    Meet the Queens of 'Drag Race México' Season 1

    May 24 2023 2:00 PM
    joe locke and kit connor in heartstopper
    Television
    Badge
    gallery

    Here Are the 1st Images from 'Heartstopper' Season 2

    May 24 2023 11:45 AM
    Coach's New Pride Collection Is Taking Us to Fire Island
    Fashion
    Badge
    gallery

    Coach's New Pride Collection Is Taking Us to Fire Island

    May 24 2023 10:30 AM
    Kris Kelkar
    Television
    Badge
    gallery

    Meet Kris Kelkar, 'Swiping America's Sexy Gay Star

    May 23 2023 3:34 PM
    Lil Nas X; Brandon Flynn; Manu Rios
    Fashion
    Badge
    gallery

    25 Sexy Celebrity Calvin Klein Ads We'll Always Be Thirsty For

    May 23 2023 12:11 PM
    Manu Rios
    Celebs
    Badge
    gallery

    13 Hot Pics of Manu Ríos Looking Stunning on the Red Carpet

    May 23 2023 11:45 AM
    Watch Brandon Flynn Strip Down in Calvin Klein's Sexy New Pride Campaign
    Fashion
    Badge
    gallery

    Watch Brandon Flynn Strip Down in Calvin Klein's Sexy New Pride Campaign

    May 23 2023 10:02 AM
    billy porter and qaysean williams
    Fashion
    Badge
    gallery

    This Designer Recreated an Iconic Billy Porter Look for a Queer Teen’s Prom

    May 22 2023 2:59 PM
    nicholas galitzine
    Television
    Badge
    gallery

    Here's the First Look at Gay Monarchy Series 'Mary & George'

    May 19 2023 12:50 PM
    All Stars 8 Pit Crew
    Television
    Badge
    gallery

    'All Stars 8's Pit Crew Is Hotter Than Ever With New & OG Members

    May 19 2023 12:45 PM
    Jason Fernandez, Manu Rios, Jose Condessa
    Celebs
    Badge
    gallery

    Here's All the Hot Guys Starring in 'Strange Way of Life'

    May 19 2023 11:21 AM
    Ask a Scientist: Can I Take PrEP and Fiber at the Same Time?
    Health
    Badge
    gallery

    Ask a Scientist: Can I Take PrEP and Fiber at the Same Time?

    May 18 2023 5:45 PM
    Love Allways
    Television
    Badge
    gallery

    Everything to Know About 'Love Allways,' the New Pansexual Dating Series

    May 18 2023 1:48 PM