‘Drag Race: Mexico’ Episode 1 Recap: Werk Room, Piñatas & Christian Chávez

This is our weekly mini recap of Drag Race: Mexico by Lucas Villa. Sashay, shantay, your ultimate source for a bite-sized dive into each episode of the current season. Whether you’re a devoted fan craving more context or just someone needing to catch up, we’ve got you covered. Join us every week (here) as we touch on the looks, challenges, and touching moments. And spoilers, of course, from epic lip-sync battles to shocking eliminations. 

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The engines have officially started on Drag Race México! The series premiere of the Mexican franchise showcased the beauty and culture of the country through the art of drag. And Valentina and Lolita Banana made their debuts as hosts with special guest judge, RBD singer Christian Chávez.

All 11 drag queens from throughout Mexico sashayed into the Werk Room as episode 1 started up.

Among the colorful looks, tails, and moving pieces, the contestants singled out Matraka as the queen look that most embodied Mexican folklore. She walked in with a giant matraca toy, which is a noisemaker that’s popular in Mexico. In the Werk Room, the queens also found out that Pixie Pixie is Vermelha Noir’s drag mother. And Pixie Pixie revealed a previous fling with Gala Varo. Later on, Cristian Peralta revealed that she has a wife and a daughter that she is supporting through her work in drag, leading to our first touching moment of the season. 

Then Valentina made her entrance.

At first, Valentina came out by herself to welcome the queens to Drag Race México. She then revealed that Lolita Banana would be her co-host. When they came face-to-face, the two iconic queens playfully read each other like bitter rivals in a telenovela before sharing a big hug. They then announced the first mini-challenge, where the 11 queens were tasked with dressing up like piñatas. During the photo shoot, they were suspended in the air while lightly being hit by sticks from the Pit Crew. Margaret y Ya emerged victorious in the challenge. 

After Valentina and Lolita Banana made an iconic entrance, we got our first look at Christian Chávez, the openly gay singer in RBD. Valentina made references to his band’s classic hits “Sálvame” and “Sólo Quédate En Silencio” while talking with him. He was there to judge the main challenge “Mi Tierra,” in which the queens had to wear looks inspired by their hometowns. Cristian Peralta’s wowed with their Tlaquepaque jug-inspired look that transformed into a folkloric dress. Lolita Banana called her a “jarriperra” and Peralta won the challenge. 

Margaret Y Ya’s look inspired by the trash in Mexico City landed her in the bottom three. However, Miss Vallarta and Vermelha Noir had to lip sync for their lives to Belinda’s “En La Obscuridad.” Both queens were shown not knowing the words to the song. Valentina ultimately admonished them for the underwhelming lip sync, but gave both queens a second chance to continue in the competition, starting off the competition in an unexpected but welcome way. 

Drag Race México streams new episodes every Thursday on Wow Presents Plus. In the meantime, check out the teaser for episode 2 below!