Valentina

Maria Felix was an actress in the 1940's who started her career on film in Mexico before continuing her career in Europe.

Maria embodied the femininity and sexual desire that was prioritized in Mexican film in the period of World War 2.

She is also a symbol of Mexican culture worldwide.

The luxury jewelry brand Cartier created a serpent necklace in 1968 with about 2,500 diamonds for Felix.

Valentina wore a replica of this necklace on the runway in honor of the actress.

James Andrew Leyva (born May 14, 1991), better known by the stage name Valentina, is an American drag performer, actor, television personality and singer who came to international attention as a contestant on the ninth season of RuPaul's Drag Race and the fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars.

In 2023, she was announced as the host of Drag Race México alongside Lolita Banana.

Valentina was born in Bell, California to Mexican parents, and began working as a professional drag queen around ten months before filming RuPaul's Drag Race, although they already had a background in fashion and the performing arts.

Leyva chose to go by "Valentina" in drag after the hot sauce of the same name.

Valentina is known for using her drag as a way to represent Latin American culture on stage and make drag more accepted in Latin American culture.

In 2015, Valentina won an early club version of the Boulet Brothers' Dragula" contest, a precursor of the television show.

During Season 9 Episode 6, "Snatch Game", Valentina impersonated Ariadna Gutierrez, Miss Columbia of 2015.

Ariadna was mistakenly crowned Miss Universe that year by Steve Harvey, who later crowned Pia Wurtzbach, who represented the Philippines.

She portrayed Gutierrez as traumatized by the Miss Universe Scandal, poking fun at her being a runner-up.

During Season 9 Episode 9, "Your Pilot's on Fire", Valentina wore a Red Matador costume, channeling her hispanic heritage during the "Club Kid Couture" runway.

A matador is a bull fighter that uses art, dance, and movement to entrance the bull and gain the upper hand against it in the ring.

The bull fighter's costumes offer no protection from the bulls and are known as a "Suit of Lights" in Hispanic culture.

The redness of the cape and movement is meant to distract the bull long enough for the Matador to take a sword and attack the bull with it.

Valentina's outfit had many Hispanic elements to it, such as the red roses all over her costume and headpiece, a montera hat, and cape with embroidered multicolored flowers to imitate the Matador.

The matador by its nature is often exposed to danger, and some are fatally wounded by bulls during their performances.

Valentina was eliminated in episode nine to Nina Bo'nina Brown after infamously losing a lipsync battle to "Greedy" by Ariana Grande.

She was reluctant to take off a mask covering her mouth as she did not know the lyrics to the song in a moment which went viral across social media while wearing a red costume symbolizing a matador who had been defeated by a bull.

She placed seventh overall, and their elimination sparked some controversy online as she was popular with fans.

She was later voted as "Miss Congeniality" by the viewers of the show, but was mockingly dubbed "Fan Favorite" by her castmates, due to their view that she was unsuitable for a congenial title.

During the Season 9, "Whatcha Packin'?", Hosted by Michelle Visage, Valentina explains that she references old Mexican cinema and telenovelas.

She attributes this to being very in touch with her Hispanic roots and heritage.

She shows this love of hispanic culture through florals, color choices, and fabrics that have ties to Latin culture.

On February 2, 2017, Valentina was announced as one of fourteen contestants competing for the ninth season of RuPaul's Drag Race.

In the First Episode of the season, "Oh. My. Gaga.", Valentina introduced herself to the Rupaul's Drag Race fandom wearing a red dress, red and gold jewelry and a wig with two large red roses in it.

During the "Miss Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve, and Talent Pageant" in the Hometown runway portion in the first episode of the season, Valentina paid tribute to her Mexican heritage by wearing a Mariachi inspired leotard with chaps and a sombrero with gold embellishments on the entire outfit.

The Mariachi is significant in Mexican culture as a symbol of Mexican Nationalism and tradition.

Mariachi is composed of a 12-person band that play a variety of string and some brass music and an accordion.

A Mariachi band is usually composed of men, so Valentina's choice to portray herself as a female Mariachi is not as widely portrayed in Mexican Nationalist Culture.

As well as being a band, Mariachi is a mythic symbol of culture in Mexico and the Southwest United States.

During the second episode of the Ninth season, "She Done Already Done Brought It On", Valentina was seen praying to a Virgin of Guadalupe candle before the Cheerleading Maxi-challenge that episode.

The Virgin of Guadalupe is a symbol of the merging of Mexican and Native American cultures.

She is an important symbol of the culture in Mexican and Mexican-American communities and within the Catholic church.

For the "White Party Realness" runway that episode, Valentina wore a white floral wedding gown inspired by her mother, stating she was the most beautiful bride in her village in Mexico.

She won that episode's Maxi-Challenge wearing her hair in a bun, topped with flowers, and bouquet in her hands, embodying classic Mexican cultural fashion.

During the "Faux Fur Realness" runway from the 5th episode of season 9, "Reality Stars: The Musical", Valentina channeled Mexican actress Maria Felix, wearing a snakeskin dress and a gold serpent necklace.