RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs The World has brought a global group of glamazons together to battle it out across the pond, and Arantza Castilla-La Mancha is one of the queens from the Drag Race España to participate with queens, as she said, “some of the best queens in the entire world”. While her run has ended, she has promptly found a place in the hearts of the global Drag Race fandom. I caught up with this beloved bombshell to dish on her latest Drag Race experience, what it was like meeting and becoming friends with queens that she revered, and what it was like revealing her most honest self to the Drag Race fandom.
Michael Cook: You are a contestant of firsts on RuPaul’s Drag Race; you are the first Drag Race España contestant to be judged by RuPaul & the first España queen to walk into the werkroom. What is it like to be a queen with so many unique experiences?
Arantxa Castilla-La Mancha: I try not to think about it because anxiety makes me puke! It is insane when I think about the fact that so many people have faith in me. That they chose me to be the first one to walk into the werkroom, the first Spanish queen to go into UK vs The World, it’s insane!
MC: What was it like to be part of Season 2 of UK vs. The World with dynamic and renewed performers from all over the globe?
ACLM: First of all, being back on Drag Race is an entire thing on its own, but being back on Drag Race on UK vs The World, competing with probably some of the best queens in the entire world? I mean I have probably had some of these queens on my mood board for years; now I am competing with them, and we are friends sharing lunch behind the cameras and we are having fun; I am a kid at Disneyland!
MC: Every time a fellow competitor walked in, you were completely and totally gagged. Who was the performer the you were absolutely gobsmacked the most to see?
ACLM: Well I walked in and Tia (Kofi) was already there. I was so excited to see her because for years we have been compared. People would say that Tia Kofi was the Arantxa from the UK and I am the Tia Kofi from Spain. We had talked about it and said that we could not wait to work together and people that knew both of us had said that we would be good friends when we met each other. I saw her and we just exchanged two words and it was like “friends”! I was also so happy to see Mayhem Miller, I mean come on; that’s a legend!
MC: I try to avoid comparisons across franchises, but I do have to say, you remind me a great deal of Adore Delano. It may have to do with the fact that you are a vital part of the UK vs The World cast, but you are also a fan of both the franchise itself and your fellow competitors.
ACLM: That is one of the best compliments you could ever give me! I am such a fan, really…thank you!
I always felt this way, when I went in last time and this time for Drag Race, it was a a dream come true. I thought a lot of people would be very competitive, very stressed out, and I just wanted to have fun. This is my favorite show in the world and I get to be a part of it; so I am going to enjoy it.
MC: What was it like being part of the international Drag Race family and being judged by RuPaul for the first time on UK vs the World?
ACLM: For us international queens, we don’t have RuPaul as the host, so it’s almost like we’re not quite sisters, we’re distant cousins to the other queens (laughs). We see each other once in a while at Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s like were’e in a separate world here in Spain, we’re happy with Supremme de Luxe (Drag Race España host)and then you literally get in front of RuPaul and its like “Wow-this shit is real now”! Now I am a Ru Girl, its crazy!
MC: From you perspective, how has drag change in the country of Spain changed and shifted since Drag Race España premiered?
ACLM: I got the chance to be on the first season of Drag Race España so I got to see it from the beginning. And let me tell you, it has done things for drag in Spain that I didnt think ever would be done. Like four years ago, it was the first season of Drag Race España There were about fifty drag queens in Spain and we just moved around, maybe more, but I knew about twenty to thirty of them and I worked all through Madrid.
In the moment that Drag Race got on tv for us, it meant that drag could finally be pulled out of the darkness, the clubs, the three am shifts. Now it is insane, because even drag queens who have not been on Drag Race you get them doing ads, doing promos, it is crazy. A lot of people in Spain can now do drag and make a living from it. It has changed everything.
MC: UK vs The World is always so interesting, because they bring their own perspective from their areas of the actual world into the competition. What do you think your high and low is from the whole experience is?
Arxana: Actually I have to say that my high, my rose, would be the end of the first day of filming. On the first day, we started filming at 8am in the morning and met each other. That night when we took our drag off, had dinner and prepared to go back to the hotel, by that point we were a family. In the span of eight to ten hours, we were a family, we were sisters, we were helping each other and we were happy to be with each other. Im the kind of person that loves community and friendship and I think that the love that comes from a friend goes before anything; so that really touched me. My thorn from the experience was not being able to do an acting challenge-again! I swear to God, I am a good actress, please call me!
MC: What was it like for you to have the opportunity to talk about your trans experience and your journey on international television? Is it something you planned on discussing?
Arxana: I didn’t even think about it. It’s part of who I am and I will never want hide something about me. We are on Drag Race, it’s a reality television show, and I am going to talk about my life; of course I am going to talk about the fact that am a trans woman, that I am here because of Drag Race. Had I not been on the first season, I probably would have taken so much longer to start my process because I probably would not have the resources that I have thanks to Drag Race.
I am very thankful for the experience and for the time to be in front of the camera so I can say “Hey I am trans woman, this is who we are”. I also think that people saw me at that point when we were filming, I was only at six months on hormone replacement therapy; thats a baby trans! Now I see her and think “That’s such a baby”! I actually think that’s such a beautiful thing that people get to see not just a fully realized trans woman, whatever that means, but also get to see different parts, phases, and variations of what it means to be a trans woman.
MC: You have the world at your feet and a brand new legion of fans outside of Spain. What do you think you want to do with this newfound fame?
Ar: I am very excited, I have been working on a lot of projects for two or three years now and they all got pushed back for various reasons; they all seemed to come out this year which is great. I have been working on music for years now, I have been working on a book for years which will probably come out this year. My favorite project that am working on is a very special project with my Spanish sister Choriza May that is going to come out in two or three weeks. So stay tuned for that!
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