1991-05-14 · Bell, California, U.S. · Other
Valentina Xunaxi Leyva (born May 14, 1991), better known mononymously as Valentina, is an American drag performer, actress, television personality and singer who came to international fame 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 co-hosted season one of Drag Race México alongside Lolita Banana.
Early life
Valentina was born in Bell, California, to Mexican parents and grew up Catholic. She began working as a drag queen around ten months before filming RuPaul's Drag Race, although she 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.
Dragula
In 2015, Valentina won an early club version of the Boulet Brothers's Dragula contest, a precursor of the television show.
Rupaul's Drag Race (Season 9)
Announcement
On February 2, 2017, Valentina was announced as one of fourteen contestants competing for the ninth season of RuPaul's Drag Race.
"Oh. My. Gaga." Season 9 Episode 1
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 plays 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.
"She Done Already Done Brought It On" Season 9 Episode 2
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.
"Reality Stars: The Musical" Season 9 Episode 5
During the "Faux Fur Realness" runway from the 5th episode of season 9, "Reality Stars: The Musical", Valentina channeled Mexican actress María Félix, wearing a snakeskin dress and a gold serpent necklace. Maria Felix was an actress in the 1940s 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 II. 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.
"Snatch Game" Season 9 Episode 6
During Season 9 Episode 6, "Snatch Game", Valentina impersonated Ariadna Gutiérrez, Miss Colombia 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.
"Your Pilot's on Fire" Season 9 Episode 9
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 bullfighter who uses art, dance, and movement to entrance the bull and gain the upper hand against it in the ring. Matador 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 are 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 a cape with embroidered multicolored flowers to imitate the matador.
Elimination
Valentina was eliminated in episode nine to Nina Bo'nina Brown after infamously losing a lip-sync 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 that 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 her elimination sparked some controversy online as she was popular with fans. She was later voted "Miss Congeniality" by the viewers of the show, but was mockingly dubbed "Fan Favorite" by her castmates, who believed she was unsuitable for the title.
Valentina Post-Season 9
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 with ties to Latin culture. During the season 10 finale, Valentina appeared via a pre-recorded video message to crown her successor for the Miss Congeniality title, Monét X Change.
Outside of Drag Race, Valentina appeared in the sixth episode of the twenty-fourth season of America's Next Top Model, in a photo shoot challenge with fellow Drag Race alumni Manila Luzon and Katya. She played Judy Reyes's character Quiet Ann in a season-one recap of Claws. In 2017, she was the host of her own WOWPresents internet show, La Vida De Valentina, which ran for seven episodes.
RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars (Season 4)
Announcement
On November 9, 2018, Valentina was announced as a contestant on the upcoming fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars, a spin-off of the regular Drag Race series which features returning contestants from past seasons competing for $100,000 to $250,000, a crown and scepter, and a place in the Drag Race: Hall of Fame.
"Super Girl Groups, Henny" Season 4 Episode 2
Valentina performed a verse to the song "Don't Funk It Up" dressed as Selena Quintanilla-Perez. Selena was a Mexican-American pop star who rose to fame in the 1980s and 1990s, singing in both English and Spanish, gaining recognition in both Mexico and the US. Valentina's look was inspired by Selena's performance at the Houston Astrodome Livestock Show & Rodeo in 1995, her last televised performance of Tejano music before being fatally shot. Valentina won the Maxi-Challenge that episode along with Monét X Change, and the pair lip-synced to the song "Into You" by Ariana Grande, in which Valentina won the lip-sync and episode, redeeming herself from her "Greedy" lip-sync in season 9 of Drag Race.
"LalaPaRUza" Season 4 Episode 6
Valentina wore another Selena-inspired outfit on All Stars Season 4 Episode 6, "LalaPaRUza", in which she wore a sparkly maroon bodysuit with matching boots, where she lip-synced to the RuPaul song "Kitty Girl" winning against Farrah Moan.
"Queen of Clubs" Season 4 Episode 7 and Elimination
After being in the bottom three times and only scoring one win, Valentina was…