Ms. Dynamites is living like a queen in defiance of fear and hatred Francis Yutrago describes his drag performances as an act of activism against the growing harm and discrimination directed toward LGBTQ people

 by Alanna Smith Globe and Mail

Gloria Gonzaga clapped her hands to the beat of the 1980s dance hit It’s Raining Men as she watched her son, his gold-sequinned outfit glinting in the stage lights, lip-sync the lyrics. After Ms. Dynamites cartwheeled into the splits, curls from her blonde wig bouncing across her face, Ms. Gonzaga, smiling broadly, handed her son $5, following the lead of others in the crowd. It was her first time watching him perform as his drag persona, Francheska Dynamites.

After the show, while Ms. Dynamites shed her glitz and glam, Ms. Gonzaga and her older son, Nico, shared how happy they were to see Francheska – Francis Yutrago to them – in the spotlight. “There are a lot of people who love and support him and I am happy because my son is beautiful,” said Ms. Gonzaga in Tagalog, translated by Mr. Yutrago.

In 2010, the year Mr. Yutrago moved to Alberta from the Philippines, he wasn’t publicly out as gay. Eventually, a friend jokingly suggested he should try drag. He did, and it changed his life: “It was my way of coming out.”

Ms. Dynamites is now well-known across the province, not only for her polished routines and handmade ensembles but for her advocacy for the transgender and queer community. Mr. Yutrago describes his performances as an act of defiance against the growing harm and discrimination directed toward LGBTQ people.

“I didn’t realize, at first, that what I’m doing is an act of activism. I didn’t realize that what I’m doing is an act of representation. I was just being myself,” he said. “But now I’m starting to feel badass, powerful and fierce. If they know you’re not scared, I don’t think they will touch you. They’ll be scared because they’re like ‘this person can’t be broken down.’”

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Yutrago at his home in Stirling, Alberta with his mom, Gloria Gonzaga.LEAH HENNEL/The Globe and Mail

Drag events, across North America, have become fodder for conservative outrage.

Last August, at a Pride event in Fort Macleod, Alta. where Ms. Dynamites performed, two youths were arrested after reports of a smoke bomb being deployed. At a drag storytime event last June in Taber, a small community east of Lethbridge, Ms. Dynamites read as dozens of people protested outside, claiming the event was harmful to children.

That antagonism toward the LGBTQ community seemingly came to a head in the province when, two weeks ago, Premier Danielle Smith unveiled an aggressive policy package aimed at transgender youth that seeks to restrict access to gender-affirming care, and followed the lead of Saskatchewan and New Brunswick by proposing a parental disclosure policy for students who want to go by different pronouns or names at school.

Mr. Yutrago said initially opposition to drag performers felt as if it “came out of nowhere,” but now considers it a symptom of the pandemic, which stoked fear and hatred in some people, who shifted these intense feelings toward the drag community once vaccine mandates were dropped. It emboldened them, he said, but that doesn’t mean they’re worth his attention.

“I don’t have time to think about the haters,” he said, while acknowledging it’s not possible for every performer to do the same, but that he can because of the love and support from his family and friends.

His long-term partner, Cody Kapcsos, said Mr. Yutrago’s self-confidence has grown immeasurably since they met 11 years ago, in strong part because of performing in drag. With his dance background, he started out helping local drag queens in southern Alberta choreograph their routines before trying it himself. Deonie Hudson, who was among the first to encourage Mr. Yutrago to step on stage and is lovingly known as his “stage mom,” said it’s remarkable to see how far he’s has come, from nervously lip-synching on stage to “just embodying Mariah Carey.”

“There’s no drag queen that works harder than Francheska,” said Ms. Hudson. “It’s been incredible to watch and to be so proud in those moments of protests, to just watch her hold her head up high, not only as a queer person, not only as a drag performer, but also as an immigrant who had worked numerous jobs to take care of their family.”

Mr. Yutrago works primarily as a caregiver to support his family back home in the Philippines while also pursuing stardom as a self-described Prairie queen, sometimes sewing new outfits – such as a pink bridal cape with tufted sleeves made from a shower curtain – in the loft of a barn he calls his “drag room.” He also spends many hours raising money for other Filipino immigrants to Canada and organizing events for Alberta’s transgender community.

Although he lives in the historically Mormon village of Stirling in Southern Alberta with Mr. Kapcsos and his family, Mr. Yutrago shakes off the hardships of living in a rural, conservative area. Mr. Kapcsos said he has seen progress compared to 10 years ago. “I would have never thought City Hall would be lighting up for Pride,” he said.

What it comes down to is embracing your identity and being resilient in the face of adversity, whether in your small-town home or on a big city stage, said Mr. Yutrago.

“I’m living my life, feeling like a diva – a queen.”

Drag queen Francheska Dynamites (Francis Yutrago), immigrated to Canada from the Philippines under the live-in caregiver program in 2010.Leah Hennel/The Globe and Mail