Drag in Distrito Federal, Mexico City | Talking About Everything

Gender performance is not a uniquely American experience, although it has certainly entered into the mainstream of American popular culture within the past several years. Drag and gender performance are instead global phenomena, which occur across the globe in a variety of different forms. These pictures were taken at the annual LGBTTTI Pride Parade in Distrito Federal, Mexico, known to Americans as Mexico City, on June 26, 2016. These photos show the varied forms which gender performance can take in Mexico, highlighting both the similarities and differences between Mexican and American styles of gender performance. These photos also highlight the varied subjects that are interrogated through gender performance–from gender, to species, to culture, to indigenous versus colonizer narratives, and everything in between.

All photos by Guillermo Angulo, Distrito Federal, 26 June 2016.

Guillermo maybe coming to NYC. He is looking for folks who want to talk about photography.

Two participants at Mexico City's Pride parade. One wears white and is made up to look like a fawn; the other dons all black and facial spikes. — Drag and gender performance in Mexico cover just as varied themes as they do in the States, while reflecting a different set of cultural values.

Two individuals each wearing Rolling Stones t-shirts. One wears short hair and black clothes, while the other wears a denim outfit with a short skirt and long blond wig. — Gender performance isn’t always about being the biggest spectacle. Here, two artists don more pedestrian looks celebrating their love of rock and roll.

An individual wearing a black face mask with black leather dog ears, a black leather snout, and a spiked collar. — Gender performance can be applied even to leather and BDSM outfits. Here, a pup plays with the idea of species by dragging a dog.

A drag performer dons clownish make-up and a dress that appears to be made out of the pages of books. — This performer’s outfit tells a visual story, incorporating the colors of the Mexican flag as well as book pages, perhaps representing written history.

A particpant in the Mexico City Pride parade wears a colorful leather vest sporting cultural patterns and holds a rainbow flag. — Gender performance is not always about dragging a gender separate from one’s own. Gender performance encompasses pride in oneself and one’s culture.

A beautiful drag queen in a purple dress, crystal crown, and pink sash reading "Mundo Mexico XXL 2016." — Pageant culture is not only a part of drag culture in the US, but also in Mexico. Here is Mundo Mexico XXL 2016.

An individual wearing a heavy fur coat, a light colored dress, a short blond bob and with a red cell phone to their ear. — Even class is a powerful social concept that gender performers play with. Here, an artist drags themselves as a powerful and rich executive woman–perhaps dragging nationality and culture in the process as well.

A gender artist wearing bright and exaggerated make-up, a large white wig, and a low-cut, shiny pink dress with three large yellow polka dots. — Gender performance often brings concepts of gender to their extremes. Here, an artist shows some of those extremes in their choice of exaggerated make-up and clearly artificial hair, commenting on the artifice of beauty and of gender.

A gender performer in a long, curly blond wig wearing a red bikini with several layers of beads draped over them. — On the other end, the extremes of gender can be played with to fit into conventional beauty standards in gender performance. Here, an artist appeals to more conventional conceptions of beauty at the Mexico City Pride parade.

A gender artist dressed in a red one-piece with a flowing robe, red feathers, and several different playing cards attached. — Gender performance can also encapsulate popular culture, as noted here by this artist’s dragging of the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland.

An individual wearing black hair in an updo fastened with colorful flowers, a shoulderless white top, and a black, green, and pink patterned skirt. — Culture, heritage, and tradition also inform drag and gender performance. Here, a gender artist wears a more traditional Tabasco-style dress, showing their pride in their heritage.

A candid shot of an individual wearing large hair tied back in a long headbnad, a denim button-down, and denim overalls. — Gender artistry can also include representations of femininity, masculinity, androgyny, or any combination thereof in relation to specific periods of time. Here, an artist performs a specific type of femininity from the late 70s, when disco was popular in Mexico.

Two gender performers in white wedding gowns, standing back to back, looking near the camera while holding pale yellow roses. One wears a think brown beard and the other is cleanshaven. — Here, two attendees play with femininity by taking what is perhaps the most feminine ritual in mainstream Mexican culture–the bridal ceremony–and injecting masculinity into it. Bearded gender artists are becoming increasingly visible.

A gender artist wearing a bikini top designed to resemble a purple butterfly, a black and white jacket, and holding a purple cloth. — Here, more fantasy- and animal-inspired artistry is displayed.

An individual wearing a bright pink dress with large, flowing purple wings on and a yellow crown-like headpiece smiles at the camera. — Fantasy is a huge part of gender artistry in many ways. Here, a performer blends the idea of the fantastical fairy with cultural conceptions of femininity by choosing bright and traditionally feminine colors.

Two indiviuals in pedestrian clothing, one of whom blows a kiss to the camera. One wears a cheetah-print top and the other wears a black-and-white floral top. — Gender artistry can also be a friend or family affair.

An individual smiling slightly while looking off camera, wearing long black hair and minimal make-up, while holding a rainbow flag. — Age is never a limiting factor for gender performance.

Two individuals looking at the camera while facing each other. One wears big curly black hair and heavy make-up, including many facial rhinestones, while the other wears feathered brown hair and large earrings with minimal make-up. — This image encapsulates one of the most basic truths about gender performance: whether it is extravagant or simple, it always can have a message.

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