María Edilia
{{Short description|Venezuelan drag performer}}
{{Infobox person
| name = María Edilia
| image = Maria Edilia drag race.jpg
| alt =
| caption = María Edilia in 2023
| birth_name = Edixon Felipe Calanche Varela
| birth_date =
| birth_place = Maracay, Venezuela
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality =
| other_names =
| occupation = Drag queen
| television = Drag Race España (season 3)
| years_active =
| known_for =
| notable_works =
| website = {{url|mariaedilia.com}}
}}
María Edilia is the stage name of Edixon Felipe Calanche Varela, a Venezuelan drag queen known for competing on the third season of Drag Race España.{{Cite web |date=2023-04-25 |title=Drag Race España star Maria Edilia on shocking elimination twist |url=https://www.gaytimes.co.uk/originals/drag-race-espana-maria-edilia-interview/ |access-date=2023-08-23 |website=Gay Times |language=en-GB |archive-date=2023-04-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429234916/https://www.gaytimes.co.uk/originals/drag-race-espana-maria-edilia-interview/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=2023-04-26 |title=María Edilia: «la Maritza Sayalero del transformismo venezolano» - Esbaratao |language=es-ES |work=Esbaratao |url=https://esbaratao.org/pop/maria-edilia-maritza-sayalero-transformismo-venezolano/ |access-date=2023-09-26 |archive-date=2023-06-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629082007/https://esbaratao.org/pop/maria-edilia-maritza-sayalero-transformismo-venezolano/ |url-status=live }}
Career
María Edilia's first exposure to drag culture was when she started attending drag shows. Also, at a young age, she met a former Eurovision winner, Dana International, who she greatly admired. In 2000, at 23 years old, María performed as a drag queen for the first time in a drag contest at the nightclub La Vía, in the Centro Comercial Mamayeya. She came in as the first runner up in the contest and has been doing drag since. Her drag name comes from the name of a winner of a Venezuelan reality show and her mother, who is also called María Edilia.{{Cite web |last=Monsoon |first=Patsy |date=2021-07-27 |title=Maria Edilia, la coqueta Drag (VO) - Bienvenue dans le monde des Drag Interviews Drags |url=https://dragqueens.fr/maria-edilia-la-coqueta-drag-vo/ |access-date=2023-09-26 |website=Bienvenue dans le monde des Drag |language=fr-FR |archive-date=2023-06-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629101857/https://dragqueens.fr/maria-edilia-la-coqueta-drag-vo/ |url-status=live }}
In 2017, María Edilia immigrated, moving to Madrid, Spain, where she struck up a friendship with the drag artist La Plexy and began to perform at the nightclub Black & White.{{Cite web |last=Llopart |first=Alfonso |date=2020-04-10 |title=#Cuarentena Travesti con María Edilia: "Soy polifacética, bipolar, modelo, actriz, dramática y graciosa..." |url=https://shangay.com/2020/04/11/cuarentena-travesti-con-maria-edilia-soy-polifacetica-bipolar-modelo-actriz-dramatica-y-graciosa/ |access-date=2023-09-26 |website=Shangay |language=es |archive-date=2023-06-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629083855/https://shangay.com/2020/04/11/cuarentena-travesti-con-maria-edilia-soy-polifacetica-bipolar-modelo-actriz-dramatica-y-graciosa/ |url-status=live }} In 2022, she starred in the production Qué! infierno de cabaret, directed by Rubén Calvente, with Lady Savannah and Manu Barea.{{Cite web |last=Costa |first=Diego Da |date=2022-04-09 |title=Lady Savannah, Manu Barea y María Edilia, de 'Qué! infierno de cabaret': "Las drag queens somos actores y tenemos un abanico de posibilidades" |url=https://cinemagavia.es/lady-savannah-manu-barea-maria-edilia-entrevista/ |access-date=2023-09-26 |website=Cinemagavia |language=es |archive-date=2022-11-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126083323/https://cinemagavia.es/lady-savannah-manu-barea-maria-edilia-entrevista/ |url-status=live }}
In 2023, María Edilia joined the third season of the reality television competition Drag Race España, which premiered on April 16, 2023. In the first episode, after receiving negative critiques from the judges, especially regarding her performance in the maxi-challenge, María Edilia was up for elimination along with Drag Chuchi. They faced off in a lip sync battle to the song "Despechá" by Rosalía in which Drag Chuchi emerged victorious, making María Edilia the first contestant to be eliminated from the season.{{Cite web |date=2023-04-17 |title='Drag Race España' cambia las reglas del juego con una primera gala más larga de lo que debería |url=https://www.elespanol.com/bluper/20230417/drag-race-espana-conocidas-ratita-obregon-juego/756924388_0.html |access-date=2023-09-26 |website=El Español |language=es |archive-date=2023-05-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230513093847/https://www.elespanol.com/bluper/20230417/drag-race-espana-conocidas-ratita-obregon-juego/756924388_0.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title='Drag Race España 3': María Edilia, primera expulsada de la edición |url=https://www.formulatv.com/noticias/drag-race-espana-3-maria-edilia-primera-expulsada-122099/ |access-date=2023-09-26 |website=www.formulatv.com |date=17 April 2023 |language=es |archive-date=2023-05-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230505145439/https://www.formulatv.com/noticias/drag-race-espana-3-maria-edilia-primera-expulsada-122099/ |url-status=live }} She was later awarded the title of Miss Congeniality during the reunion episode at the end of the season.{{Cite web |last=FormulaTV |title=El más que descafeinado reencuentro de 'Drag Race' con unas premiadrags bastante inesperadrags |url=https://www.formulatv.com/videos/drag-race-espana-reencuentro-premios-inesperados-26923/ |access-date=2023-09-26 |website=FormulaTV |language=es |archive-date=2023-07-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230714033255/https://www.formulatv.com/videos/drag-race-espana-reencuentro-premios-inesperados-26923/ |url-status=live }}
Filmography
=Television=
| class="wikitable"
!Year !Title !Role !Notes |
| 2020
|Veneno |Sex Shop Drag Queen |1 episode |
| rowspan="3" |2023
|Meet the Queens |Herself |1 episode |
| Drag Race España
|Herself |4 episode |
| Tras la carrera
|Herself |1 episode |
- Bring Back My Girls (2024)
= Podcast =
| class="wikitable"
!Year !Title !Role !Notes |
| 2022
|Canelis & Dragonas |Guest |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category| María Edilia}}
- {{Official website|mariaedilia.com}}
{{Drag Race España}}
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:Drag Race España contestants
Category:Venezuelan drag queens