If you like your fish on the spicy side, you’ll love Peruvian Jerseyite / Diamond Racer Ceviche! [Cover photo: Chavel]
Thotyssey: Ceviche, hello! Thanks for chatting with us today!
Ceviche: Hi, thank you for having me! I’ll take any chance I can to talk about myself, haha!
How do you like to do your spooky season drag: sexy or scary?
Halloween is like my favorite time of the year; the way I get into makeup is SFX during Halloween time… so as sexy as I am, I love to see the horror!
Do you enjoy horror movies, or do you have to cover your eyes during the gross parts?
Oh no I love the blood the scary, the ghouls, the poltergeists… I’m a whore for the gore!
So you’ve been busy preparing and now serving looks and numbers for a major drag competition, which we’ll get to in a bit. But first of all, can you describe the Ceviche Drag Experience to the uneducated?
Well, to the people who are unaware of Ceviche — I want y’all to know that Ceviche is, like, a concept. She’s not seen that often (mostly ’cause I love my bed and my man). But if you get the chance to see me or even if your watching online, I’m just a fashionable brain-rotted girl. You never know what I’m going to bring. No spoilers for the Halloween challenge coming up, but what I’m bringing is something no one would expect from me.
Can you share a bit of your origin story with us: where are you from originally, what sort of things did you grow up doing or liking that may have put you on the drag path, and how did drag ultimately come into your life?
Well, I was born and raised in Morristown, New Jersey. Growing up I’ve always been an artist; since preschool ’til now, I’ve always loved to paint, sculpt, and sketch. Art has always been a huge part of my life. Unfortunately, growing up in a Catholic Hispanic household, being an artist wasn’t seen as, like, an actual profession for my parents. They recognized the talent (of course), but they never saw it as something I can profit from — not in the way I was thinking.
But drag originally wasn’t my plan at all. Like I said. I got into makeup because of Halloween (the one time it was okay for a boy to touch makeup), and from there I dabbled into actual glam makeup… and mama, those days were rough. But then that led to “someone I used to know” introducing me to Drag Race — specifically Season 12 — where I dabbled in the alt-drag style. It took a really long time to get to where I am now, but I still love to incorporate the weird artistic kid I used to be.
“Ceviche” is of course a delicious spicy Peruvian seafood dish, and during the first “Diamond Race” prelim you showcased a look based on your heritage. Is trying to incorporate Peruvian culture in your drag important to you?
Absolutely! The Peruvian culture is so beautiful in general: the vibrant colors, all the gold, and the food, OMG. A fun fact I’ve probably told a million times is that I actually hate seafood, so ceviche isn’t going on my plate. But it sure is going on everyone else’s!
“Crystal Envy’s Diamond Race” is a multi-week competition at Paradise modeled after the show that put the titular host on the map — RuPaul’s Drag Race! Each week requires multiple looks and performance challenges. What inspired you to sign on to it?
Is it bad to say that I really just wanted the attention? Baha! And listen, I saw the first episode too… the first week was rough! For me, I got too geeked and in my head about nothing. That first challenge is nowhere near who I am. I want to live up to my expectations and that’s exactly what Imma do.
That’s right, much like Drag Race, the highlight reel of each live installment of “Diamond Race” goes up on YouTube for everyone to watch. And even in just the 20 minute clip reel from that first week, your personality shines through! Yes, you were in the bottom two but you lip synched for your life and made it through! Sadly, we saw Milani sashay away… and the winner of the night was Philly queen Martine!
What’s it like competing in a show of this magnitude and high stakes? Is it challenging to balance competition with sisterhood? And do you think this whole process might be preparing you for your inevitable turn on Drag Race, lol?
Well, I love to compete in general; every time I do any type of competition, I learn new things about myself and I just continue to grow. It’s definitely a pressure cooker. It’s only Week 2, and I’m already feeling like I’m a mother of 10… think about how stressful that is, baha!
I did not know anyone prior to the competition besides Heroine, and even then we don’t really communicate. All of these girls are my sisters, but I’m ready to see the competition dwindle down.
Oh, and I would say this is a step into my preparation, lol. I need to know that I’m in the right head space to take on that journey, which in the name of God happens sooner than later.
The next “Diamond Race” is Wednesday, October 22nd at Paradise, and it’s Halloween themed. Can you drop any spoilerage?
If you happened to miss it, we got assigned some famous Halloween faces… and I got Pinhead! I love a classic horror movie like Hellraiser. I’ll give you three words to describe my performance: scary, gory, and whorey! So stay tuned for that!
Is there anything else coming up for you?
Besides “Diamond Race,” no, ’cause I’m bedridden. But you can catch me at any time on my Instagram; it’s where I will be posting the process of the makings of my outfits and challenges. I’m always keeping myself busy, so there’s no reason not to follow the finest dish in New Jersey!
Okay, lastly… what is the best Halloween candy, and what is the worst?
Ooh, I’ve got the nastiest sweet tooth… it’s so bad. But the best is a king size Snickers bar, and the nastiest is Almond Joy or the coconut chocolate. Who the fuck is eating that!?
Thanks, Ceviche!
Check Thotyssey’s calendar for Ceviche’s upcoming appearances, and follow her on Instagram and TikTok.
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