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Yara Sofia

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Yara Sofia
Sofia in February 2016
Born
Gabriel Burgos Ortiz

(1984-05-08) May 8, 1984 (age 40)[1]
San Juan, Puerto Rico
EducationUniversity of the Sacred Heart (BFA)
Occupation(s)Drag queen, make-up artist, reality television personality, seamstress.
Known for

RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (season 1 and season 6)

TitleMiss Congeniality
PredecessorPandora Boxx
SuccessorLatrice Royale

Yara Sofia is the stage name of Gabriel Burgos Ortiz[2] (born May 8, 1984), a Puerto Rican drag queen, professional make-up artist, and reality television personality.

She is most known for appearing on RuPaul's Drag Race season 3, where she won Miss Congeniality, and All Stars season 1, where she was partnered with Alexis Mateo. In 2021, Sofia returned to compete on All Stars season 6. In June 2021, she released "Jiggle!", her debut single.

Biography

Although born in San Juan, Ortiz was raised in the small town of Manatí, Puerto Rico. While her mother was pregnant with her, she had expected Yara to be a girl for the majority of her pregnancy, and had even denied the doctor informing her of her baby’s sex until she was revealed to be male.[3] Her drag career began at local San Juan gay nightclub Krash (also known as Eros), where in 2005, she won her first gay pageant title "Miss Road to Diva." Later, in 2006, Ortiz earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theater from the Universidad del Sagrado Corazón in San Juan.[4] Her name originates from a beauty pageant that was held at her former dance studio, where she chose the name Cuba. She also selected the name Yara after a girl she attended school with, and was gifted the surname Sofia by a friend of hers who also competed in the pageant.[5]

Career

Yara in June 2015

RuPaul's Drag Race

Sofia was announced as a cast member on the third season of Logo's popular reality series, RuPaul's Drag Race, which premiered on the network on January 29, 2011.[6] With a heavy, yet comically perceived accent and a popular catchphrase (Echa Pa'lante which translates to Go Forward) she became a fan favorite due to her unique use of makeup, wigs, contact lenses and fashion.[7] She won the challenge in episode 11 where the contestants had to create three different looks for a hair themed fashion show.[8] She was eliminated in what was considered a very emotional lip sync against fellow contestant Alexis Mateo in the thirteenth episode of the season, which first aired on April 22, 2011.[9] During the reunion special, which aired on May 2, 2011, Sofia won the annual Miss Congeniality award.[10]

On 6 August 2012, it was announced that Sofia was one of twelve past Drag Race contestants selected to join the cast of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars that premiered on the Logo network on 22 October 2012.[11] Due to the team twist of the season, she teamed with Alexis Mateo to form Team Yarlexis. The duo was eliminated in the fourth episode of the series which aired on 12 November 2012, coming in the 3rd-place position amongst the teams, with Sofia therefore placing 5th/6th overall with Mateo.[12]

Sofia appeared among other Drag Race alumni as a guest in episode one of season ten in January 2018.[13]

On the 26th of May she was announced to be part of the cast for RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 6, alongside 12 other queens, including fellow All Stars 1 contestant Pandora Boxx. She won the Variety Show on the first episode and lost the Lip-Sync For Your Legacy against Lip-Sync Assassin Coco Montrese. She was later eliminated on the fourth episode, Halftime Headliners, placing 10th overall.

Other ventures

In 2012, along with other RuPaul's Drag Race contestants, Sofia appeared in the music video "Queen" for New York City-based girl group Xelle, fronted by alum Mimi Imfurst.[14] Sofia also appeared in the music video "Werqin' Gurl" by season two, three and All Stars season three alum Shangela.[15]

Outside of Drag Race, Sofia was a playable character with Pandora Boxx and Manila Luzon for the "RuPaul's Drag Race: Dragopolis" app.[16][17]

Sofia appeared with other alum for an episode of the Game Show Network show Skin Wars in May 2016.[18]

On November 6, 2017, Sofia was a featured performer in Queens United, a benefit show created by Phi Phi O'Hara in an effort to raise money to people affected by Hurricane Maria.[19]

Sofia co-hosted the Tucking 101: Now You See It, Now You Don’t at RuPaul's DragCon LA in 2018.[20]

She cites Lady Gaga, Alexander McQueen, and Michael Kors as her inspirations.[21]

Filmography

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2011 RuPaul's Drag Race (season 3) Herself Contestant; 4th Place
RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked Herself
2012 RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (season 1) Herself Contestant; 5th/6th Place
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars: Untucked (season 1) Herself
2016 Skin Wars Herself Episode: "Miss Skin Wars"[22]
2018 RuPaul's Drag Race (season 10)[23] Herself Guest - Episode 1
2021 RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (season 6)[24] Herself Contestant; 10th Place
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars: Untucked[24]
2022 Drag Race España (season 2) Herself Guest appearance, episode 10

Web series

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2013 Ring My Bell Herself Guest [25]
Transformations Herself Guest [26]
WOW Shopping Network Herself Guest [27]
2014 Couple$ for Ca$h Herself Guest [28]
2020 Envy of My Boogie Herself Guest
2021 Whatcha Packin' Herself Guest [29]
Ruvealing the Look Herself Guest [30]

Music videos

Year Title Artist Ref.
2012 "Queen" Xelle [14]
"Werqin' Girl" Shangela [15]
"Responsitranity" RuPaul

Discography

Singles

Year Song Album Ref
2021 "Jiggle!" Non-album singles [31]

References

  1. ^ Yara Sofia Official Website: Biography
  2. ^ "Yara Sofia to Headline Pride Center's New Year's Eve Kiki". Out in SA. 2016-11-04. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  3. ^ @yarasofiapr (May 8, 2023). "On this day my Mama gave birth to this "FullyFunctional Tropical Barbie"" – via Instagram.
  4. ^ Yara Sofia Official Website: Biography
  5. ^ Holland, Scott (April 14, 2011). "RuPaul's Drag Race Yara Sofia Interview". Hot Spots Magazine. Retrieved August 20, 2022. I had been surrounded by professional dancers when I used to work for a dance academy. They produced a beauty pageant, but it was for fun (Miss Pera Queen). I was "Cuba" and I chose my first name, Yara, after this beautiful girl I went to school with. My last name was chosen by a friend when I was doing that contest.
  6. ^ "Alexis Mateo: RuPaul's Drag Race Season 3 Contestant - RuPaul's Drag Race (Video Clip) | LOGOtv". Logo TV. Archived from the original on 2021-01-27. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  7. ^ RuPaul's Drag Race: Yara Sofia from the Huffington Post 18 April 2011
  8. ^ "'RuPaul's Drag Race': A super-sad elimination. Plus, A Poll: Which queen should return next week?". EW.com. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  9. ^ Goodbye, Yara Sofia, we hardly understood you from ahora12.blogspot.com April 2011
  10. ^ "'RuPaul's Drag Race': Help Pick Miss Congeniality | NewNowNext". www.newnownext.com. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  11. ^ RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars cast includes Jujubee, Latrice Royale, Manila Luzon Archived 2013-07-18 at the Wayback Machine from chicago.gopride.com; 06 August 2012
  12. ^ "'RuPaul's All Stars Drag Race' episode 4 recap". EW.com. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  13. ^ Bellino 3/21/2018, Damian. "RuPaul Brings Back Katya, Porkchop, Kim Chi, Jujubee, Detox, and More to Help Judge the First Mini-Challenge of Season 10". VH1 News. Archived from the original on May 15, 2023. Retrieved 2019-01-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ a b Spargo, Chris (25 October 2012). "XELLE's 'Queen' Music Video Features Every 'Drag Race' Queen: Watch October 25, 2012 ● by Chris Spargo". New Now Next. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  15. ^ a b "Shangela's Music Video "Werqin' Girl" Is Basically Going To Be Your New CV (If It's Not Already)". The WOW Report. 2015-09-22. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  16. ^ "RuPaul's Drag Race: Dragopolis – So Much Drama Studios". Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  17. ^ Morgan, Glennisha (2013-04-24). "Dragopolis, 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Drag Queen Mobile Game, Set To Debut". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  18. ^ "Drag Queens Stomp the Runway at 'Skin Wars'". www.out.com. 2016-05-12. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  19. ^ Armbruster, Jessica (October 5, 2017). "Flip Phone and Phi Phi O'Hara team up for a Puerto Rico benefit loaded with 'RuPaul's Drag Race' alumni". City Pages. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  20. ^ Frye, Javay (May 21, 2018). "Yara Sofia and Kimora Blac Show It All in the Live Tucking Demonstration on the Tucking 101 Panel at RuPaul's DragCon LA! Check It Out". World of Wonder. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  21. ^ Fitzgerald, Christine (April 29, 2019). "Yara Sofia – The Socialite Life Interview". Socialite Life. MJP Content Labs, LLC. Retrieved August 20, 2022. I love Lady Gaga, of course. Alexander McQueen, I think. Michael Kors – I would say fashion inspires me. I love to make clothes like theirs. I love Alexander McQueen, and that's my inspiration. For example, if I see Alexander McQueen's fashion show, I'm going to take that inspiration and bring it together. I love fashion – fashion is my biggest inspiration. Oh, by the way, I used to do Lady Gaga a few years ago and nobody knew about her! When I finished my performance, people told me, "Oh my God! I love that song." And I said, "It's Lady Gaga." And they were like, "Who?" But I was attracted to Lady Gaga and I wanted to imitate her because of the fashion. I like the music but the most important thing I see are the clothes.
  22. ^ Boulet, Ruth (2016-05-11). "Skin Wars meets RuPaul's Drag Race: a Season 3 episode 4 preview". Channel Guide Magazine. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
  23. ^ Damshenas, Sam (22 March 2018). "Watch Drag Race fan favourites return for the season 10 premiere". Gay Times. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  24. ^ a b Del Rosario, Alexandra (May 26, 2021). "'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars' Moves From VH1 To Paramount+; Lineup Of Returning Queens Unveiled". Deadline. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  25. ^ Yara Sofia - Ring My Bell. YouTube. April 4, 2013. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  26. ^ James St. James and Yara Sofia: Transformations. YouTube. June 4, 2013. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  27. ^ Yara Sofia on WOW Shopping Network. YouTube. September 27, 2013. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  28. ^ Yara Sofia & Rubin- Couple$ for Ca$h. YouTube. February 28, 2013. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  29. ^ Whatcha Packin’ | AS6 E04 | RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. YouTube. July 8, 2021. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  30. ^ Yara Sofia’s Golden Entrance Look | Ruvealing the Look | RuPaul's Drag Race AS6. YouTube. July 12, 2021. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  31. ^ "Jiggle! - Single". iTunes.
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