The Switch Drag Race

*The Switch Drag Race*
The Switch Drag Race
Genre	Reality competition
Based on	RuPaul's Drag Race
Directed by	Ricardo Durán
Presented by	Karla Constant [es]
Judges	Nicole Gaultier (Season 1 and 2); Íngrid Cruz (Season 1 and 2); Juan Pablo González (Season 1); Sebastián Errázuriz (Season 1); Oscar Mediavilla [es] (Season 2);
Country of origin	Chile
Original language	Spanish
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	55
Production
Executive producer	Jaime Sepulveda;
Camera setup	Multiple
Running time	60–90 minutes (without commercials)
Original release
Network	Mega;
Release	October 8, 2015 –; August 15, 2018
Related
	Drag Race franchise

The Switch Drag Race^[2] is a Chilean reality competition television series, presented by Mega as a Chilean version of the hit American show RuPaul's Drag Race.^[3]^[4] The purpose of the series is to find Chile's top transformista (transformer, drag queen) of the season.

Later, on the second season, the eligibility for competitors was expanded. The contestants were still predominantly from Chile & Argentina (with select returning queens from season one); the other half hailed everywhere from Puerto Rico, Spain, and Mexico, to Brazil and even France and the U.S.

The Switch was the second international localization of Drag Race, following Drag Race Thailand. Like the American version, The Switch requires its contestants to sing live, lip-sync, dance, and perform impersonations, but the show's format is significantly changed. It was later followed by British, Canadian, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, French, Filipino, Belgian, Swedish, Mexican, Brazilian, German, and South African adaptations that much more closely followed the original Drag Race format.

Hosted by Karla Constant [es] (one of the hosts of Mucho gusto, also on Mega), the first season of The Switch, subtitled El Arte de Transformismo, premiered on October 8, 2015, and ended on January 17, 2016. After over two years’ hiatus, The Switch returned to MEGA for a second season, subtitled Desafío Mundial, on Sunday, March 25, 2018. Season two ended on June 15, 2018.

Format

Season 1 of The Switch consisted of seventeen participants, often split into two groups, that were challenged with demonstrating their ability to perform makeovers, impersonate female characters, dance, lip-sync, and sing live on stage. Along with the demonstration of their skills, The Switch shows each contestant's life story, giving details of their personal experiences to Chilean viewers.

Season 2 consists of six returning contestants from the previous season as well as seven new contestants from outside of Chile. The participants being split up into two groups; one group consisting of the returning contestants and the other group formed from their challengers from around the world.

Judging

Judges on *The Switch*^[5]
Judge	Occupation	Country of Origin	Season
Judge	Occupation	Country of Origin	1	2
Nicole Gaultier	Drag entertainer	Uruguay	Main
Íngrid Cruz	Actor	Chile	Main
Juan Pablo González	Musician	Chile	Main
Sebastián Errázuriz	Composer	Chile	Main
Oscar Mediavilla [es]	Composer	Argentina		Main

Coaches on *The Switch*
Coach	Occupation	Country of Origin	Season
Coach	Occupation	Country of Origin	1	2
Nicole Gaultier	Drag entertainer	Uruguay	Main
Íngrid Cruz	Actor	Chile	Main
Patricia Maldonado	Singer and TV Personality	Chile	Main
Nicanor Bravo	Fashion designer	Argentina	Main
Darwin Ruz	Dancer	Chile		Main
Álvaro Véliz	Singer	Chile		Main

Season 1

Season 2

References

^ "Director de "The switch": Queremos dignificar el oficio del transformista" [Director of "The Switch": We Want to Dignify the Art of Female Impersonation], Cooperativa.cl (in Spanish), August 26, 2015
^ "The Switch Drag Race – Official Site", Mega.cl (in Spanish)
^ Blake Jacos (September 24, 2015), "RuPaul's Drag Race is Heading to Chile!", World of Wonder
^ Daniele Alcinii (September 25, 2015), ""Drag Race" heads to Chile for local version", Realscreen
^ "Jurado/Coach" [Judges/Coaches], Mega.cl (in Spanish), archived from the original on August 27, 2017, retrieved August 26, 2017

External links

Official website

[1] "Director de "The switch": Queremos dignificar el oficio del transformista" [Director of "The Switch": We Want to Dignify the Art of Female Impersonation], Cooperativa.cl (in Spanish), August 26, 2015

[2] "The Switch Drag Race – Official Site", Mega.cl (in Spanish)

[3] Blake Jacos (September 24, 2015), "RuPaul's Drag Race is Heading to Chile!", World of Wonder

[4] Daniele Alcinii (September 25, 2015), ""Drag Race" heads to Chile for local version", Realscreen

[5] "Jurado/Coach" [Judges/Coaches], Mega.cl (in Spanish), archived from the original on August 27, 2017, retrieved August 26, 2017

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