Puerto Rico is getting so much love from the music industry’s biggest names. The people who call the island home are ready to show their love, including “RuPaul’s Drag Race” All-Stars Season 10 contestant Alyssa Hunter, whose name is Joshua Enrique Ortolaza Resto. The Puerto Rican drag queen is back to compete for the crown, and she is keeping La Isla de Encanto in her heart and looks.

Puerto Rico is the central theme of Alyssa Hunter’s drag

As a competitor on the premier drag competition, Alyssa Hunter is being Puerto Rico with her everywhere she goes. She started off strong on Season 14 when she walked into the werkroom and declared, “Hola. I’m from Puerto Rico.” Her connection to Puerto Rico is deeper than calling it home. It is what gives her the motivation to keep pushing in her career, and compete once again for the coveted crown.

“I always mention that I am from Puerto Rico because, obviously, you know that we are a small island,” Alyssa tells mitú. “But when you come here, it is more than that. We have amazing food and amazing views. Great heart, humble, hard working people. It feels like a blessing to represent my island and to have my flag here in my heart.”

She takes the representation of Puerto Rico seriously. As other Puerto Rican celebrities pour love on the island, Alyssa is holding them in her heart. She feels the support of the Puerto Rican people while he is competing knowing that they are uplifting her through the competition.

The Latina representation this season is giving her life

Alyssa is excited to be in a season with a large group of Latina queens in the cast. She is especially excited to share the same bracket with her island sister, Cynthia Lee Fontaine. The two are friends outside of the “Drag Race” universe and call Puerto Rico home.

“She motivated me to audition to be on the show. That is why I call her my Titi, Aunt Cucu,” Alyssa shares. “When she called me and said that she was going to be on my season, I was shocked. It feels like home. It feels like I have someone that I can relate to and speak with after filming.”

Alyssa wants to always represent Puerto Rico and the Latine community the best she can. She is always surprised and touched when she sees comments from people celebrating her representation.

“I receive a lot of messages and DMs from people who go to my shows and my meet and greets,” Alyssa says with a smile. “They feel very proud to be Puerto Rican, and when I post a look, they feel very proud and are like, ‘Yeah. You killed it. Wow. You’re Puerto Rican. I love it!’”

Coming out to her family as a drag queen was surprisingly easy

Alyssa’s coming out story was filled with acceptance and excitement. The child of a beauty queen and a gay man, Alyssa had a family that always stood behind her. She admits that she was dancing with drag queens in bars when she was only 16 years old. By 18, she went to her parents and told them that she was a drag queen. They made sure to be in the crowd to support her when she entered the pageant circuit.

“To see them in the crowd supporting me and cheering for me, saying, ‘That’s my son.’ It felt amazing,” Alyssa says. “It felt like a dream come true. It is a blessing. Like I always say. I feel very blessed and very proud to have the support of my parents. They don’t know it, or maybe they know, but not like I know in my heart. They are my battery. They are everything to me.”

She still feels sad when she sees other queer people struggling to have a relationship with their family after coming out. Her advice to parents is to support your child if they are LGBTQ+. They are still your child and it provides those parents a chance to build a special and strong bond with their child.

Tags:

Share this Story