Francis Yutrago, widely known as Francheska Dynamites in the drag world, a Filipino drag queen and Prairie Queen poses for the camera inside the endeavour room.
Like a bomb, explosive on the stage, Francheska Dynamites has earned the title of “Prairie Queen” and took everyone by surprise.
Behind his success is a story of hard work and perseverance as he journeys through the world of drag in an unaccepting society.
Francis “Kiko” Yutrago was often teased when he was growing up and was called names back in the Philippines where he was born. People called him “Cheska” or “Francheska” in an attempt at mockery but he used that to his advantage. Now he owns the title “Prairie Queen” and is widely known for his stage name in the drag community as Francheska Dynamites.
His success does not stop there, almost four years ago he was featured in a documentary film and was awarded as the winner of a 2022 Telus audience choice award for Alberta features. That same film will have its own film screening at Casa in Lethbridge on April 29. The event will have a red carpet, live performances and a question-and-answer portion of the evening.
The documentary lets people look at Yutrago’s journey as an immigrant and health care worker while also incorporating and promoting the Filipino culture.
Filipinos are known for their hard-working nature. According to an article published on the Aquavir International, this is due to the culturally rooted trait of filial obligation. Filipinos have a sense of duty to their families which serves as a motivator to work hard to be able to give back to the hands that fed and watered them.
As Francis shuffles between his jobs and his career as a drag queen there is little to no rest for him. However, he does not necessarily see that as a bad thing. “I enjoy what I’m doing. This is my outlet to de-stress myself. I work in the dementia unit and it’s mentally and physically stressful. So when I’m Francheska, as a drag queen, I feel happy and relaxed and I don’t see that as a taxing job anymore,” said Francis.
As drag shows happen mostly during the night, this does not affect Francheska’s day job if he plans ahead of time. Feeling loved and accepted by the audience has also inspired him to perform for the sake of art and not just for monetary reasons nor obligations.
Addressing mental health issues is also one of the main themes Francis wanted to convey in his film. As someone who had lost his best friend to a mental health illness, Francis wanted to convey a message to be kind and considerate to everyone as it is hard to tell what an individual is going through. He also stressed out the importance of loving oneself, learning to accept your flaws and be kind to yourself just as much as you do for others.
His journey to becoming Prairie Queen was arduous, but he would not take it any other way.
