Bianca Castro-Arabejo, whose stage identify was Jiggly Caliente, competed on the fourth season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and afterward “RuPaul’s Drag Race Allstars.”
NEW YORK — Drag performer Bianca Castro-Arabejo, who was often called actuality tv star Jiggly Caliente on “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” died Sunday at age 44, days after her household reported hospitalization for a critical an infection.
Castro-Arabejo, who turned a decide on “Drag Race Philippines” in 2022, scrapped plans to look on the upcoming season after a latest hospitalization for a “extreme an infection” and a leg amputation surgical procedure, her household mentioned in a press release on her Instagram web page.
She died early Sunday, her household mentioned in one other assertion.
“A luminous presence within the worlds of leisure and advocacy, Jiggly Caliente was celebrated for her infectious power, fierce wit, and unwavering authenticity,” her household mentioned Sunday. “She touched numerous lives via her artistry, activism, and the real connection she fostered with followers all over the world.”
Castro-Arabejo competed on the fourth season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and afterward “RuPaul’s Drag Race Allstars.”
“Her expertise, fact, and impression won’t ever be forgotten, and her legacy will proceed to slay — at all times,” mentioned a press release from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” posted on X. “We’re holding her household, pals, and followers shut in our hearts throughout this tough time.”
Born within the Philippines, Castro-Arabejo immigrated to New York. She began working in drag about 20 years in the past, showing in competitions and pageants. She famous the affect of her upbringing in her work and its significance for illustration within the business. In 2018, she launched a hip-hop album known as “T.H.O.T. Course of,” together with a observe the place she raps in Tagalog.
Throughout a 2023 episode of actuality present “Convey Again My Women,” which reunites completely different performers from the “Drag Race” franchise, Castro-Arabejo mentioned her work as a decide was necessary due to her heritage.
“On the subject of my tradition, I reside and breathe that I’m Filipina,” she mentioned. “I’m a proud immigrant lady.”
She publicly got here out as transgender in 2016 on a podcast, partly as a result of she mentioned she obtained letters from followers who have been battling their very own gender identities.
“I wished to return out as a result of I used to be prepared to return out. I’ve been dwelling as a trans lady for therefore lengthy, however I simply by no means instructed the viewers and the followers that,” she mentioned in a 2018 Billboard interview. “I used to be truly transitioning whereas I used to be on the present, I simply by no means talked about it. I didn’t need it to be my storyline, as a result of being a trans lady isn’t what defines me.”
