It’s Raining Dutch and Latin Pride: Envy Peru

Known for her sweet personality, sensual performances, and fierce fashion style, Peruvian doll Envy Peru took the world by storm after competing on and ultimately winning the inaugural season of Drag Race Holland. She might have had to overcome major obstacles like body image issues and filming during a global pandemic, but her mission to be a good representation for both the Dutch and Latin community led her straight to the crown.

Besides hosting events, Peru is very active working in entertainment and recently appeared alongside U.K. singer Vula Malinga in the music video for “It’s Raining Men! Them! Femme!,” a new track by Amsterdam-based DJ Darling Peter. An adaptation of The Weather Girls classic “It’s Raining Men,” unlike the original, this song is a celebration of all genders.

“With the track, I want to draw more attention to gender identity, to show that there is much more than being a man or a woman.” Darling says in a press release. “Everyone is unique. Male, female, trans, non-binary, you name it.”

Peru took some time to talk more about the single and her time on Drag Race Holland with OFM.

Let’s begin by talking more about your feature appearance in DJ Darling Peter’s “It’s Raining Men! Them! Femme!” Why did you want to be involved with this project?

Peter and I were initially talking about “It’s Raining Men” at one of his DJ sets about a year ago, and we were thinking it sounds a little bit dated. Long, tall, blonde, and lean? A Black girl singing about blonde haired guys? Something needs to change. As we were looking at the lyrics, we were both thinking, it’s raining men, it’s raining them, it’s raining femme! We wanted to include femme because there’s still a lot of femme shaming and discrimination in our own community.

With this, we want to celebrate every aspect of the community. Being feminine is very fabulous and nothing to be ashamed of. It’s because of the femme queer people that we have our rights now. They were so visible in the 70s. But I told Peter, I’m not a singer (laughs). I don’t have any aspiration to sing, but we managed to get Vula Malinga involved, who is an amazing singer. I did the little speaking word parts, and we’re all very happy with the final product. It was very cool to do.

You believe this song is timely and necessary for today’s pop culture climate?

I think so. As you can see in the video, we have Black people, white people, Asian, femme, trans, drag—We try to show every aspect and all sides of the community. I think especially with Amsterdam Prides’ theme this year, “My Gender, My Pride,” it was a terrific add.

Yes, didn’t you head the parade at Amsterdam Pride?

Yes, I was one of the Pride ambassadors this year, and we opened Pride on the first float. Then I hosted the Sunday closing party. It was really fabulous. It was great to have a Pride this big again in Amsterdam, and it was truly overwhelming and amazing to witness that again.

I honestly can’t believe “It’s Raining Men” turned 40 this year.

It’s crazy! And people still go wild over it. Literally, this song has been all over Amsterdam and every stage during Pride. Every time it plays, people go, wow! I even performed that song for a party in the Dam Square, and people were singing along and jumping. From 40 years ago to today, this song is a classic.

Speaking of classics, I’d like to ask a couple questions about you. For those who don’t know, how did Envy Peru come to be? How did you get your start in drag?

It happened almost six or seven years ago. Long story short, I moved from Hilversum, which is a small village close to Amsterdam. I started as a makeup artist after my acting school. I’ve always been very drawn to drag queens, but I had a lot of inner homophobia. If something was too feminine, I didn’t want to be associated with it. When I started doing makeup, I started to discover more about myself, the community, and the different people within our community.

Then my colleagues and trans sisters introduced me to drag and showed me the queens in Holland and RuPaul’s Drag Race. I’ve always been very drawn to transformation and strong female characters, so after practicing silently in my home and practicing as a makeup artist for Mac, I thought, OK, now I’m ready to hit the stage. Out of nowhere, there she was. Envy Peru. The Amsterdam drag scene really embraced me with open arms, and after my first show, I started to get more bookings.

The world was introduced to you when you competed on and won the inaugural season of Drag Race Holland. Overall, what did you take away from that experience?

It was very hard because we filmed our season while in the middle of the pandemic, and after the last episode aired, we were still in the pandemic (laughs). So, it was totally different than what I expected it to be. In other seasons, the girls go on tour and live their lives. I was stuck being famous in my apartment in Amsterdam.

It was different and hard at first, but when the world started to open up again, I noticed that the show really made an impact here in Holland. Drag queens are now seen as more of an art form. I’ve been asked to host TV shows here and be on national television, and that was my goal during the pandemic because television was still going. I wanted to be a face for queer people and the drag community.

Is that why you initially wanted to be on the show?

I mean, why not? It was the first season, and a thing here in Holland is, the first season of a franchise is always the best season. It happened with The Voice here in Holland, Idols, you always remember the first finalist and first contestant. When this opportunity came, I was like, yes! I need to be on because it’s going to make a huge impact, and we were the second international franchise as well.

I had already done some TV before Drag Race, and I was quite known in the scene, so there were a lot of stakes for me. If I bomb, I will bomb hard. So, I was very nervous during the first episode. I was so in my head, and the girls were really coming for me and tried to make me insecure because they saw me as competition. After episode two, I was like, wake up Envy! Get your head in the fame and turn it out!

Which challenge was your favorite?

My favorite challenge was the family resemblance challenge with my mom because that was a very full-circle for me. My mom was not into me doing drag. She already had a hard time with me being gay, and doing drag felt like a second coming out. She really wasn’t happy with that, but when I invited her to one of my shows, it was a Latin night, she then understood what drag was and how beautiful it is. So, her coming on the show and being a proud Latin mom was very special to me, as well as the Latin community because there’s still a lot of homophobia and machismo in Latin culture. Seeing a supportive Latin mom be supportive of her gay son doing drag, that was very special to me.

You entered the competition as the first Peruvian queen to compete in any season. How meaningful was that?

That was also a weight on my shoulders because I wanted to represent Holland, but I wanted to also represent Peru in the best way possible because there isn’t a lot of representation for Peruvian people. I wanted to be a representation, but in the most beautiful way. Winning was the biggest reward because not only did I receive a lot of support from Holland, but also the Latin community. It was a double win for me.

What are some future goals you hope to accomplish with your career and platform?

Of course, I am working on that U.S. visa (laughs). After being at DragCon LA, I thought, OK, there’s a market there for me. My booth was full, and I was not expecting that. That was very nice to witness. So, I would love to do tours with the girls in America and across the world, and I also did a campaign for Mac for this region, so I would love to do a global one. There’s so much I would love to do with my platform. Being an out and proud, open Latino representing Latin culture in the best way possible, that’s still my number-one priority. Who knows, I might be back for another season!

That was my next question! If asked to return for another season, would you do it?

When the time is right. If I feel ready to compete with the best, I will definitely say yes, but I need to be in a good state of mind. That’s the most important.

Before we wrap up, are there any other upcoming projects or anything else you’d like to mention our plug?

At this moment, I am taking a little time off and working on some new stuff. There will also be the Rotterdam Drag Show, which is coming with a new show starting in October. That is a residency where I’m the leading lady alongside Vanessa van Cartier. So, I’m excited to start that, and then everything else is still a secret.

Stay up-to-date and connect with Peru by following her on Twitter and TikTok @envyperu, Instagram @missenvyperu, or visit her official website, envyperu.com.

Photos courtesy of Envy Peru