Jiggly Caliente, drag queen who gained nationwide prominence on “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” dies at age 44
Jiggly Caliente, a beloved drag queen who competed on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and transgender rights activist, has died on the age of 44, her household mentioned in an announcement posted on social media Sunday.
Bianca Castro-Arabejo, identified by her stage identify Jiggly Caliente, was going by means of what her household mentioned was a “severe well being setback” over the past month.
“Attributable to a extreme an infection, she was hospitalized and, because of this, has undergone the lack of most of her proper leg,” the household’s assertion mentioned three days earlier than they introduced she had died.
Her household mentioned Castro-Arabejo “handed away peacefully” on Sunday morning and that she was surrounded by family members. They remembered her as an entertainer and advocate who had “infectious vitality, fierce wit, and unwavering authenticity.”
“Her legacy is certainly one of love, braveness, and light-weight. Although her bodily presence is gone, the enjoyment she shared and the area she helped create for thus many will stay ceaselessly,” her household’s assertion learn. “She can be deeply missed, at all times beloved, and eternally remembered.”
Caliente first walked into the highlight as a contestant on the award-winning hit actuality present “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” The Philippines-born drag queen competed on season 4 of the present and on the sixth season of its spin-off, “RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars.” She grew to become one of the recognizable names from the present and went on to behave in different TV collection together with “Broad Metropolis” and “Pose,” in addition to showing as a decide on “RuPaul’s Drag Race Philippines.”
In 2016, Castro-Arabejo publicly got here out as a transgender girl.
“Drag was the awakening for my transness,” she instructed Mega journal in an interview final 12 months.
Following the announcement of her demise, tributes from fellow “Drag Race” contestants have been posted to social media, together with from Caliente’s “drag daughter” and season 14 contestant June Jambalaya.
“Jiggly wasn’t simply my drag mom she was my secure place, my human diary, my compass after I was misplaced,” Jambalaya mentioned in an Instagram put up. “There have been so many moments I got here to her damaged, defeated by the enterprise I like a lot,a enterprise that I felt did not at all times love me again. And each time, she jogged my memory of my price: how lovely, how gifted I used to be, how my present may by no means be measured by a placement on a present.”
