Borja Casillas Toledo, known professionally as Drag Sethlas, is a Spanish drag performer from Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain, known for competing on season 2 of Drag Race España (2022) and winning season 1 of Drag Race España All Stars (2024),[1] as well as winning the Drag Queen Gala at the Carnival of Las Palmas, both in 2017 and 2020, respectively.[2]
Drag Sethlas | |
|---|---|
_(53871469512).jpg) Drag Sethlas at RuPaul's DragCon LA in 2024 | |
| Born | Borja Casillas Toledo |
| Education | University of Las Palmas (BA) |
| Occupation(s) | Drag performer, dancer, teacher |
| Television | Drag Race España (season 2) Drag Race España All Stars (season 1 winner) |
Early life and education
editBorja Casillas Toledo attended the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, where he received a degree in Early Childhood Education. He has been a dancer since a very young age.[3]
Career
editIn 2017, Sethlas won the nineteenth Drag Queen Gala of the Carnival of Las Palmas de Canaria, with the concept ¡Mi cielo! Yo no hago milagros. Que sea lo que Dios quiera. (Darlings! I don't make miracles. Whatever God wills, will be), designed by Nelson Rodríguez.[4] In 2020, he returned to win the twenty-third edition of said gala.[5] In 2022, he participated in the second iteration of Drag Race España, where he ultimately placed 6th.[6]
In 2017, Sethlas was sued by the Association of Christian Attorneys (ACA) for using religious symbols in his performance at the Carnival of Las Palmas Drag Queen Gala. Furthermore, the video of Sethlas' performance was removed from the RTVE web page because it "might harm people's sensibilities." The president of the Island Council of Tenerife, Carlos Alonso, branded the performance as "offensive," adding that "in the Drag Queen Gala of the Carnival of Las Palmas, in that headlining moment, there was no Carnival nor freedom, only offense."[7] Monsignor Francisco Cases Andreu, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Canarias (Las Palmas Province), compared the drag queen's performance with the Spainair Flight 5022 accident, affirming that the former was making him "live the saddest day" of his stay in the Canary Islands. As a result of these declarations, the bishop had to ask forgiveness from the victims' families.[8] The president of the Islamic Federation of the Canary Islands, Tijani El Bouji, also spoke out against the performance, which he called "blasphemous."[9]
Borja Casillas faced two lawsuits accusing him of wounding religious sensibilities,[10] one of which was dismissed by grand jury number 8 of Las Palmas, given that "a party like the Carnival allows us to rule out a deliberate intent to offend".[11] Afterwards, the ACA requested an appeal of the dismissal, which was admitted for processing. Finally, the case was definitively archived upon finding that there was no offense to religious sentiments because the party is traditionally about being transgressive. The ACA was forced to pay the costs of the trial.[12]
Filmography
edit| Year | Contest | Allegory | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Drag Queen Gala of the Carnival of Las Palmas de Canaria | El tamaño si importa (Size does matter) | First runner-up |
| 2017 | ¡Mi cielo! Yo no hago milagros. Que sea lo que Dios quiera. (Darlings! I don't make miracles. Whatever God wills, will be) | Winner | |
| 2020 | Si la tentación es hermosa, imagínate el pecado (If temptation is beautiful, imagine sin) | Winner | |
| 2022 | Drag Race España (Season 2) | - | 6th[13] |
| 2024 | Drag Race España All Stars (Season 1) | - | Winner |
References
edit- ^ "Exclusive: Drag Sethlas says she was 'judged differently' on Drag Race España". Gay Times. 2022-05-13. Retrieved 2022-06-08.
- ^ "Drag Sethlas asegura que ha contado un cuento bíblico con toda su "esencia"". Diarios de Avisos. 29 February 2020.
- ^ "Así es Borja Casillas, el profesor de religión que conmocionó con su actuación de 'drag queen'". El Español (in Spanish). 2017-03-05. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
- ^ "2017 - Drag Sethlas, Borja Casillas". lpacarnaval.com (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2022-08-24.
- ^ "Sethlas gana la gala Drag Queen de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria". La Vanguardia (in European Spanish). 2020-02-29. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
- ^ Beltrán, Carlos (2022-02-20). "Drag Sethlas, en Drag Race España". La Provincia - Diario de Las Palmas (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-08-24.
- ^ "Carlos Alonso ve una "ofensa" el espectáculo ganador de la gala 'drag' de Las Palmas - El Día - Hemeroteca 28-02-2017". eldia.es. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ^ "El obispo de Canarias asegura que lamenta más la gala Drag del Carnaval de Las Palmas que el accidente de Spanair". ELMUNDO (in Spanish). 2017-03-01. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ^ "La Federación Islámica apunta: "Los musulmanes no aguantarían un ataque como el de Drag Sethlas"". abc (in Spanish). 2017-03-02. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ^ Rodríguez, Desireé (2017-09-12). "Drag Sethlas se enfrenta a una pena de cárcel". Cadena SER (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ^ 20minutos (2017-12-19). "Archivan la querella contra Drag Sethlas por disfrazarse de virgen en el Carnaval de Gran Canaria". www.20minutos.es - Últimas Noticias (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-03-27.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Ahora, Canarias (2018-07-30). "Archivada definitivamente la denuncia contra Drag Sethlas y condenada a las costas la Asociación de Abogados Cristianos". elDiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ^ Medianoche, Mike (May 9, 2022). ""Así fue el 'Drag Race España' 02x07 con la expulsión de Drag Sethlas"". El Español.
External links
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