They are like two opposing worlds, with no common point. On the one hand, the ferocity of a mixed martial arts fighter (MMA), boxing blows in the ring. On the other hand, art drag queen histrionics. Two universes that seem to be running on the same path, quite far apart. Or at least it seems to everyone except Diego Garijo.
Born in Guanajuato, Mexico, Garijo was smuggled into the United States by his mother when he was young. A sign, perhaps, of a life of constant search and struggle.
Above the ring he is known as Two guns (Two Guns), but in San Diego’s last-night drag scene, it becomes grandma pistol. Two worlds, two lives, one person.
In the punch, MMA fighter and boxer Diego Garijo dubbed the Dos Pistolas.
Diego Garijo: childhood and traumas
His arrival at a young age in California, in a new country, was undoubtedly an important moment.
Also, of course, no father was present in his entire life and even someone who plays the role of a father figure. This is not lived by the current Latino masculinity. And he said that, in return, he had two gay cousins.
He admitted that at school he was bullied by his classmates. And at the same time, those “Received embarrassment” and the “embarrassment of feeling like a strange boy” helped shape his personality.
“I get a lot of love from people in the world of drag, from the trans and gay communities. And as well as from the warriors … maybe they also have something to hide about themselves that they want to reveal. Everything man has a secret, it’s normal “, he reflected in an interview with Vice.
Garijo admitted that the “shame of feeling like a weird boy” helped shape his personality.
After serving several prison sentences as a result of a busy youth, Garijo wanted to escape from drugs and crime and began his path as a professional MMA fighter in 2006.
After starting with the ups and downs, he accumulated experience and achieved seven victories in the ring until 2012, when he experienced a limiting situation: retinal detachment Put seems to have put his passion for this sport on the brink of knockout.
However, far from lowering his arms or turning to a less aggressive activity where his health is not in danger, the Mexican is attracted by the blood of bare-knuckle boxing.
At home with her children, change begins.
A course in emotional intelligence prompted Garijo to explore another aspect of his personality.
Diego Garijo: heterosexual, fighter and drag queen
An emotional intelligence course encouraged Garijo to explore another aspect of his personality and leave his comfort zone.
“I like to speak in front of a lot of people and be the center of attention, but when the word drag came to my mind, it was like, ‘There it is!’ dance classes, I pierced my ear and waxed. I learned to walk in heels and someone helped me with the clothes, ”the Mexican said.
She also remembers a picture when she was six years old and wanted to play with wearing her mother’s underwear. “Maybe I can say I’m very feminine. People wonder if I’m gay, but they don’t understand that. femininity and sexuality are completely different things“He proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was heterosexual.
Diego is convinced that martial arts and drag have more in common than most think. Or, at least, some clear points of contact.
“Femininity and sexuality are completely different things,” the Mexican said.
Garijo made sure that breaking a nail was more painful than a blow to the face
“Martial arts shows us the beauty of people by overcoming resistance. Drag is about overcoming toxic masculinity,” he launches a comparison in a powerful voice. And he exemplifies a harsh truth: “People of trans color are among the most oppressed people of all. And they have the highest suicide rate.”
An expected question arises, which is more than humor, and Garijo doesn’t avoid it like a blow: Is the punch to the face or waxing more painful? “Waxing can be painful, but the worst thing is breaking the acrylic nail. It can be a nightmare because the blow can cause your real nail to rise, “he replies and makes it clear:” I have no problem hitting the face. “
Diego Garijo: painting and poetry
Diego’s skill with his hands isn’t limited to throwing punches in the ring to finish off an opponent, or transform as Lola Pistola. The Mexican is also comfortable with landscape painting.
So, on her Instagram account, in addition to publicizing her antagonistic appearance as a boxer or drag queen, some abstract painting he painted and excerpts from poetry.
Painting is another weakness of Garijo.
Sometimes he combines the poems he wrote with his paintings to reflect on it.
Fight and paint. Two activities, two arts. The same world. The world led by the life of Diego Garijo to choose transit.
Source: Clarin
