Wendy Guevara: ‘Trans people are normal. We love, feel and cry just like everyone else’

On the night of August 13, all of Mexico’s attention was in one place. After more than 10 weeks, the reality show La Casa de los Famosos had reached its finale, and the winner was to be revealed. On one hand was the television figure Nicolla Porcella. On the other was the internet sensation who had stolen the show and the audience’s hearts, content creator and transgender actress Wendy Guevara.

With a red gown, gloves and heels, she held Porcella’s hands as the host spoke above a drumroll that emphasized the moment’s tension. Pausing dramatically, she began to give the verdict: “The winner of La Casa de los Famosos, by the audience’s decision, is you” —she paused— “yes, you.” After several eternal moments of silence, she added, “it’s you, Wendy Guevara!”

At the capital’s Angel of Independence, the traditional scene for celebrations of the Mexican soccer team’s victories, euphoria exploded and the cries of joy were heard for blocks around. The same happened in Monterrey, Nuevo León, in León, Guanajuato and even in Baja California. Across Mexico, Guevara’s fans showed their support in chants and on signs.

That night marked not only the finale of one of the most successful programs in Mexico in recent times, but also the first time a trans woman won a reality show in Mexico. A new path began for Wendy Guevara. She is, once again, the star, but now the cameras follow her 24/7 on Wendy, Perdida Pero Famosa (Wendy, Lost But Famous), the influencer’s new program.

The first episode of the new show begins immediately after the awards ceremony, early in the morning after the night of August 13. She wears the same gala attire, but now with a medal and 4 million pesos (about $250,000) in her bank account. Wendy left the Televisa studios at almost 2:30, escorted by her producer. She thought she would climb aboard a white Suburban, but an ambulance was waiting for her. Given her surprise at her choice of vehicle, one of the producers told her “we’re going to get out of here because it’s crazy outside. You have no idea how many people there are.” The emergency vehicle left without suspicion, amidst screams, sounds of drums and smoke from fireworks.

“Oh, I can’t believe I had to escape from my fans, my god. I love them so much. This is something that I really didn’t expect. Really, I don’t know how to thank people. May God multiply them with a lot of health and money and fucks,” she says before the cameras of the new show, with her characteristic ease and mischief.

In this new program, Wendy opens the doors of her daily life. Audiences will see her life in a more intimate way, with her family, friends and, as she says, “everything that has defined me as a person since I was little.” Since she went viral in 2017 with Las Perdidas, a social media channel with her friends and trans influencers Paolita Suárez and Kimberly La más Preciosa, and with her new fame, she feels that she has remained the same person.

“They are going to see my origins, what I like and don’t like to do. In La Casa de los Famosos there were no situations like the ones I have out here. So they’re going to see me with a stronger character when something bothers me or I get stressed about something. In the house there were problems between us, but that wasn’t like the obligations that one has every day, in real life. They are going to see a lot of things. I hope they don’t judge me and if they judge me, then I’ll deal with it,” she says on a video call, smiling.

Wendy is aware that she lost her privacy a long time ago, but even so, this new fame, like when she gave a series of interviews in one day for all of Televisa’s programs, has her in shock. She remembers growing up watching Televisa soap operas. Now, as the program shows, everyone in Televisa lines up for a selfie with her. “There have never been so many people, and Alejandro Fernández and Luis Miguel have come,” a producer tells her. “If people love me as much as Alejandro Fernández or Luis Miguel, I have to measure up, sisters,” she says in a block from the first episode of her reality show.

But Wendy’s story is not an isolated phenomenon. It is already part of popular culture and everyday conversations. Her catchphrases have become popular slang, thanks to the spontaneity and frankness that has stolen the audience’s heart.

“These expressions went viral with La casa de los Famosos, but I never imagined that this could happen. But hey, if people like the way I say things, well, it suits me. I’ll be walking at the airport or the bus station and people will yell [my crude phrases] at me. They talk to me like I talk. That’s how I am, kind of scandalous. People connect with me so much that they feel that I’m their friend in person, that they have known me for a long time and I say, well, go ahead and mistreat me, lady, no problem,” she adds, smiling.

Wendy highlights her predecessors, such as the burlesque star and actress Francis and the presenter and performer Alejandra Bogue, whose trans personalities have opened the door for Guevara. “I believe that this fight is not over yet, because there are still people in society who still judge you for who you are, for your way of dressing, but little by little we are taking a step forward,” she emphasizes.

Despite being considered a reference for the LGBT + community, she does not consider herself an activist, since it is a huge responsibility, she says. “I think that I am a reflection of the lives of many trans girls who have gone through the same thing as me. I don’t like that they sometimes see me as an example, because when you have that flag so high, if you mess up or something happens, they crucify you. So I prefer to stay calm,” she says.

Wendy, Perdida Pero Famosa, is also a return to the star’s native Guanajuato, one of the states that is the most difficult for the LGBT+ community, where both equal marriage and the right of transgender people to change their gender identity are restricted. But the image was different the night of the final of La Casa de los Famosos, when around 10,000 people gathered in the Plaza de San Juan del Coecillo, in León, in front of a stage with a giant screen to support and celebrate their countrywoman.

“People change their way of thinking when these types of reality shows are made and succeed. I was part of the success along with all my colleagues. I like people to see life differently, with respect. Or they might say, I judged trans girls, but look at this girl, how spontaneous she is, different, in her own world. I love León, I love Guanajuato. I love it, I’m from there and I will always live there. This happens everywhere, and the important thing is to make people respect us and not see us as different. Trans people are extremely normal. We love, feel and cry just like everyone else,” she concludes serenely, always with a smile.

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