Wendy Guevara has become the first transgender woman to win a reality television series in Mexico.
The social media influencer was a contestant on La Casa de los Famosos Mexico, which translates to The Celebrity House Mexico. The show is the international version of Celebrity Big Brother, with Guevara revealed to be the winner of its first season on 13 August.
“I can’t believe it, my God!” she said moments after it was announced that she was the show’s first winner. She had won with a total of 18.2 million votes, beating competitors including Peruvian TV host Nicola Porcella, Mexican entrepreneur and influencer Alfonso “Poncho” de Nigrisand Mexican actor, and politician Sergio “El Tata” Mayer.
Similar to Big Brother, the influencer, along with 13 other celebrities, spent 10 weeks living in a house where they competed against each other in teams. After competing in challenges, viewers voted them out weekly. Guevara was able to get the audience on her side using skills including her ability to quickly swallow hot dogs.
She ended up posting a video of her win being announced to her Instagram, which has been viewed more than five million time. Guevara is seen in the video wearing a red sequined dress in addition to jewel-studded arm length gloves as she hugged Porcella, who won second place, and began to cry.
Guevara is from León, Guanajuato, and boasts more than six million followers just on Instagram. She is a prominent figure in the LGBTQ+ community, and her win has been met with an outpouring of supportive comments from viewers. “In a country damaged by prejudice and discrimination, today a trans woman won the most popular reality show with the vote and love from the public," one fan tweeted in Spanish.
The influencer first gained internet fame back in 2017, when she posted a video of her and a friend getting lost on a hill. Because of the video, they earned the nickname “Las Perdidas” or “The Lost,” with fans appreciating the way the pair laughed their way through the situation.
She has since gained a following in the millions. At one point, Guevara even branched out to the music scene as she released a single in 2022 called “Putssy,” which has almost 600,000 streams on Spotify, while the music video has more than one million views on YouTube.
After her big win was announced, fans took to social media to express their excitement. Rolling Stone pop and Latin music writer Tomás Mier tweeted that "ALL of Mexico is celebrating" as he showed pictures of people gathering outside Mexico City’s El Ángel, a monument that represents the country’s independence.
“Wendy Guevara, a trans influencer queeeeeen, just won Mexico’s first-ever season of La Casa de Los Famosos. (It’s basically Celeb Big Brother). ALL of Mexico is celebrating. It’s as if El America won the championship up in here at El Ángel. It’s beautiful fr,” the tweet read.
