Cynthia Lee Fontaine
Cynthia Lee Fontaine is the stage name of Carlos Díaz Hernández,[1] a Puerto Rican drag performer and reality television personality from Austin, Texas, best known for competing on the eighth and ninth seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race. She won the title of Miss Congeniality on season 8.
Cynthia Lee Fontaine | |
|---|---|
Fontaine in 2017 | |
| Born | Carlos Díaz Hernández February 16, 1981 |
| Occupation | Drag queen |
| Television | RuPaul's Drag Race (season 8, season 9) |
| Term | Miss Congeniality |
| Predecessor | Katya Zamolodchikova |
| Successor | Valentina |
Early life and education
Hernández was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico as the oldest child of Maria Hernandez.[1][2] He has a degree in clinical psychology and worked in the mental health field for six years before starting drag.[3] Hernández began doing drag in Puerto Rico in 2006, and moved to Killeen, Texas in 2008, where he started performing at Oil Can Harry's. He moved to Austin in 2011 and continued performing.[1]
Career
Fontaine competed on the eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, which premiered on March 7, 2016. During the show, she frequently referred to her "cucu", meaning buttocks, which became a part of the show's slang.[1] Entertainment Weekly said "cucu" has evolved "into the queer pop cultural canon".[4] Fontaine was the third queen eliminated, garnering a 10th-place finish. Even though she was only on the show for three episodes, Fontaine was voted Miss Congeniality by the fans, giving her the distinction of being voted Miss Congeniality while having spent the least amount of time on the show compared to other award recipients.[3]
Fontaine was invited back for RuPaul's Drag Race season 9 as the surprise 14th queen.[5] The show premiered on March 24, 2017. In episode six, Fontaine portrayed Sofia Vergara for Snatch Game, an impersonation that was not received well by the judges.[6] The A.V. Club wrote "Cynthia Lee Fontaine’s Sofia Vergara is the big disaster of this "Snatch Game," and even without the largely incomprehensible dialogue, it's a failure on a visual level."[7] Fontaine ended up securing once again the 10th-place finish, being sent home in a lipsync challenge against Peppermint.[8] In an interview with Vulture, Fontaine said:
It was probably my time, you know? I'm a fighter. I may have been a little bit concerned about the challenges and all this stuff, but I respect the panel of judges and RuPaul. I got so much from season nine, so no regrets.[9]
The Houston Chronicle, lamenting her short run on the show in season 8, stated Fontaine was "like a bilingual Tammie Brown", referencing another queen from season 1 of the show.[6] Denver Pride called her "a fixture of the Austin drag scene".[10] Fontaine is a regular guest at the RuPaul's Drag Cons. She appeared at RuPaul's DragCon LA 2016 and 2017,[11][12] and at RuPaul's DragCon NYC in 2017 and 2019.[13][14]
In November 2017, Fontaine participated in Queens United/Reinas Unidas, a benefit show organized by Phi Phi O'Hara in support of Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. The show raised over $80,000. Fontaine stated, "Puerto Rico, you are part of our heart in the United States of America. I'm Puerto Rican. I love you from the bottom of my heart, and you've got our support."[15] In September 2018, Fontaine became the third drag queen ever hosted at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. Previous drag queens performed there in 2012 and 2015. The event, hosted by the Latin American Student Organization, included a performance and interview, which "touched on themes of family, health and getting out of one's comfort zone."[16] On her YouTube channel, Fontaine has two shows: CuCu Confessions and Memoirs of My CuCu.[3] She also headlines a one-woman show called Cynthia Lee Fontaine: More Intimate CuCu Confessions, which she performs around the United States.[17]
Music
Fontaine released her first single "Pegajosa" in November 2018.[18] Writing for World of Wonder, James St. James called the song "fabulous" and the accompanying music video "ultra-fabuloso".[19]
Personal life and recognition
Fontaine was diagnosed with stage 1 liver cancer in 2015, two weeks after filming the third episode of the eighth season of Drag Race.[20] He stated during the filming of the show he lost 47 pounds.[21] After four rounds of chemotherapy, he went into remission.[21] He also revealed on the show that he almost performed at Pulse nightclub the night of the Orlando shooting in 2016.[22] He stated, "we never expect that a tragedy like this would happen in our community. We thought we'd finally built a safe space."[23]
The City of Austin was set to proclaim March 26, 2020, as Cynthia Lee Fontaine Day, but had to postpone because of the COVID-19 pandemic in Texas.[24]
Filmography
Television
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | RuPaul's Drag Race (season 8) | Contestant (10th place) |
| 2017 | RuPaul's Drag Race (season 9) | Contestant (10th place) |
| 2017 | Hey Qween![25] |
Music videos
| Year | Title | Artist | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | "Pegajosa" | Herself | |
| 2019 | "Pam Pam" | Allen King | [26] |
| 2021 | "Took a Minute" | Molly Burch | [27] |
Web series
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Cucu Confessions | Herself | Host | [28] |
| 2017 | Whatcha Packin' | Guest | [29] | |
| 2017 | Cooking with Drag Queens | Guest | [30] | |
| 2017 | Queen to Queen | Guest, with Eureka O'Hara | [31] | |
| 2018 | Bootleg Opinions | Guest, hosted by Yuhua Hamasaki | [32] | |
| 2020 | Bring Back my Queens | Guest | ||
| 2020 | Dragueando | Guest | [33] |
Discography
Singles
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2018 | "Pegajosa" |
References
- ^ a b c d Duttweiler, Darcie (April 21, 2017). "Austin Drag Queen Cynthia Lee Fonatine on RuPaul, Her Famous Catchphrase, and Beating Cancer". Austin Monthly. Austin, Texas. from the original on January 9, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
- ^ "When I'm with Her: Cynthia & Maria". H&M. May 8, 2019. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
- ^ a b c O'Keeffe, Kevin (March 31, 2017). "6 things to know about Cynthia Lee Fontaine, the 14th queen on 'RuPaul's Drag Race'". Mic. Archived from the original on January 9, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
- ^ Nolfi, Joey (April 6, 2017). "RuPaul's Drag Race: Cynthia Lee Fontaine explains the NSFW mysteries of 'cucu'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- ^ Nolfi, Joey (April 1, 2017). "How Cynthia Lee Fontaine got a new lease on life, her cucu, and RuPaul's Drag Race". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
- ^ a b Guerra, Joey (March 23, 2016). "Cynthia Lee Fontaine gets revealing after 'Drag Race' elimination". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- ^ Sava, Oliver (April 17, 2017). "A boring "Snatch Game" makes for another underwhelming Drag Race". A.V. Club. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
- ^ Nichols, James Michael (April 29, 2017). "Last Words: Cynthia Lee Fontaine Reflects On Her Time On 'RuPaul's Drag Race'". HuffPost. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
- ^ Walker, Harron (April 28, 2017). "Drag Race's Cynthia Lee Fontaine on Having 'No Regrets' About Season Nine". Vulture.com. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
- ^ "All-Star Line-Up Lights Up Denver Pride Stages". Denver Pride. May 2, 2019. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- ^ "Tucking 101: RuPaul's DragCon 2016". Wow Presents Plus. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
Yara Sofia, Naysha Lopez and Cynthia Lee Fontaine lend their magical tucking wisdom to the children at RuPaul's DragCon 2016 at the Tucking 101 panel! With a full tutorial and Q&A, how can anyone's tuck pop?
- ^ "Cynthia Lee Fontaine Photos". Broadway World. May 1, 2017. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- ^ "Cynthia Lee Fontaine at DragCon". The Dusty Rebel. September 11, 2017. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- ^ Acosta, Danny Jr. (September 13, 2019). "RuPaul's DragCon NYC 2019: Day 1". Nite Life Exchange. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- ^ Schiller, Rebecca (January 5, 2018). "Phi Phi O'Hara, Cynthia Lee Fontaine & More Drag Queens Share Messages of Support for Puerto Rico". Billboard. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- ^ Wang, Esther (September 28, 2018). "Cynthia Lee Fontaine's advice: 'be friendly'". The Bowdoin Orient. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
- ^ Valdez, Matt (April 5, 2017). "Cynthia Lee Fontaine on making her triumphant 'Drag Race' comeback after battling cancer". Queerty. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
- ^ Patterson, Denny (June 6, 2019). "We're Cucu for Cynthia Lee Fontaine". Out Front Magazine. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
- ^ St. James, James (November 13, 2018). "Check It Out Now: Cynthia Lee Fontaine Premieres Fabulous New Single and Music Video "Pegajosa"". The WOW Report. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- ^ "Austin Drag Queen Cynthia Lee Fontaine on RuPaul, Her Famous Catchphrase, and Beating Cancer". Retrieved June 14, 2018.
- ^ a b Roberts, Amy (2017). "When Was Cynthia Lee Fontaine Sick? The 14th Queen on 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Is a True Survivor". Bustle. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
- ^ Jung, E. Alex (April 6, 2017). "RuPaul's Drag Race's Cynthia Lee Fontaine Almost Performed at Pulse the Night of the Orlando Shooting". Vulture.com. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- ^ Lamba, Navi (January 30, 2018). "RuPaul's Drag Race is the TV friend you need". BBC. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
- ^ "Postponed - Proclamation Day: Cynthia Lee Fontaine". Austin Texas. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- ^ "RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE'S CYNTHIA LEE FONTAINE: GROWING UP CUCU: HEY QWEEN! BONUS". Hey Qween! TV. March 31, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- ^ "Allen King – Pam Pam (feat. Cynthia Lee Fontaine)". YouTube. July 25, 2019. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- ^ Claire Valentine (June 29, 2021). "PREMIERE: MOLLY BURCH & CYNTHIA LEE FONTAINE TEAM UP FOR "TOOK A MINUTE" VIDEO". Nylon. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
- ^ CuCuCONFESSIONS (PhiPhi O'hara Take Over). YouTube. April 14, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- ^ Whatcha Packin' w/ Michelle Visage & Cynthia Lee Fontaine | RuPaul's Drag Race (Season 9 Episode 6). YouTube. May 1, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- ^ Cooking with Drag Queens – Cynthia Lee Fontaine – Pastelón. YouTube. September 6, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
- ^ Queen to Queen: Eureka O'Hara & Cynthia Lee Fontaine | RuPaul's Drag Race Season 9 | Now on VH1. YouTube. June 18, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- ^ Bootleg Fashion Photo Ruview: Holi-Slay Christmas Special with Cynthia Lee Fontaine!!. YouTube. December 11, 2018. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- ^ Lessner, Justin (October 7, 2020). "These Latinx 'Drag Race' Queens Are Reuniting For 'Dragueando' And It's About Time". We Are Mitu. Retrieved October 16, 2020.