True colors
Christian Chávez finds a bit of himself in his TV characters
Christian Chávez publicly revealed he was gay 14 years ago. But the actor and member of Mexican pop supergroup RBD says for years he was “afraid of gay characters” and shied away from portraying them onscreen.
“I was like, ‘Why should I play a gay character just because I’m gay?’ ” Chávez, 37, says. “My whole life, I was always trying not to ‘look gay’ or trying not to look feminine, not showing a side of me.”
Chávez, who appears in the new Telemundo novela “La Suerte de Loli,” didn’t have many positive examples to look to as a child. He was born in McAllen and grew up in Mexico “in a really Catholic family, in a really Catholic school” where being gay was simply not accepted. On
top of that, LGBTQ+ representation was, and still is, a rarity in Mexico’s pop-culture landscape.
The 1999 sitcoms “Los Beltran” and “La Vida en el Espejo” featured two of the first realistic gay characters on Spanish-language television. Just two years ago, “El Corazón Nunca se Equivoca” centered on a young gay couple living in Mexico City and was seen as a pop-culture landmark.
Coming out
Chávez publicly came out in 2007 after photos of his wedding ceremony were published in a gossip magazine. It made frontpage headlines throughout Mexico. He’s still one of, if not the only, major Mexican star to admit he is gay.
“One of the reasons I decided to come out was that I didn’t have that figure as a Latino actor. I didn’t have anyone in Mexico that I saw that accepted themselves and fought for it,” Chávez says.
He’s hoping to be that example for others in “La Suerte de Loli.” The series centers on Loli (Silvia Navarro), a workaholic radio producer with no interest in cultivating a personal life. When her best friend suddenly dies, Loli is left everything, including two young children. The show features cameos by several popular singers, including Paulina Rubio, Luis Coronel and Manuel Turizo.
Chávez plays Matías, Loli’s loyal assistant, who pushes against gay stereotypes. And he’s not just there to crack jokes or simply exist. Matías has been married for five years to his architect husband, who wants to be a father. Through the series, we see the couple’s home struggles and Matías’ own battle to advance his career.
“A few years ago, we weren’t talking about these things. The most important thing for a gay character was coming out and loving yourself and people accepting them,” Chávez says. “Matías is a totally open gay person. He’s showing this other side of gay people. It’s not only your sexuality. After that’s accepted, what else comes with it in life?”
Chávez says he was spurred to be more authentic onscreen after he was cast in Season 3 of the Netflix series “La Casa de las Flores,” where he played ill-fated drag performer Pato. The role pushed him to confront long-held fears. He was also inspired by “RuPaul’s Drag Race” favorite Valentina, who appeared on the show.
“The drag world was really difficult to understand. I was so scared. But when I talked to Valentina, she told me her story and how she was bullied when she was a kid. When she got into character, she found that power. I was like, ‘OK, now I get it,’ ” Chávez says. “You see all the possibilities that come with a gay character. It’s like blooming for me. It’s not just OK. It’s wonderful to be you. It make you special. It’s life-changing.”
Fantasy to reality
Chávez had a transformative experience years earlier as part of RBD. The coed pop group was created for the telenovela “Rebelde” about six students at a boarding school who form a band. They quickly made the leap to real-world stages, selling out stadiums and spawning a parade of merchandise. RBD released six albums that sold more than 15 million copies around the world. They even recorded one in English, “Rebels,” that sold almost 3 million copies and features songs by Diane Warren and Guy Roche.
The group’s music was finally made available on streaming platforms in August. Four members, including Chávez, released a new single, “Siempre he Estado Aqui,” in November that generated a TikTok challenge. They reunited in December for a virtual show that was viewed by more than 1.5 million people in the first 12 hours.
I felt like I was 21 again,” says Chávez, who split time between RBD rehearsals and filming for “Loli” last year. “You’re listening to the songs and you’re doing the choreography. You remember. Everything hits you. When I was in RBD, I was so confused about everything. It was so big. This time, I really wanted to enjoy it like crazy. And I did. For me, it was like closing that cycle.”
Chávez released a solo album, “Almas Transparentes,” in 2010 but says music is no longer his passion. Acting offers more stability and, more importantly, the chance to give part of himself to TV characters who could potentially change people’s minds and open their hearts, from grandmothers to kids.
“I used to go every night and ask God to change me. It went on for five years, and then I understood this is not what God wants. God loves me. You lose so much time,” Chávez says. “Now, this is totally me, and it’s really strong. That’s why I wanna talk about it because it’s something we should talk about. You don’t have to waste your time trying to be someone else or trying to make people like you. You’re never gonna get that. You have to be you.”