MJ RODRIGUEZ

MICHAELA JAE RODRIGUEZ HAS EARNED A PLACE IN OUR HEARTS AND IN TELEVISION HISTORY WITH HER PORTRAYAL OF BLANCA RODRIGUEZ-EVANGELISTA IN FX’S POSE, FEATURING THE LARGEST CAST OF TRANSGENDER ACTRESSES IN A SCRIPTED SHOW EVER. The show’s series finale season packed an emotional punch and went out with a bang, a vibrant celebration of the characters, the laughs, the tears, and the ballrooms that have become part of our LGBTQ storytelling on mainstream television. Pose’s Michaela Jae Has Something to Say BY ALEXANDER RODRIGUEZ

Not only did we see Blanca grow into her role as Mother, but we also saw MJ blossom as an actress in her first major TV role and as an activist for the trans community and beyond. The final day of filming was bittersweet.

I knew there was another chapter for me. I knew I wanted to pursue other ventures in my life, but I did not know that it would happen so quickly. But I will say it was beautiful. It was emotional, it was endearing. And more than anything, I feel so strong and empowered. So, the last day I just cried tears of joy.

The ballroom scene presented by Pose was not new to Michaela Jae, she had been voguing from the age of 14, hand-picked by her house father.

My house father at the time was coming to my school and was teaching fashion shows. I was already voguing at high school, with my friends, and we were having battles in the cafeteria, we had all this stuff. We were voguing down! But I just remember him seeing me at a fashion show. I did like this kind of like arm crack behind my back and he was like, “That’s my daughter right there!” And the rest just went on from there!

MJ’s Blanca became mother to us all, her advice and show of unconditional love a force for our present-day LGBTQ community. MJ’s own mother would be her foundation and inspiration.

My mom was one of the main driving forces of why I’m in the music industry today. When I was 11 years old, she put me into a program at New Jersey Performing Arts Center (North New Jersey, all day Brick City - just wanted to throw that out there!). My mom made sure she was adamant with me. She made sure that she kept my energy focused and she saw that I had a knack and a love for the arts, especially music. So, she just kept me diligent in it.

MJ’s childhood would be a colorful one, being raised in an African American and AfroPuerto Rican father. Her heritage is at the core of every performance and every song.

I love being an Afro-Latina woman, I love being Black and I love being a Latina. I feel like there are pieces of my community that have shown up in ways that I’d never thought before. It is empowering to be an Afro-Latina woman in this time and to be a trans woman and just live in my truth. I stand for every part of my communities and my culture.

No one could have predicted the success of Pose. Not only was it a hit with the LGBTQ community, but the show’s reach and presence in the mainstream media also put trans actors into the spotlight. This new generation of actors was here to make noise.

I was not ready for all of it! I was ready for the work of it all, I was ready for the professionalism of it all. I was ready to get down and dirty into an industry that I had already been ready to be a part of, but I didn’t know that it was going to get the extreme reception that it got. I was insecure. I was worried that the world was going to talk about us and, you know, deem us something other than what the world usually does with people or individuals that they have no understanding of. And I was fooled. I was proven wrong. The world instead, or most of the people of the world, shows nothing but love.

What I learned about myself is that Blanca taught me to be a strong woman, a grown woman, a leader. I don’t know how I’m leading, but I know I’m doing it. And I live freely. I live autonomously, but I also live with direction. I make sure that I have a set direction, a set purpose. I don’t know what my purpose is, but I know there’s a purpose. I feel like that’s what I’ve learned from Pose is that there’s a purpose that may be bigger than you, but you got to just follow it. So, I am following it.

Pose was a history lesson for our community. With the younger generation of our community not having experienced the fear we lived in during the AIDS epidemic, it opened our eyes to the reality of that time. MJ started researching the stories of people of that era.

What shocked me most is that (the news) did not shine a light on trans women of color having this disease. And for me, I was just so sad about that because I can only imagine how many women wanted some kind of resource, some kind of place to go to, but they didn’t have it because they weren’t being seen, even as much as the gay community - and that’s no shade to the gay community, but it’s the truth. There were trans women who were not seen. They were considering it “the white man’s disease, gay man’s disease.” And then more research came out and they started sticking it to just gay men in general, when not realizing that it was a disease that affected everyone and that everyone needed the care, and everyone needed help when it came to that disease. I learned a lot when Pose shed a light on that.

In addition to the attention MJ received for her acting, she also became a strong voice as an activist. Looking back at the young, theatre kid, did she have any idea that she would become such a leader in our community?

I did understand what I wanted to do and what I felt my purpose could have been at a very young age. I wanted to be someone who was changing and helping and pushing forward and just being truly and completely immersed in the arts. And boy, was I surprised that it happened the way it did, and I’m glad that it’s going to stay that way. I am excited. I am blessed. I am filled with love. I want to constantly keep instilling that in people, it just feels good. I know I never dreamed it to happen so quickly, but the fact that it did it just showed me that I have worth, and people are looking to me now. And I’m glad because I’m going to be the example, or at least I’m going to try. I always say that I’m going to try to be the example as best as I can. I’m human.

Telling the stories of our community is nothing new to MJ. While attending college, Rodriguez was cast in a theater production of Rent as the iconic Angel, a role that she had wanted to play since first seeing the film. Actress Fredi Walker-Browne (who originated the Broadway role of Joanne) saw MJ’s performance and helped land her an audition for an upcoming off-Broadway production. MJ got the part and earned a Clive Barnes Award for her performance. This year marks the 25th Anniversary of Rent.

What I learned from Angel, and what I incorporated from her, is that she lives every day as if it were her last. And I live my day, like every single day, if it were my last. I LIVE, she taught me that. What a strong individual that person was, simply bearing and dealing with the onslaught of HIV and AIDS at that time - that was empowering to me. Her death was very emotional to me, but the fact that her spirituality, her energy was left through all these strong characters, this strong ensemble, made me want to leave that kind of legacy. It made me want to leave that kind of impression on people when I’m gone. Like, this is what you need to do, what you need to keep doing. You need to give love. And sometimes when people are down, get them up, make them happy, you know?

MJ got to play another iconic theatre role. She challenged theatre norms with her portrayal of Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors at Pasadena Playhouse. Everything from what had been presented with that character changed. Vocal keys were different, the energy was different, the role of Audrey was thrust into the modern day. She and her costar, George Salazar, performed the show’s hit “Suddenly Seymour” on The Late Late Show with James Corden, a performance that, for MJ, was at once as exhilarating as it was terrifying.

I was very nervous at first because the vocal keys were changed, and I was still in this phase of comfortability with my voice and how people receive my voice and in all different facets of it. So, that came into play. Once I got over that, the focus was really representing all women. No one has ever gotten a chance to play Audrey who is trans and Afro-Latina. So, I wanted to speak for every single last person who was within those intersections - Black, Latina, trans, Asian, or a white woman that doesn’t feel like she’s the stereotypical blonde woman who has to feel inferior or has to be considered dumb because she’s blonde. I wanted to break down those barriers, and I feel like the only way to do that was to go into that role. And now any woman who goes into that role, whether she be cis or trans, she is not going to go into it thinking that she must be this caricature, she can go in there with the story of this woman who

is fighting and who has been battered and who has been broken but finds herself through someone who actually sees her, who is Seymour. And that’s one of the reasons why “Suddenly Seymour” was one of my favorite moments too, because it was speaking to myself - those words spoke to me as a woman of the trans experience. And if it spoke to me, then I know it spoke to all those women out there who were looking at me, who possibly knew, or did not know, that I was trans, but saw me and understood.

And now, in her own voice, Michaela Jae has “Something to Say.” This summer, she dropped her debut single, a definite summer bop with a message. Music has always been a major part of MJ’s life, she was a multi scholarship recipient at Berklee College of Music. This time, there’s no role, there’s no script, just pure Michaela Jae.

When we ended on the third season, I was just like, “work!” This is a perfect time for people to see the person outside of Blanca and inside of MJ, which

(left to right) Hailie Sahar, Angel Bismark Curiel, Indya Moore, Dyllón Burnside, MJ Rodriguez, Angelica Ross, Dominique Jackson, Ryan Jamaal Swain, and Billy Porter

is Michaela Jae. I want people to really see what I have to offer as an artist and what I have to say as an artist, which is “Something to Say.” The song is really about upliftment and togetherness and speaking out, knowing who you are and never being afraid to speak out because we all have something to say, knowing that we all have more in common than we realize, and it doesn’t take just one group of people - it takes all of us. My favorite lyric is “black and brown and yellow, and why let’s stand for something tonight.” We are here as a collective, as the human race. So, yeah, there’s a bigger purpose behind the song. The music gets you up, but the lyrics are very serious.

Saying something, as MJ has, can ignite hate. There are people saying something and standing for something on the opposite side of the fence that rally against us and hurt our community. How do we build bridges with them? Or do we just work on making our community stronger?

I think most importantly, we must keep trying. I think there are some people out there who just don’t have the education and who don’t mean any harm. We know the people that mean harm have been very prevalent to us and now it’s everywhere, we see it now more than we have ever. So now we know those specific people to distance ourselves from. But the people who are willing to learn, more willing to understand, really willing to getting into our lives and our story, we should give them just a little bit of grace too. I still think there is a space for everyone on this earth for understanding and not every person on this planet understands the human condition, right? But there are some of us who so happen to be in the LGBTQIA community, who also happened to be in the black and POC community, who happen to be in the white community, who do understand the human condition and see the bigger picture and why we deserve to be together. So, those people who’ve been creating those legislations and who have been deeming us something that we’re not, you can keep doing what you’re doing, but we’re not going anywhere and we’re going to keep fighting. And we’re beating the stereotypes, we’re stepping up and fighting up against the stigma. We are literally here, and we are not going anywhere.

Left to Right top: MJ Rodriguez, Angelica Ross, Bottom: Hailie Sahar, Dominique Jackson and Indya Moore

Michaela Jae is a modern-day superhero. It is fitting that she takes her stage name from Marvel comics. MJ is a play on Mary Jane from Spider-Man, and she made history playing Sister Boy on the TV show Luke Cage, marking the first appearance of both a transgender actress and character in the Marvel universe.

My love of comics started when I was a child. My uncle got me hooked on comics. Luke Cage was one of his comics that he had stacked up in his closet, and I was just sneaking into his room and stealing his comic books. And, after a while, I had already known how to draw so I was like, I’m going to just start drawing and creating characters that I think best represent me or who I felt more resonant with.

We will see a lighter side to MJ in the upcoming AppleTV series Loot starring Maya Rudolph.

I’ve always wanted to just delve into comedy. I knew I had that kind of knack, and I knew that I had the ability to just take it head-on. And when I found out that it was Maya Rudolph, I just felt safe, with her protecting me in that space and just being comforting. She’s been in the business for so long, I feel like I’m someone that’s going to be under her wing. I can’t wait, I cannot wait until I play next to her. And we get to delve into these two different characters, a totally different character from Blanca and the world gets to see it. They get to see this whole story.

And what does Michaela Jae want to say, right here, right now?

I got something to say, and this is what I’m going to say. Dear babies out there across the world, no matter if you’re cis or if you’re trans, or if you’re a part of any type of culture or community – keep being you, keep loving you, keep pushing, never let anyone tell you that you don’t deserve to live or exist because you do. You have a purpose on this earth and I’m a testament to it. And if ever you feel that you are going to falter, or if you feel that you don’t deserve to be here, look to me. I promise

I’ll be there. ■

You can follow Michaela Jae on IG: @MJRodriguez7 Check out our in-depth podcast chat with MJ at Metrosource.com

SUMMER READING

SIX HEALTH AND SELF-HELP BOOKS TO DEVOUR THIS SUMMER

BY JEFFREY JAMES KEYES

WHILE SELECTING THE PERFECT PAGE TURNER TO READ BEACH OR POOLSIDE, there are a few great health and wellness books to the market including Aaron Day’s Healthy Keto Air Fryer Cookbook and Louise Green’s Fitness for Everyone: 50 Exercises for Every Type of Body. If you’re looking for a little out-of-the-box guidance from the universe, or a few “dips” from drag artists we’re including a few titles below, as well as useful tips for decluttering, and healing the prostate. Choose one or several and use the long days of summer to find opportunities to come back to yourself and get healthy. We’ll meet you in the cabana!

FITNESS FOR EVERYONE

50 EXERCISES FOR EVERY TYPE OF BODY By Louise Green

Not a gym person? If you’re someone who’s never felt comfortable lifting weights, pounding on an elliptical, or riding on an exercise bike then Fitness for Everyone: 50 Exercises for Every Type of Body is the book for you. Flipping through the 256 pages and seeing models of all shapes and sizes embarking on manageable, effective exercise can bring a smile to even the staunchest gym evader. Louise Green is a personal trainer, fitness coach, fitness activist, and writer who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s and through her twenties, like many of us, she lived “through a period of extreme diet culture.” In her Fitness for Everyone, Green states, “Maybe your struggle isn’t weight, but whatever it is, accepting and adapting to how your body moves is absolutely possible.” Want to target muscles in your upper or lower body, strengthen your cardio, or develop balance and stamina, these fifty exercises (and modifications) are a manageable variety that literally anyone can do. The book is divided into five chapters, including Fitness Basics, Upper Body & Core, Lower Body & Cardio, Stretch & Balance, and Combinations, Intervals, & Complexes. Green is the founder of Big Girl Fit, a brand, fitness app, book, weekly podcast, and monthly column in Self magazine. Her work has impacted thousands of individuals around the world. Join Green in her quest to break the stigma that fitness and working out is only for one body type.

ANGEL WISDOM TAROT

DECK AND GUIDEBOOK by Radleigh Valentine Illustrations by Dan Craig

Tarot novices and experts alike can gain a great deal from the lavishly illustrated and symbolic tarot deck, which “draws upon the wisdom and power of the archangels to help you speak with the divine”. The guidebook, accompanied by a deck of stunning cards, offers a quick reference guide to the specific card, meanings behind the cards, and how to work with tarot, in general. Find uplifting interpretations of traditional tarot messages and imagery, including diverse, contemporary depictions of classic characters. Valentine includes unique features on each card to make them easy to use. Is this your first time exploring tarot cards? The guidebook offers clear details and reference points for each card, including the Major Arcana, which consists of 22 cards describing major events and turning points in your life. Explore deeper insights like words of awareness, other people, and additional interpretations meanings of specific cards. Enjoy gorgeous artwork while flipping through these cards, and who knows what answers you might receive from the cards.

HEALTHY KETO AIR FRYER COOKBOOK

By Aaron Day

Air fryers became the craze this past year while everyone was in lock down and they can be key to post pandemic weight loss. Aaron Day’s Healthy Keto Air Fryer Cookbook is the perfect choice if you’re looking for a manual to healthy cooking. The book, published this past winter, includes 100 keto-friendly recipes including breakfast, mains, sides, snacks, and even desserts. Day, an accredited nutritional therapist, clinical weight loss practitioner, advanced sports exercise nutritional advisor. He previously penned Keto Sweet Tooth Cookbook and Easy Keto Meal Prep. In addition to recipes, Healthy Keto Air Fryer Cookbook offers complete nutritional data for calories, fat net carbs, protein, and dietary fiber as well as expert keto and air fryer information including “tips and tricks’’ for getting the most out of using your air fryer. Day walks readers through information describing the fundamentals of the keto diet, how it can help with weight loss, as well as tips for keto success. Recipes include Raspberry & Vanilla Pancakes, a Mediterranean Halloumi Bake, Breaded Onion Rings, Ratatouille, Zucchini Rounds, Pumpkin Pie, and even Snickerdoodle Cookies. Wait, keto Snickerdoodle Cookies? Yes, the keto alternative is delicious and chewy, and will be a healthy hit at your next social gathering.

SECRETS OF SPACE CLEARING

ACHIEVE INNER AND OUTER HARMONY THROUGH ENERGY WORK, DECLUTTERING, AND FENG SHUI by Denise Linn

Does your home or workspace no longer feel comfortable? In her new book, Secrets of Space Clearing: Achieve Inner and Outer Harmony through Energy Work, Decluttering, and Feng Shui, Denise Linn, notes every space has energy, and that “every cubic centimeter of it, whether solid or seemingly empty space, is composed of infinite energy ... sometimes energy in a home or office that can become stagnant and dull.” For the past five decades, Linn has practiced the art of cleansing and harmonizing home energy. “Space clearing,” a term Linn coined, is the art of cleansing and harmonizing the energy within an environment. This practice has the power to not only make your home feel good but also help those within to feel more positive and energetic, to bring balance to relationships, and to remove blocks for increased abundance, creativity, and well-being. Linn’s guidebook is peaceful and fun, she walks you through space clearing fundamentals like space clearing practices, the four stages of space clearing, setting the groundwork for space clearing, and shares how clutter clearing is modern-day alchemy. In Part II of the book, she shares the deeper energy of space clearing tools, like sound, the alchemy of air and fire, as well as elemental space clearing and mystic mudras. The appendices in the back of the book, including a reference guide to colors, stones, aromas, flowers, and more, how they impact us, and how each type of stone or gem elicits a particular kind of energy.

HEALING THE PROSTATE

THE BEST HOLISTIC METHODS TO TREAT THE PROSTATE AND OTHER COMMON MALE-RELATED CONDITIONS by Dr. Mark Stengler

This past winter Dr. Mark Stengler put out an essential book which all men, regardless of age, should look at. For all its many important functions, the prostate gland can become a health curse to many men. Many common prostate conditions including benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), prostate cancer, prostatitis, testosterone deficiency, and erectile dysfunction can be healed holistically, or even prevented through simple steps that every man can take. Diet, supplements, and lifestyle choices can all support your prostate and overall health. While there are surgical, pharmaceutical, and other conventional therapies for all these conditions, scientific studies have demonstrated that a comprehensive, integrative, or holistic approach to healing can dramatically reduce risk and/or decrease negative side effects and symptoms. Adjusting your diet to a more “Mediterranean diet” full of organic plant foods, no dairy, and low in animal products, exercising, taking herbal supplements, even incorporating beta-sitosterol or saw palmetto into the diet can make an enormous difference. Don’t know where to begin? Dr. Stengler offers a clear two-week meal plan with a variety of delicious recipes in the back of his book. It’s never too early to start healing your prostate.

SERVING FACE

LESSONS ON POISE AND (DIS)GRACE FROM THE WORLD OF DRAG By Felix Le Freak

Self-help from drag queens? Oh, yes, hunty ... Come through and serve it to the children! For drag fans, or those who need a little charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent in their life, Serving Face: Lessons on poise and (dis)grace from the world of drag is a wonderful addition to the coffee table. Written by Felix Le Freak, winner of Drag Idol UK, 2018, with a foreword by Monét X Change, winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars season four and voted Miss Congeniality on RuPaul’s Drag Race season ten. Author Felix Le Freak says, “It has been a privilege and a romp to delve into the minds of these utterly fabulous artists. Drag is not just a hot topic right now but a rich historic tradition and the starting point of infinite creative possibilities. I hope that the sass, wit and campery contained within this book sparks joy in the imagination of its reader, as writing it did for me!” Serving Face offers inspiration and motivation while dishing out real talk life lessons and offering tips and tricks from some of the most revered drag queens and kings from around the world, including Adam All, Andro Gin, Art Simone, Calypso Jeté Balmain, Cheddar Gorgeous, CHIYO, Miss Coco Peru, Crystal, Evah Destruction, Fay Ludes, Freida Slaves, Gingzilla, Glamrou, Majic Dyke, MYNXIE, Myra Dubois, Peaches Christ, Sum Ting Wong, Tynomi Banks and Yuhua Hamasaki. Explore the multitude of fun offerings of this book, including a handy glossary of terms including: clock, for the gods, lace front, shade, and gag. Peruse through the nuanced, and informative interviews and profiles of each of the queens and kings including a fun “60-Second” sidebar for each legend. Explore the broad array of performers and lewk queens, including those who identify as camp, fierce, glam, and punk. The interviews, as Le Freak states, “cover a broad range of topics, from queer history and underground movements to the peaks and perils of the reality TV zeitgeist. What they have in common is a wealth of overflowing insight on life, style, and performance, straight from the unicorn’s mouth!”