When the lashes are set, the wig styled, and the heels strike their first confident step, something extraordinary happens. Francis Yutrago dissolves, and Francheska Dynamites emerges in full, shimmering bloom. To see her onstage is to witness the transformation not just of a body, but of a life. The air seems to shift. The spotlight catches her cheekbones and the sequins on her gown, but what truly dazzles is the freedom she embodies.
“It was freedom,” she recalls of her very first drag performance at Taber Pride in 2017, the small Alberta town’s first Pride celebration. “I had always loved to dance, but opportunities were rare. When I stepped onstage in drag, it felt like a rebirth. I realized people could finally see me.” That single performance became the fulcrum upon which her life pivoted, a moment where the weight of years of hiding lifted and allowed her true self to shine.
Francheska’s story, however, begins far from Canada’s prairies, on a small island in the Philippines, where queerness was tolerated in whispers but punished in practice. He grew up in a culture where effeminacy was mocked and queerness was confined to stereotypes. “In the Philippines, it is not illegal to be gay, but there is a lot of bullying,” Francheska explained. “From elementary school through college, I got picked on, asked personal questions, and faced constant denial because I wasn’t ready to come out. It was emotionally and mentally challenging. I had to pretend and lie just to feel safe. Sometimes I had to stand up for myself physically. People assumed that because I was feminine I could not defend myself, but I could, and I did.”
From a young age, Francheska learned to dream of escape. “In my head, I always knew I had to leave. Maybe Japan, maybe the West. Somewhere I could breathe, somewhere I could finally come out. Many Filipinos I knew went to Japan for six-month contracts as singers or dancers and came back financially stable. That inspired me, even though I did not see clear avenues for gay people like me.” That aspiration to find a space where she could exist freely became a guiding principle in her life.
That dream materialized in 2010 when Francis immigrated to Canada under the Live-In Caregiver Program at 25 years old. Edmonton was his first stop. “I was so happy when I got my visa. I was screaming and jumping in excitement. I thought all my dreams would come true. But arriving in Alberta was a little underwhelming. I expected a cosmopolitan city, but it was quiet, the neighborhoods were identical, and socially, I felt isolated. Initially, I focused entirely on my work and papers, not my personal life.”
In Canada, Francis worked tirelessly. Care work by day, fast food and janitorial shifts by night. “I had to support my family back home — my mother’s medication, my brother’s tuition. Every dollar mattered.” While caregiving is noble, it is also draining, both emotionally and physically. “I lived a double life,” he says. “At work, especially in private homes, I had to be discreet. Employers could fire me if they knew too much. So I gave them the caregiver. On stage, I gave everything else.”
It was drag that cracked open the silence of his immigrant life. In 2017, at that fateful Taber Pride festival, Francheska Dynamites burst forth. Just months later, she competed in Miss Philippines Canada Queen Pride in Calgary. Pageantry became her arena, and almost immediately, she began collecting crowns: Miss Queen Philippines Canada 2018, Miss Dame of Progress 2019, Miss Fiesta Filipino Queen 2019, and Queen of Canada Tourism 2023. For the first time, Francis was not hiding. “After I did drag for the first time, I felt ease, relief, happiness. I realized I did not have to explain anymore. People could finally see me.”
“Sometimes I had to stand up for myself physically. People assumed that because I was feminine I could not defend myself, but I could, and I did” – Francheska Dynamites
Her story soon reached national audiences when she was featured in Season 3 of CBC’s Canada’s a Drag. Then came the 2022 documentary Francheska: Prairie Queen, which premiered at the Calgary International Film Festival. Directed by Laura Lynn O’Grady, the film captured the duality of Francis’s life: caregiver by day, drag artist by night, and the weight of supporting family back in the Philippines after a devastating typhoon. It showcased how she sews gowns after twelve-hour shifts, scrubs hospital floors, and still finds time to perfect her performances. Most recently, she was crowned Alberta’s Next Drag Superstar 2025 — a title that affirms both her artistry and her resilience.
For many, the film was their first encounter with the glittering paradox of Francheska Dynamites: the queen who works tirelessly behind the scenes, the performer who commands the stage with effortless glamour, and the human being navigating life with compassion, resilience, and creativity. “It is not easy,” she admits. “But drag saved me from a life of only work, home, work. It made my world colorful.”
If drag gave her wings, it also gave her a voice. “Growing up, I had no role models. In Lethbridge, I became one. When younger kids saw me, I wanted them to know that they can shine, that they can make space for themselves. Drag is not just entertainment. It is visibility. It is survival.”
Francheska’s persona is inspired by Beyoncé and other R&B divas, but at its heart, it is rooted in resilience. “My name came from people teasing me, turning Francis into Francheska as a joke. I took that joke and made it my crown.” It is this alchemy—turning pain into performance, insult into identity—that makes her artistry Vogue-worthy.
Today, Francheska lives in Stirling, Alberta, with her fiancé Cody, performing regularly in Lethbridge and across Canada. But even as crowns line her shelves, she remains grounded. “Every title, every show, every performance; it is not just for me. It is for my family back home. For every queer kid in the Philippines who thinks they will never be seen. For every caregiver who thinks they cannot dream. Drag is not disguise. It is revelation.”
Her ambitions are far from contained. “Where do I see myself next? Bigger stages, more crowns, but also more storytelling. I want to keep showing that our lives are complex, not clichés. Caregivers, immigrants, queens; we are more than one thing. We can be everything.” She wants her performances to reflect the multiplicity of life itself—the grit, the glamour, and the humanity.
As the spotlight catches her cheekbone and the music swells, Francheska Dynamites proves it. The diva who once planned her escape from a small island is now dazzling on stages across the Canadian prairies. She is not just surviving. She is becoming. She is thriving, and in doing so, she is lighting a path for others who long for freedom, visibility, and the courage to become their own masterpiece.
Her story mirrors the power of reinvention, resilience, and the art of claiming space. It is proof that transformation is not just physical, but a reclamation of the soul. In every wig, every sequinned gown, every performance, Francheska Dynamites reminds us that the journey to becoming oneself is the greatest art form of all.
Featured Image: Darla Woodley
