Miguel St. Michael, a queer Mexican-American singer-songwriter, has released his new single “La De Mala Gente” (She of Bad People) featuring Cynthia Lee Fontaine and Babiboi.
“In my hometown in South Texas, you were considered ‘de mala gente’ (of bad people) if your parents allowed you to express your queerness openly or if you just didn’t live by traditional Catholic norms,” said Miguel.
St. Michael says he learned this as a kid when he saw a drag queen for the first time in the tiny border town of Peñitas, Texas.
“My family was driving through the neighborhood and my mom yelled out in horror ‘Mírala! (look at her)’ while the rest of the family in the car reacted in disgust.” recalled Miguel.
“Es de mala gente,” said Miguel’s dad.
These Spanish phrases uttered by his parents would later become the building blocks of his new original single, “La De Mala Gente.”
After moving to Austin as a teen, St. Michael began exploring Austin’s club scene, attending drag shows at Oilcan Harry’s hosted by Austin Drag Icon Kelly Kline, who soon became the primary inspiration for his new single.
“Kelly Kline is beautiful and unapologetically Latina,” said Miguel. “She let it be known in the clubs at a time when they wouldn’t even play Spanish music.
St. Michael says she created a safe space for queer Latinos lip-synching to Selena songs and rancheras despite being criticized by others. Miguel says he wanted to write a song that told her story of resilience and tenacity.
“Kelly Kline is a fighter and does what she wants,” added Miguel. “It’s no doubt that her influence has laid the groundwork for many Queer Latin-themed nights we now have in various clubs in Austin.”
Soon after, Miguel met Cynthia Lee Fontaine at a Wednesday night drag show.
“I didn’t know who she was and she had yet to be on RuPaul’s Drag Race. But I was immediately captivated by her talent and charm,” said Miguel.
A few days later Fontaine approached St. Michael at the same bar.
“She grabbed my arm and said ‘I heard your music and love your voice! We need to do a duet!”
Miguel says this surprised him. At the time he was in a band called Son de Rey that mostly played cumbia, a music genre dominated by machismo.
“It was impossible for me to imagine singing with a drag queen, so I was afraid to pursue the idea,” commented Miguel.
Soon after, Fontaine went on to participate in seasons 8 and 9 of RuPaul’s Drag Race and win Miss Congeniality.
However, a year after Cynthia’s time on Drag Race, Miguel ran into her again at Oilcan Harry’s and she continued to insist on doing a collaboration.
“I was flattered that she would still ponder this idea even after working with big artists like Raymix and Gloria Trevi,” says St. Michael.
It wasn’t until working on his solo project in 2022 where he revisited the song “La De Mala Gente” and pitched it to his producer, Grammy winner Fabian Hernandez.
When recording the song, Miguel suddenly heard Fontaine’s voice come into the picture. “It dawned on me that Cynthia needed to be a featured artist on the track. However, she was about to get hip replacement surgery and I didn’t think it was appropriate to pitch her the song,” he said. “When I told my producer, he said the song wouldn’t work without her, so I went ahead and pitched it to her while she was recovering.”
Eventually, Cynthia accepted the offer and recording began. Soon after, when rapper Babiboi was introduced to the project, St. Michael knew the project would be perfect.
“Babiboi is bold and not afraid to bring their uniqueness to the table. Their presence on stage and in the studio is awe-inspiring.”
Miguel says it’s been amazing getting reacquainted with Cynthia after all these years and finally bringing this vision to life.
“She’s still humble and has been my strength throughout this whole project. People will be blown away by her performance. It was an honor to serve as her vocal producer.”
Now Miguel says it’s time to celebrate “La De Mala Gente” and says this song empowers the queer Latinx community, those who are constantly berated for not being traditional whether they are unmarried, queer, or trans.
“It’s not often that you come across a techno house cumbia written by a Queer Mexican-American singer featuring a Puerto Rican Drag Queen, and non-binary Latinx rapper,” St. Michael says he plans on continuing including queer narratives and artists in cumbias.
“I grew up listening to cumbias that had stories ranging from cholesterol levels to frogs. That being said, I think there’s definitely room for more queer stories in this genre.”
Miguel hopes “La De Mala Gente” takes Queer Latinx pride to new heights.
“I know this kind of representation can touch hearts and save many lives,” he said.
“La de Mala Gente” from Miguel St. Michael (feat. Cynthia Lee Fontaine & Babiboi) is available on all digital music platforms.
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