‘Pose’: Like Blanca, Mj Rodriguez Has Helped Young People Find Their ‘Chosen Family’
Critics have praised the FX series Pose for its portrayal of a self-made family of transgender women and gay men as they find their way in New York during the AIDS crisis. In this unique group is Blanca, a transgender woman played by Mj Rodriguez. During the three-season run of Pose, viewers came to love Blanca for her nurturing ways. Rodriguez recently shared how her life mirrors Blanca’s.
Blanca’s story arc in ‘Pose’
Pose follows a group of people as they compete in the world of ballroom dancing during an era that’s particularly difficult for people in the LGBTQ community. Blanca is the center of this family by choice.
In the show’s first season, Blanca receives the news that she is HIV positive. During this era, the diagnosis was almost always a death sentence, and those who developed AIDS often died alone, rejected by their families. Blanca responds to her crisis by creating the House of Evangelista, a haven for people in her community. She provides them with a home, love, and guidance.
By the final episode of Pose, Blanca has become a nurse and built a life she loves. She reunites her house members for one last triumph in the ballroom competition world. In the end, she finds success in her career, romantic life, and sense of self.
“It’s quite a beautiful arc that we see Blanca go on,” Rodriguez tells ET Online. “She’s not the owner of her own business anymore, but she’s upgraded even more. She works in the hospital, and it’s a great representation of her because she’s a nurse, which is a healer. And I think Blanca is such a healer.”
Mj Rodriguez shares these traits with Blanca on ‘Pose’
Rodriguez has a good reason to love Blanca’s story. Not only did the role in Pose bring her critical acclaim, but the actor also seems to be much like the character she played.
In a recent appearance on the podcast That Scene With Dan Patrick, Rodriguez shared an experience with a fan that showed her the striking similarities with Blanca.
“I remember this one kid. I can’t remember his name, but he’s from Nigeria. And he was displaced from his house. He’s a gay kid, and he just contacted me through my DMs, and he had this whole story,” she recalled.
His situation left her heartbroken, so she told him she was always available if he needed to talk.
“A month later, he contacts me. And he says, ‘You helped me so much. I’m now living with my own chosen family, and I feel safe, and I have a job now, and I have everything that I wanted. And thank you for just checking in on me,'” she said. “And I was like, so this is what Blanca does. OK. I see. I see what you do, Blanca. OK. OK.”
Rodriguez is facing her trauma
Caring for community members rejected by their families isn’t the only quality Rodriguez shares with Blanca. The actor has also achieved a new level of success in her life. Since her work on Pose, Rodriguez has gone on to do more projects. She will soon appear on the Apple TV+ show Loot, Salon reports.
But as she explained on Patrick’s podcast, sometimes the pain from her past makes accepting her good fortune difficult. And she worries she could lose it all.
“My insecurities — a lot of traumas that I had dealt with before Pose had happened and how I thought people would see me — had trickled over to my work,” she said.
“I’m doing it now for sure. Like, I’m having my champagne, but, yeah, in the beginning, I just didn’t know how to do it. It’s kind of sad and unfortunate.”
Despite the challenges of her past, Rodriguez is learning to enjoy her success. Her many fans are glad to see her get the recognition she deserves.
