HBO Max's 'Legendary': House Lanvin's Carlos was bullied for being feminine and was suicidal growing up
The first episode of ballroom-themed reality show 'Legendary' does an excellent job of telling the unheard stories of the now confident and thriving members of the LGBTQ+ ball community. Ball culture was born in Harlem in the 1920s. The subculture's emergence was rooted in necessity and defiance against laws that banned individuals from wearing clothes associated with the opposite gender. Black and Latin people were at the fore of its creation. 'Legendary' tells the story of a Latino man who turned to ballroom for a future after his childhood was plagued with suicidal thoughts.
House of Lanvin is one of the competitors on the show and the group consists of Eyricka (mother of the house), Makaylah, Packrat, Zay Zay and Carlos. Carlos was born and brought up in The Bronx and he mentioned there were a lot of gangs on the streets. He admitted that he loved to dance and was extremely feminine while growing up. Being different resulted in him being bullied but he said he was never the type to put up a fight. As a result, he made the bathroom his safe haven.
In the introductory video, Carlos burst into tears while talking about the time that he used to come back home with bald spots because of all the hair-pulling and he had suicidal thoughts way too many times. The only thing that kept him afloat was the gift of dance, which allowed him to express those emotions through movement and helped him forget everything. He added that there are a lot of Latina boys in the bathrooms, wondering what their future would look like in the next 5-10 years. He said it was the ballroom that showed him there is hope.
The House of Lanvin exudes power and dominance. In the introductory video, they mentioned that they have all gone through the same template but all five members bring in different formulas and that is what makes them "trendsetters" and "grand". Eyricka said The House of Lanvin's way is to be the best and added that they are about to be the winners. And winning, they did. Their powerhouse performance was lauded by every judge on the panel with Jameela Jamil also stating that they took her "gag virginity" while thanking them for it.