Larry Aguilar: A Lifetime of Performance, Passion, and Purpose

For more than four decades, Larry Aguilar has captivated audiences with dazzling drag performances, inventive choreography, and a stage presence that blends glamour, humor, and storytelling. But beyond the costumes and applause is an artist whose greatest pride isn’t measured by crowns or standing ovations—it’s the friendships, mentorship, and sense of family he’s built throughout a lifetime in entertainment.
Aguilar’s love of performing began long before he ever stepped onto a professional stage.
“I actually started acting in junior high school,” he recalls. “My sisters and I were those children that created plays and musicals for our parents and the neighborhood kids. We also made TV shows with an 8 mm camera, so that actually got me interested in performing—the feeling that I got when I was out on stage.”
After joining the U.S. Air Force at just 17 years old, Aguilar came out and began discovering the LGBTQ+ community for himself. Looking back, he remembers a welcoming environment that challenged everything he expected.
“I never experienced any kind of hate,” he says. “It was always good experiences, and I was always treated with respect, and that was also in the Air Force. This was way before ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’”
That optimism has remained with him throughout a career that began in the late 1970s.
When creating a performance, Aguilar starts with the music, then builds every element around it.
“I’m not one of those people that can, as they say, ‘park and bark,’” he laughs. “I have to be able to dance. I have to move. The number has to have some comedy or humor. After that comes the outfit, and to me it has to be a brand-new outfit.”
One of his favorite creations was portraying Pepper from American Horror Story, a role that pushed him creatively in unexpected ways.
“Doing Pepper let me create someone I never knew,” he says. “The minute I got the bald cap on my head and stuck that fake nose on, it was so cool.”
The performance even caught the attention of Naomi Grossman, the actress who originated the character on television.
“She actually reached out to me and told me how she enjoyed my performance, and that was truly exciting for me.”
For Aguilar, drag has always been much more than entertainment. Early in his career, veteran Texas pageant queens taught him that visibility comes with responsibility.
“Being out in public can be difficult, but it also gives you a platform,” he says. “With that platform, you have to make sure that you’re doing it right, and you’re able to let people know the good and bad of the community.”

Even after decades on stage, Aguilar continues looking for ways to surprise audiences. One of his favorite memories came when audiences assumed he was performing another Cher number—until the music suddenly shifted into Puttin’ on the Ritz and a 30-person flash mob joined him for an elaborate tap routine.
“The audience was like, ‘That man still has it,’” he says with a smile.
​Away from drag, Aguilar has become one of New Mexico’s most respected choreographers, creating more than 50 musicals for community theaters across the state. His recent work with Cardboard Playhouse has become one of the most rewarding chapters of his career.
“I have been very lucky to be a part of the Cardboard Playhouse Theatre Company,” he says. “It’s probably been one of the most exciting and fulfilling things I’ve done in a long time.”
Working with children and teenagers has reminded him why he fell in love with theater in the first place.
“You give them choreography, they’ll do it, they’ll fall on their head, they’ll get up, they’ll laugh, and they’ll do it again. These kids are so inspiring.”
Aguilar believes staying connected to younger performers is what keeps him growing as an artist.
“You always have to be relatable, relevant, new, and surprising,” he says. “You have to stay with the young performers. That’s what’s going to keep you going.”
His greatest challenges, however, came away from the stage. After returning to Albuquerque following the loss of his partner, Aguilar endured a torn Achilles tendon during a performance, Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma requiring months of chemotherapy, a burst appendix, and rotator cuff surgery.
Rather than focusing on those hardships, he remembers something far more important.
“I needed a lot of friends,” he says.
When asked how he hopes people remember him, his answer has little to do with performances or accolades.
“I hope I’m remembered for my friends and my friendship,” Aguilar reflects. “I hope they remember my challenging choreography, the ability to create magic out of little resources, and also to create a family.”
Then he adds the words that perhaps best define his remarkable career.
“I love my friends. I believe in friendship. I hope that’s what people remember me for—the good times, the margarita parties, the Oscar parties, and the hugs.”
For Larry Aguilar, the spotlight has never been the destination. It’s simply been the place from which he’s inspired generations of performers, created unforgettable moments, and reminded us all that the greatest legacy isn’t found in applause—it’s found in the people whose lives you’ve touched along the way.