Reyna Tropical’s ‘Conocerla’ Reclaims Queer Diasporic Pleasure
At a time when over 600 anti-trans bills are being considered across the country, Reyna Tropical’s new music video for “Conocerla” emerges as a powerful statement of trans and lesbian visibility. This project isn’t just about aesthetics — it’s a cultural reclamation. Historically, the experiences of queer and trans folks, especially in the Latin and Mexican diasporas, have been divided, kept apart by a culture that thrives on shame and repression, largely influenced by Catholicism’s grip on sensuality and pleasure.
But this video? It’s a disruption. It’s a deliberate act of creating space and building visibility for those who’ve been pushed to the margins for far too long. In a world that has tried to erase them, “Conocerla” reclaims identity, belonging and expression in its fullest, most liberated form. It’s about breaking generational cycles and making sure that joy, pleasure, and beauty are no longer things to be feared, but celebrated.
This isn’t just a music video; it’s a piece of art that defies the political landscape and challenges centuries of sensual shame. And through all its intentional, queer-coded details, it offers a world that is both necessary and beautiful for queer and trans people to exist in.
Below, director Devyn Galindo and Reyna Tropical (AKA Fabi Reyna) discuss “Conocerla” and how it represents “a reclamation of finding a home for pleasure within ourselves” as well as the visuals which feature designs by Willy Chavarria.
You both describe the “Conocerla” video as “a reclamation of finding home for pleasure within ourselves. A prayer to return back into oneself, even through the fear, threat, and violence that our self-pleasure inspires.” Devyn, can you talk about the tension that exists at the intersection of pleasure and violence for queer people? Do you feel like this is something you’ve experienced yourself?
Devyn Galindo: As trans and queer people, we face violence daily, carrying that with us as we move through the world. This video honors that experience, recognizing the parallel journey of unlocking our pleasure to release the pain we hold.
There’s power in showcasing queer eroticism. It’s a radical act to portray these images in a patriarchal society that refuses to acknowledge femme-centered pleasure, let alone the pleasure of non-binary, trans and gender-expansive individuals. These representations don’t fit the patriarchal gaze, so creating outside of that is a powerful disruption. We wanted this project to not focus solely on pain but to offer a release.
Fabi Reyna: A trans woman at one of my New York shows told me, “It’s powerful being in these spaces because I’ve only ever felt hatred in lesbian spaces like I don’t belong.” There’s a divide within lesbian communities. We wanted to show lesbian, trans and non-binary folks existing and finding pleasure together.
Devyn: It was important to create visuals centered on trans women, non-binary folks, and trans-masculinity, especially now with over 600 anti-trans bills introduced this year alone.
Fabi: And we wanted it to be iconic for the Latin diaspora. Many people in the film are from northern Mexico, the border, living that experience and doing powerful work. That representation is rare, even within Mexican identity.
Fabi is styled in Willy Chavarria throughout the “Conocerla” video. What does it mean to bring his clothes and vision into this project? What do his designs represent?
Devyn: I reached out to Willy in 2017 because I connected with his work. His clothes had beautiful, pachuco-inspired silhouettes that reminded me of my grandparents. I loved his work and sent him one of my books. We’ve been friends ever since. Our relationship has grown naturally over the years, supporting each other’s projects. We wanted to bring that tough masculinity into what Fabi was wearing, tapping into the queer Vaquero vibes we were exploring. It felt special to be in conversation with his work, as our worlds merged.
Fabi: Our people are relatives. We’re doing the same work and creating worlds within the same space, so we should stand in solidarity. We come from different parts of the industry, and there’s a powerful reinvention of fashion, visuals,and music that invites the diaspora in and sparks new conversations. For me, it’s all about that sense of solidarity and everyone involved felt that connection.
Devyn: I’ve always believed in clothing as armor. As a queer person, wearing a masculine silhouette — even if you have a more femme or AFAB body — can transform how you walk into a space. Clothing has the power to embody the character you want to present that day.
I’ve never worn any of his clothes, but I can only imagine, throwing on that Willy Chavaria outfit, you probably felt like, “Oh shit! Damn, I’m looking good.”
Fabi: Wearing Willy’s suit and bleaching my eyebrows brought out a new part of me, which is exactly what “Conocerla” is about — personal exploration. It parallels my journey of exploring pleasure, a theme throughout the entire album. I wanted to offer that to the diaspora and to our feminine beings, whose sexuality has been traditionally repressed. I wanted to liberate that in every way I could, and I think we did!
Reyna Tropical’s live performances embrace queer desire and create a safe space for queer people to dance and feel joy. Fabi, how did you develop this stage presence, and how were you able to bring that energy to the “Conocerla” video?
Fabi: There’s a lot we hold on stage — the plants, the altar, queer love, Afro-Mexico, Indigeneity, diaspora, pleasure. It’s about embracing everything I carry and understanding the spirits that come through. Through art and music, we can hold more than we realize when we don’t rely solely on our minds. I’m always in process and what I do on stage is part of that. Discovering my voice through this music has led me to my pleasure, which has helped me survive grief. It’s all connected to acknowledging my Indigenous bloodline, communicating with my ancestors, the Earth, the waters and learning to work with those energies.
I also recognize that none of this is just me; it’s through community and my ancestors’ vision for me. Everything will be as it needs to be. At the end of the day, I just want to be a dyke ass perv. On stage, I’m like, “Y’all are all pervs. Just admit it.” The world would be better if everyone just admitted that.
How did this project come together? What was it about this song and lyrics that made it the right song to bring Devyn on as a visual and vision collaborator?
Fabi: One night, we were just talking about exactly what we’re discussing now: how we want to feel in terms of belonging. But not just belonging; the goal is how do we create spaces? We want to continue the conversation about things like diaspora and pleasure. “Conocerla” felt really strong for that; it could hold pleasure, politics and culture all in one. We started to riff with visuals, and it just flowed out naturally. Our goal is to continue to create imagery that guides us more into the joy side of queerness, not so much the pain or trauma.
Devyn: I think it’s also important to note how Fabi and I have been moving as friends and collaborators, not only speaking with plant medicine, doing our ancestral deep dives and engaging with our queer community, but also with me going on my trans journey at the same time. We’ve had a lot of beautiful conversations. Being in ceremonial space, we kept diving deeper into the ethers together. Some of these concepts and ideas were birthed from our deep inner work as individuals and within our friendship. I want to honor that.
One of my teachers, Maestra CC, emphasized not separating spirituality from sexuality, which has often been seen as separate. I think this conversation has been happening, and we’re re-tapping into it now, centering erotic pleasure and spirituality together, how they come together with the plantitas and how it’s all in conversation with one another. It doesn’t need to be one or the other, and having them together shouldn’t be demonized.
Fabi: And to work with your demons, you can also honor your demons.
Devyn: That’s something we’re also good at. In our friendship, we’re not just love, light and plants. We’re like, “We’re going to body roll tonight and be in our demon mode,” and that’s a beautiful balance, honoring all that we carry. Devyn, can you talk about what drew you to Fabi’s work?
Devyn: We were communicating to similar audiences but from different experiences. I’m Mexican-American and Fabi was born in Mexico, but we were both speaking to our queer Mexican community. I was creating images, and you were creating songs, and with our shared backgrounds — growing up partially in Texas — it felt natural that our storytelling would cross paths and let us create together.
Fabi: Yeah, what we do well together is create space for a fusion of worlds where we feel like we belong and thrive. We connected on the question, “Where do we see ourselves?” As queer, diasporic Mexicans, we don’t connect to the traditional machista ideology of Mexico, but we still deeply want to be part of that culture and belong to it. We’re saying, “We can be all of this and still be Mexican. We can honor our Indigenous blood.” We have those conversations visually and by merging visuals with sound.
It’s rare to collaborate with someone where spirit, land connection, and community are at the core. In both our industries, those are the first things exploited and extracted. So, our practice is to be the antithesis of that while evolving and growing in industries and identities that were built to extract from us.
Photography: Devyn Galindo
At a time when over 600 anti-trans bills are being considered across the country, Reyna Tropical’s new music video for “Conocerla” emerges as a powerful statement of trans and lesbian visibility. This project isn’t just about aesthetics — it’s a cultural reclamation. Historically, the experiences of queer and trans folks, especially in the Latin and…