Juni Cuevas

Born and raised in Santa Rosa, California to low income immigrant Mexican parents Juni now lives in Raleigh, North Carolina. His family did not have much so his mother always found a way to improvise and stretch the groceries to feed a family of six. Juni first became interested in cooking after watching his parents cook in the kitchen as he tried to avoid his sister's terrible cooking.At the age of 9, Juni and his family moved to Michoacán, Mexico for about two year. While living in Mexico he was exposed to a community rich in culture and pride which helped tie him back to his Mexican roots. His family moved back to the United States and chose Zebulon, NC for a change of pace. At the age of 17, Juni became a vegetarian for health reasons. At his heaviest he was about 155lbs which on a 5'4 frame the weight showed. Within 6 months of no longer eating meat and exercising regularly he lost about 30lbs. At 125lbs Juni gained the confidence to feel comfortable in his own skin.After graduating from Bunn High School, Juni moved to Raleigh to attend North Carolina State University. It was in college that he came out of the closet and was able to express his creativity by creating a drag persona, Alexandra. He started to perform in drag at the local gay bars and eventually participated and won a drag pageant hosted by Victor Bowling "Porkchop" from RuPaul's Drag Race (2009) . It was at NC State that he met his now fiancé Chase. They met their freshman year of college and have been together ever since. Juni and Chase have traveled to many countries in Europe and in North and South America.In 2013, he studied abroad in Paris, France. Juni drew inspiration from all the cafés, patisseries, and boulangeries and has found a way to apply to his cooking. He gained a passion for cooking and perfection which led him to participate in 2018 in the 9th season of the popular cooking TV show Masterchef (2010) where he placed in the Top 18 home cooks in America.In 2011 his mother was deported to Mexico. He has suffered from depression and has followed years of therapy to find his inner happiness and regain his confidence. He has been very vocal about his mental health and hopes to inspire LGBTQ+ youth to pursue their creativity and not be afraid to seek mental health help. He shares a home with fiancé, Chase, and their Siberian Husky, Appa. Show less «