Rotten Mango - Influencer Killed on TikTok Live & Internet Suspect Her BFF Did It To “Destiny Swap”

Episode Date: August 13, 2026

Destiny swapping is a widely debated topic. The idea that a person can somehow take your fate and swap it with theirs…is rooted in deep levels of jealousy. To the point that it can impact someone’s life and take their blessings, or so it’s believed.   It’s much more than a friend trying to dress like you or steal your partner. They are trying to latch onto who you are, your personality, your hopes and dreams.    Some say that you can sense it happening. A person will insert themselves into your life, and all of a sudden you start to lose focus, you can’t even seem to make your own decisions.    Valeria had no idea, but someone very close to her was seemingly jealous of her. Netizens believed that this person was so envious, that she’d kill Valeria to take her fate.    This is the case of 23 year old Valeria Marquez  And how she was shot and killed during a TikTok livestream.       Full show notes available at RottenMangoPodcast.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Bada being, baddaboo. Have you ever heard of the term destiny swapping? The term was thrown around a lot on TikTok at the end of last year. It's a term with the definition and the mechanisms of how do destiny swap, how it's done. They're still debated. Practically every TikTok that you see explaining exactly what destiny swapping is, you're going to see some sort of, well, that's not exactly what it is in the comments. And then a different explanation for destiny swapping.

One person states, The definition is a little dark and complicated. It involves using negative energy, including jealousy, to impact someone's life and take their blessings, which is like very vague and ominous. Another person states, a destiny swap occurs when one person tries to take another person's life. Like they're spiritual, gifts, finances, friends, or job for their own. Destiny swapping is usually rooted in jealousy and insecurity. Like they want to take what your future holds for you for the future.

themselves. Some say destiny swapping feels like someone is entering your life under the guise of being a friend, but you start noticing that they seem a little jealous of you. Like that's how it always starts. Well, at the same time, they copy the smallest minute details of your life. And this has nothing to do with gatekeeping. This is not just, oh, I love your jacket. Where did you get it? I'm going to buy the same one. Do you care? But this is copying your tiniest, little smallest mannerisms, your habits small. I mean, everybody copies everybody's mannerisms, the longer you're hanging out, but it's just the small things that you don't naturally pick up. It's almost like they're making an effort to emulate you. Small little stylistic choices. They say it's usually

when someone becomes unusually focused on your life, not just your clothes or your style, your entire life, your relationships, your routine that you think is mundane, decisions, why you make decisions, the admiration or curiosity starts feeling like they're doing a lab study on you. And that individual may also be condemning what you do, critiquing why you make certain decisions, but then they go ahead and they replicate it. They go and they do the same thing that you wanted to do that they talked you out of. And they gain the success for themselves that you had planned for yourself. One person writes a long plea on Reddit, please could you pray for me? I believe my former partner's new girlfriend has destiny swapped me. The original poster writes about

how she was into the occult for a long time. She received a from this very trusted psychic. This is like May of 2025. And she gets this reading and the reader is telling her that she's going to get pregnant with a little baby boy with her boyfriend at the time. The baby boy will be born February 26. And she writes, soon after that, my ex of six years, he cheated on me with this girl that he had known for a week, got with her the day after we ended. She's also very spiritual. And I believe she practices witchcraft. She's like made a few comments about it. But anyway, guess who found out they were pregnant with a little boy in May of 2025 and gave birth in February of 2026? The new girl.

She says since then she's faced constant job rejections. She feels like she's in a slump that she cannot get over. She feels drained as if living the same life over and over again, getting into arguments with her family, facing financial difficulties. She's like, is this destiny swapping? She feels like it is. One person asks spirituality Reddit. Is destiny swapping real? I strongly believe my friend is trying to destiny swap with me.

Every time she complains about something, the same thing she's complaining about miraculously starts happening to me. And then it kind of resolves in her life. She kind of solves that problem in her own life, but it's unfolding for me. This has been happening for years about multiple different things across all different things like love life, financial problems, family problems,

and now career-related stuff as well. Please help me. I am desperate. Like, how do I solve this? It seems difficult to differentiate between a bad friend and a destiny swapper that could be a bad friend as well without, I mean, sometimes you could maybe have a bad friend who is unknowingly unwittingly destiny swapping with you and you don't even know it. It's hard to say what exactly constitutes as someone trying to destiny swap. I have watched

so many TikToks on this. I've read so many Reddit threads on this and it is still unclear to me. Some say it's very simple. Like it's not even that big. Someone obsessively copying, mirroring you. A person in your life starts dressing like you, talking like you, pursuing your exact dreams, or becoming fixated on your every move. See, it's common. Like sometimes friends will dress similarly. Sometimes friends will be in the same industry. But someone who's doing everything the same as you.

They want to dress like you. They want to eat like you. They want to go into the same field as you. An example is an acquaintance who begins adopting your unique style, career path, and even mannerisms right before your own progress halts. That's when you know someone's trying to destiny swap. someone comments, someone tell Jeff Bezos to watch out because once I figure this out, it's over for him. A TikToker, however, thinks it's much more serious than that. They say, it starts feeling like your goals are now their goals.

And they act like they were never your goals. It was always theirs. They might even mess with your mind if you confront them. They might say things like, that was never your goal. You never told me that's what you wanted to do. I don't remember you telling me that. I don't recall that even though you recall that. They will make you feel like you're crazy.

and then they will talk you out of your destiny. They want the world to think that they are the ones who have predetermined this course of events. They are the ones who set this goal. They want other people to think they are the creative ones. They are the originator. They act like they're being a good friend, a good person, a good family member, a good partner.

But what they're really doing is talking you out of your predetermined course of events and they're talking you out of your own destiny so they can take it. One person says you may notice that that same exact person has their best luck immediately after you suffer a misfortune. In this case, they may be drawing energy from you and using it to fuel the destiny swap. But one Reddit comment seems reassuring. They write, for reference, nobody can steal your identity. Your fate is tied to you and you can't really tamper with it in this way.

If it would be possible, it would take a phenomenally skilled practitioner, not just Joe Public. Others say, no, don't listen to this person. It's very real and it's very serious. However, it's also serious for the person trying to destiny swap. They say the person who wants to destiny swap is going to suffer misfortune in the long run. Because fate works really hard to restore itself. And the person who wanted the swap will usually suffer the consequences. Typically, once the destiny swap is reversed, because it is always reversed,

that person will eventually lose everything that they've gained as a result of the exchange. But what if they don't? Like, what if they successfully destiny swap? When TikToker ominously puts it like this, the most dangerous part of destiny swapping is, they want to be the only one to experience the predetermined course of events. So it goes from wanting a piece of your destiny to wanting to be the only person that has your destiny.

They want you to not even be on the same course. They want to be the only one to get to that destination. They have now decided that's my destination and I want to be the only one to get there. And of course, to be the only one, they got to take you out fully. That is what a lot of people believe may have happened to a famous influencer in Mexico, Valeria. It's believed by many netizens that someone that was so close to her, was so jealous of her, wanted to live her life, wanted to have her destiny so badly, she took her out. This is the case of 23-year-old Valeria Marquez and how she was shot and killed during a TikTok live stream, and nobody thinks the real killer is the gunman. they think it's one of her closest friends and someone who wanted her life.

We would like to thank today's sponsors who have made it possible for Rotten Mango to support NLANDS community, a non-profit dedicated to eliminating gender inequality and intimate partner violence in the Latino immigrant community in central New Mexico. This episode's partnerships have also made it possible to support Rotten Mango's team of dedicated researchers and translators. We'd also like to thank our listeners for your continued support. As always, full show notes are available at Rotten Mingo Podcast.com. Today's case has mentions of gun, gender, and potential cartel-based violence.

Please take a break if you need to. Thank you to our professional translators who helped us navigate this case. There was a lot going on. And with that said, let's get started. Valeria Marquez is most often compared to a real-life Barbie in Mexico. She's got blonde hair. I mean, albeit it is dyed, but she does have the blonde hair. She's got the blue eyes.

And those blue eyes are natural. She just has these absolutely, like, unreal body purport. And I'm not saying that as in like, oh, she's had work done. She has had work done and she is very open and honest about it. But her proportions are like straight out of a Barbie box. She looks like a Barbie. She's stunning. She's got her own business.

She recently opened up her own beauty spa, the Blossom Beauty Lounge. It kind of worked out perfectly. I mean, she's got like a social media following. They follow her for her looks. She's been open about the treatments she gets. And now you can go straight to the source. Plus, she's like the built-in marketing for the spa. May 13th, 2025.

Valeria starts a TikTok live stream at the salon. The live stream itself lasts just under an hour, about 55 minutes, and the majority of the live stream, I would say, is pretty mundane. Like, there's really nothing out of the ordinary occurring, except, I mean, the fact that it appears Valeria wants to go home, like she just wants to go home from the spot earlier, but she's staying because one of her employees informs her, there's a guy looking for you.

So there's this kind of like this side conversation happening throughout the entire live stream and she's like, what guy? And the employee is telling her, I don't know, some delivery man came and he was looking for you. He's like, are you Valeria? And I was like, no, I'm just her employee, but she's going to be back in an hour because she had gone to the doctors. And he's like, well, I have a package for her and it's very expensive. So the employee's like, well, I'll take it. Like, that's my boss. I'm just, she's going to come back to the salon in an hour. And he said, no, no, no, I have to give it straight to Valeria. So I can't leave it with you, but I'll be back. Okay. So she found out about this in the middle of her live stream? She found out a little bit before and she's explaining to her

live stream viewers what's happening and why she's still at the spa even though there's no customers anymore. It's just her and her employee waiting for this mysterious delivery man. And she doesn't know what it is, but her employee was like, I think it looked like an expensive gift, but he didn't say who it was from. Like he didn't say anything. He just said he had to drop it off with you. 50 minutes into the live stream, a delivery man walks in with said mysterious present and asks if she is Valeria Marquez. She says yes, and she mutes the live stream.

Do we see what's going on or just her face? We just see her. And right then and there, after she mutes it, the man opens fire and shoots her first in the chest, then twice in the head, killing her on her own TikTok live stream. In frame. Yeah.

La Santa Morte is the Holy Death, saint death, if you will, depending on who you ask, you know, they will either tell you she is a folk saint that you need to show respect to. Or they will try to douse you with tap water

because holy water is a little harder to get your hands on. Holy death is typically represented as a female skeleton. So it's a female skeleton in a long robe and she's holding a scythe, like a grim reaper almost, you know. Side note,

the Catholic Church has basically denounced saint death, holy death as being satanic, saying it's practically devil worship and death is not a saint. So she technically is not considered a Catholic saint, but rather a folk Catholic saint. So kind of like folk religion. One person says, even though she's, you know, the holy death, it's actually a devotion to life when you worship the holy death. You're embodying who you are in life. That's the promise you're making because we all meet the same fate one day, which is death. One person says, yes, okay, she represents death. But I, I would say she's an overall neutral entity. Some people do petition her for bad things, but just as many

petition her for things like love and safety. One person says the whole appeal of worshiping, so like worshiping as in like having altars and praying to the holy death and sometimes even performing ceremonies for the holy death. It can border on like the ritualistic side depending on how extreme and strange it gets, but that is applicable to pretty much any religion. And they say the whole appeal of Holy Death is that she doesn't treat anyone differently. Technically, Holy Death is one of the most amoral saints out there. They just don't really, I mean, death comes for all. There's no discrimination. There's no avoiding it. They don't reward anyone because death is neutral. Death is everyone will face death. This can actually be quite attractive for those who feel European saints or even God might be

judgmental to some degree. Naturally, Holy Death may attract criminals, but does also just attract normal people who feel like others are not fond of their prayers. Simply put, some see holy death as someone who, as long as you provide the right altar and you celebrate and worship her in a certain way, she's not going to judge you for your personal life when deciding to answer your prayers. One Rediter states, Santa Marita worship was once only associated with criminals. But she now has followers all over the world. She also has a really big growing group of LGBTQ plus followers because she loves all without any judgment. I have a small shrine of her in my house and I'm not a criminal. I don't know about this very specific individual, but if you happen to stumble upon an altar made for St. Death, the Holy Death,

typically you'll find cigarettes, flowers, fruit, incense, water, alcoholic beverages, coins, candy, candles. Oftentimes, tobacco is used. And it makes sense because she's also known as the Lady of the Night. So people who work at night, taxi drivers, bar owners, police, soldiers, sex workers, they will often worship Holy Death to protect themselves from very violent deaths that happen at. night. Now, some people have cautioned. It's not all fun in games. Like this, this is a trend, sure, but like worshiping her is not some sort of free for all. It's not like she's like, she's like, come one, come all. Let me make your dreams come true. They say, quote, just be careful. This

spirit is strong and sometimes can be evil. She does answer your prayers, but it might cost you, something for something, if you will. But others fight back with that notion and they say, no, she takes away things that don't serve you, okay? You just don't really know it yet, such as fake friends, people who are slowly draining your energy, she will rip them from your life no matter how painful it is because you won't really understand what's going on right when it happens. You just are sad. It's not until later you realize that

holy death was doing you a favor. Others say, my only thing is I would advise against worshipping her if you aren't going to remain consistent and dedicated to her worship. She isn't a being you should be on and off with. She's not some trend that you pick up. She is a lifelong commitment. I will say there is some strong associations

with the criminal underworld and Santa Morte because Holy Death is worshipped heavily by many cartel members and that association has only been growing stronger. So much so that the FBI put out a bulletin on it, which kind of reads more like a gossip page. I don't know why they wrote it like this. They were like, the cult appears to have more European than Aztec and origins, with some individuals describing Senta Morte as a new age grim reaper type goddess, a bad girl counterpart to the Virgin of Guadalupe. they state that more and more cartel members have been worshipping Santa Morte, which I guess is great intel for the FBI to have.

However, they acknowledge that it's becoming increasingly disturbing, if you will. They say, with the stakes so high for cartel members and foot soldiers who probably know that they will die in a violent manner, with the stakes so high, the sacrifices and offerings to Santa Muete have become barbaric, rather than plates of food, which I don't really like the word barbaric used for, But anyway, that's neither here nor their semantics, I guess. But rather than plates of food, beer, and tobacco in some instances, the heads of victims and presumably their souls have been served as offerings to invoke powerful petitions for divine intervention.

They say that when they busted a bunch of cartel hiding spots, the authorities, they had altars to Santa Murete with narcotics, drugs, smeared on the statues to help activate them, like make them come alive. It said one powerful criminal was killing virgins and babies once a year and offering them as sacrifices to Santa Mueete to gain favor and magical protection, and clearly it didn't work because he was arrested and then died in prison, which is a double whammy. Cartel members have used Holy Death against other rival cartels. In one instance, Gulf Cartel Enforcers captured Sinaloa cartel members, took them to a public Santa Merte shine, and executed them as offerings to the Holy Death. One neighbor who overheard another gang kill someone by lighting them on fire said they overheard that gang talk about how they had to make multiple human sacrifices,

not just this one, because they were going to ask the holy death for, quote, something big. The FBI bulletin details. Additional incidents allegedly have occurred involving victims with their skin and hearts removed. Other cases have included individuals castrated and beheaded while alive, lit on fire, and burned to death, and butchered and quartered. sometimes authorities found only the victim's skin. Well, they don't find the bodies because they're thrown into a stew that is apparently called the stew, but translated to Spanish.

It's a barrel filled with liquid fuel that is lit on fire. In another instance, investigators stumbled upon 11 headless bodies stacked on top of each other, and just outside, they found 11 burn marks in a circle, like a cult-like circle. They presume and conclude that those were the decapitated heads that were burned in a ritual in a circle. Investigators were not certain what type of ritual was performed until they found the perpetrators, raided their homes, and there were the holy death shrines. So for the sake of clarity, though, again, not everyone who worship Santa Merte is a criminal with nefarious prayers. In fact, I think most are not.

Even the FBI notes that you'll find very different things at holy death altars that gives you an idea of the type of worship If you find rainbow statues, blue and bone candles, fruit, alcohol, tobacco, great. Other altars, this is like where you need to be concerned, is unidentifiable bones and blood. You don't know if it belongs to an animal or a human and it doesn't really look like a prop. Burned plastic police figurines filled with black statuettes and candles usually not great. You know, drugs smeared on the statue, usually not great. Los Zetas, which was at one point they were one of the most feared cartels in Mexico,

considered the holy death their patron saint. So there's a lot of association. And I mean, I guess cartels worshipping different saints or taking a religion and cartel-cultifying them, if you will, I guess, was such a big trend that they even coined the term narco saints. So narco being traffickers. Which is all part of a broader subculture called narco culture. It's like not the most creative.

of word, but it's basically the lifestyle of being part of the narco world. I don't know where they started. I don't know if it's like from all the shows like narco, right? But at some point, and I'm not sure the exact statistics, there came a point where, you know how we have wags, wives and girlfriends of athletes? There became this narco culture where there's almost like wags for narcos. The wife and... Wives and girlfriends of the biggest narcos, like the biggest traffickers, cartel members. And they're famous? Yeah, they're famous, widely known.

El Chapo's wife is the most famous one. Yeah, she is like kind of symbolic of this exact lifestyle in term that we're about to get into. And I think it has to do with the fact that, I mean, I'm not sure exactly on the exact statistics because I don't think they're filing taxes and identifying themselves, but I'm not sure exactly how many traffickers are women. But I would imagine most narco-traffickers are still predominantly men. So naturally they date people and people identify those people and start, you see almost this lifestyle around it.

There is a slang term that's used to reference some of them. And our researchers say it's like a very common term. It's not like derogatory or anything. But it's Buchonas. So it comes from the word of like a very high end well-loved liquor brand from the Sinaloa cartel that they all drink. Okay. It's like confusing. It's hard to describe the word. They called the girlfriend and the wife's that term? Buchonas, but yes, but it's also a lifestyle.

So it's a word that became popular in Sinaloa, Mexico. And it's just at first it's like a way to describe the very extravagant girlfriends of new age narcos. So again, like Emma from El Chapo, like El Chapo's wife, right? And it can broadly be referencing all narco wives and women. girlfriends, like some people use it to categorize anyone who dates any narco, okay? Or it can just be referencing a very specific type of girlfriend who dates a trafficker. Usually they are identifiable. And I was like reading through a lot of the translated, almost like historian type articles

that were written. So people who are studying these trends in Mexico, like Mexican journalists who are studying the rise of the narco culture and narco world, usually they wear tight and flashy clothing. understated is not the goal. They like brand names, typically Versace and Louis Vuitton. Those are like the two. Long hair, long nails, Coke bottle body proportions.

Makeup is done in a very dramatic fashion, heavy on the eye shadow, eyeliner, fake lashes. Usually there's a lot of emphasis on breast augmentation, liposuction, BBLs. I will say there is a link between the cartel and cosmetic surgery

since many cartel traffickers are known to pay for their girlfriend's cosmetic surgeries and sometimes all of their girlfriends. One famous surgeon was interviewed by a journalist and he said, you know, there was one single high-up cartel member who came in paid for 30 women's different surgeries all paid in cash. His 30 girlfriends? I don't know if he was all at the same time, but it seems like in a short span of time. You would have to think that there's some overlap for sure. Wow.

Yeah. Huh. Yeah. That's not as, I guess, relevant, but the word Buchona now means a lot of things. So at first it was basically just anyone who dates a trafficker. But then it transforms into, okay, well, it's the type of women who date a trafficker and they all have a certain look to them. Think like Kim Kardashian-Loren Sanchez look.

Then it was, no, it's anyone who is involved in the narco lifestyle that is a woman. So it's like an aesthetic, right? It's like, you know how Y2K is an aesthetic? This is kind of the narco aesthetic. It's more of like a blanket term for a lifestyle. Affiliated with cartels or not, it's just an aesthetic. It's to describe a woman who likes to show off what God and her surgeon may have given her, which is nothing wrong with that.

And someone who doesn't hide the fact that they have very large personalities, like a woman who doesn't hide the fact that she's very vocal and strong, and they like to party and they like to meet people, including men. And like, what's wrong with that? That is a woman's prerogative after all, okay? But one Mexican reporter describes the lifestyle as they represent glamour and authority in their own way. You know, you have these powerful woman. It's not this Mexican woman who is submissive without money.

These women have Chanel, Gucci. It's a search. It's almost a search for an identity of power. There was even a show called Las Buconas, which followed the lives of four women with ties to cartels. I guess it's kind of like mob wives. That's the vibe I get. It's like mob wives.

Like we went through a trend where we were obsessed with mob wives. Like we wanted to know who was dating which mob boss who was in federal prison. You know what I mean? What's the difference? Oh, just like regions? Yeah, I guess instead of the mob and the mafia, it's just the cartel. I see, I see.

Right, which I mean, I guess we can sit here and debate which one has the more harmful net negativity to humankind as a whole. But, you know, it's essentially the same thing. You're dating someone who has a lot of power and a lot of money that is in organized crime, right? Now, there are times it obviously gets a little bit out of control. Normalizing drug trafficking and glorifying the lifestyle is objectively not a good thing that I would encourage anyone to do. However, one viral incident has pissed off a lot of Mexican netizens because someone decided to throw their eight-year-old daughter a Buchona-style birthday party. Not just with like the style of clothing and makeup, which is already, you know, it's fine as an adult, but not fine

if you're eight years old, but also by providing prop alcohol bottles and prop guns to take pictures with. And it's interesting, I will say though, because sometimes the wives and girlfriends of drug traffickers are looked down upon more than the drug traffickers themselves, which I thought is fascinating. It's kind of sick and twisted and sad. Okay, don't get me wrong. I think drug trafficking is looked down upon everywhere, right? But there is, you know, somewhat of a sentiment of, well, if certain governments cannot

help you and people are born into a condition where the only thing around them is this option that they need to put food on the table, perhaps they did not get into it out of greed, but rather survival. Is it still bad? Yes. But like, there's still more of a nuanced take. That type of grace does not lend itself to the wags of narcos for some reason. Like the women are considered shallow and gold diggers and never really given the same small amount of grace, I guess.

That like, well, maybe there was no other way for them to put food on the table and find safety. But anyway, it's just interesting. It's fascinating. So they are like mostly looked down upon by the mass? Yes. I would say most Mexican netizens do not like this flaunting of this lifestyle. I mean, I guess it's the same in the U.S. Like if you see pictures on Facebook of people holding wads of cash and guns, you're like,

that's not good. I wouldn't want my kid to do that. I don't have kids or, you know, whoever. Now, do all drug traffickers and their romantic interests come from such backgrounds where there really is nothing to do but survive off of trafficking? Probably not. But it's just, I think it's interesting that the woman always get ripped apart quicker and more than the trafficker.

It's like kind of weird It's almost seems like a bigger moral sin To date a trafficker Than it is to be a trafficker I think it's idiotic But no one asked for my opinion ever The Botona lifestyle Has a lot of nuanced debate around it

And Valeria is a very famous Mexican influencer That some people associated With that lifestyle If she, but do Do we know if she is or not? She kept it under wraps Whilst she was alive So there was always suspicions.

I think people started picking up different things, right? In the beginning when she was still alive, I don't think people had confirmation whether or not she was emulating a lifestyle because that was her personal style and interest or whether she was involved with someone who is a trafficker. Because it's also an aesthetic now. So it's very confusing of like,

was it just an aesthetic that she really liked? because there's a lot of women in Sinaloa specifically who have made influencer careers, clothing companies, based off of the Buchona lifestyle, but it's unclear whether or not they have any relation to any cartel or have ever dated a trafficker. So is it like a situation like that? I mean, she's very open.

I mean, her look, I guess, people immediately identify to be part of this lifestyle, which I'm not entirely sure if it makes sense, but she's very open about her cosmetic procedures. Everyone called her the real life Barbie. And I also think it's very refrafer. for the audience because she embraced the nickname, but she's also like so straightforward that her doctor had a lot to do with it. She states, I've had breast augmentation surgery,

liposuction, rib reduction, fat transfer to my hips, my butt, cheek reduction surgery, like the buckle fat removal. And that's it. And she's got like a very curvy yet slim figure. She dyes her hair blonde. She's got natural blue eyes. This was another point where people were like, well, now I'm confused. She would post a lot of pictures of herself on yachts. private planes, parties, which is not unlike a lot of influencers in the U.S. where they're always on yachts and we're like, how are you on a yacht? We don't know. Nobody knows, right? So netizens are just kind of wondering, how can she afford such a lifestyle? And that naturally leads people to speculating that she's involved with an arco. Is she a big time influencer? Or? She's pretty big. I would think that maybe got bigger after her death. But she's pretty big. Yeah. And very widely liked. There's also a video of her trying to carry a giant bouquet of roses that she received as a present,

which in Mexico, big bouquets of red roses are, I mean, same here. Sign of affection, yes, but like mainly a sign of wealth. They're often referred to as Ramo Buchon. So bouquet Buchon, like Buchon again references someone associated with drug trafficking culture. So like bouquet and then drug trafficking lifestyle. because I guess those are typically the people who flaunted and will follow this trend and it does take quite a bit of money to it's like a very specific aesthetic right so people are like well does but does that mean that she's dating a trafficker we don't really know and she's always kind of she's like weirdly private about her dating life but not private so she'll tell us about things that happened with her ex-boyfriend which she won't straight up tell us who she was dating she'll post some pictures but it's his face is hidden. Right? So it's kind of like you kind of get an idea, but not really. Now, she also does have a very big personality. So people just assumed that's also part of her dating a trafficker.

I'm not a narc. I don't even know. Just by looking at her, her clothing, her lifestyle, I don't know if she even falls into this category, but they say she did. She just, to me, seems like a normal girl just having fun. I watched a lot of her live streams that are researchers translated. And she just has blunt humor. And people keep trying to say, oh, this is that lifestyle. And I just think that she's just blunt. Like in a video, her uncle who is a hairdresser, is doing her hair. And she's responding to live comments. She's live streaming.

Someone makes a dig at her in the comments. And it's like, do you come from Sheehan? Calling her factory made and cheap. She reads it out loud and quickly responds. Oh, they ask her, do you come from Timu? Basically insinuating that she's factory made and cheap. And she reads it out loud and quickly responds actually from Sheehan Babes. And she doesn't even seem bothered in the slightest.

Like, in fact, she seems slightly am. used by her own response, but her uncle is defending her. Like, those girls who comment, like, I want to see them in person. What are they Dior or something? And she clarifies, well, it was a guy that commented. But then another person tries to be snarky asking, what do you have that is natural? And she thinks about it for a second and she says, my eyes, my nose and my feelings. And she starts chuckling at her own words.

And like, if having a big personality and having Barbie-like proportions and being a girl's girl is a certain lifestyle, like maybe we should all join that life. Valeria's audience seems to primarily be other girls and women. She had her own private Instagram channel where she would drop messages, pictures, stories about her life. It's called personal girlfriends. And just a quick disclaimer, the conversation of Buchona Lifestyles and her potentially dating traffickers is going to be relevant after her death. So I'm not just talking in depth about it, even though it's unrelated. It's going to be pretty pertinent to the investigation into her passing.

Now, there's a lot of Valeria's digital footprint that have since gone very much. viral again with after her passing, with people digging up old post. One of these circulating ones is not long before her death. Valeria posts a screenshot of text messages between her and a friend of hers. The point seems to be showcasing their very goofy banter that they have joking about Valeria's love life. And we don't get too much context. So some people pick it apart to understand Valeria's love life because they think her passing has to do with her love life. Others think it's unrelated. So there's a lot of different interpretations. but she is texting one of her best friends,

like her public best friend, who is also posting on TikTok and Instagram all the time. Her name is Vivian. So Vivian texts Valeria something. People think it's about how she should get back together with her ex. The ex being a suspected traffickers is what people think, okay? But Valeria responds, ha, ha, ha, ha, I would rather shit in my soup.

Vivian writes back, bitch, I know you want it. Ha, ha, ha. She says, I mean, yes. and Vivian says, I will throw some lime at you. So lime, I guess, has some sort of like purifying context. Like I'm going to purify you, right? And she said, but no, ha, ha, ha.

So Valeria is like, yes, but no, like I would never. They joke about how the thing has died. I don't know if it's the love or whatever. And she's like not even in my nightmares, would I. So Valeria is talking very strongly about how she would never get back to her together with her ex is what the conversation seems like. Now, this is where people think it's weird. Because Vivian texts her, the only one visiting you,

basically insinuating that Valeria's love life is very isolated and empty right now. And she jokes, the only one visiting you is myself, Santa, and your uncles. Ha, ha, ha, ha. So Valeria is close to her best friend Vivian. She's very close to her uncles. She actually started her salon with one of her uncles. And Santa, as in La Santa Murta, the Holy Death. Oh.

Not long after. What? Valeria will be killed. Wait, but why did she say that? Is that just? It's a joke, I think. And Valeria has been open in different live streams about how she does worship the holy death. But it's just like an odd time joke, considering now Valeria is dead.

Valeria has, you know, like her relationship with Vivian, her friendship with Vivian is a huge point of contention online. even while Valeria was alive. So they would frequently live stream together so you could see their in real time authentic discussions and interactions. And Vivian is also kind of an influencer, but a much smaller one than Valeria. Some people think that Vivian was latching on to Valeria

to get famous, but that's obviously, you know, thinking with a heavy dose of skepticism. In any case, Vivian says they've actually been friends since before Valeria got famous. Regardless, people have lots of thoughts and opinions about this friendship. Some people think that their friendship is kind of that sisterly love where they tease each other and they bully each other, but that's just how they

communicate. Others think, no, Vivian is constantly saying things to get under Valeria's skin. Like, you can just tell. She's saying things and it seems like thinly veiled jealousy. Some say you can even feel the jealousy from Vivian, like radiating off the screen when they're live streaming together. This is before anything that happened. People already had this sentiment? Yes. So even before Valeria is killed, People are like, I just, see, it's like half and half. Some people are like, I love their friendship. Others are saying, I don't know. Their friendship is weird.

But now that Valeria is gone, people have decided they believe the theory that Vivian wanted to live Valeria's life. And that she was trying to destiny swap and take Valeria's life. But if this popular netizen theory is correct, what are there different trajectories? Like, what is the life that Vivian wanted that Valeria had? So much so that Valeria ends up dead and netizens think this is. is what happened. They seem to have very similar yet vastly different lives. Valeria starts modeling at 16 for clothing brands. By 21, she wins this beauty competition called Miss Face. It's a local Guadalajara beauty pageant, but after winning that, that means you can go compete on the state level.

So Guadalajara is a city inside of Halisco, the state. So she does participate in the running for Miss Halisco in 2023. She does not win, which kind of kickstarts her influencer career. So even though she doesn't win, she won Miss Face of Guadalajara. So lots of brands, they start reaching out to her. She starts modeling. There's a very well-known picture of her in medical scrubs. People actually say that she was a dentist and an influencer. It was actually a photo shoot for the brand.

However, she was in school studying autonology at one point. So like dentistry at one point. So there's that. But her career starts really kicking off when she starts modeling for Kinsenera dresses, you know, which some of the brands, they're selling these dresses for, like $1,500. It's a huge market. It's almost like prom dresses. Like if you're modeling prom dresses, these are big name brands. They've been around a long time household names. She starts gaining a lot

of attention. And she's very beautiful. I will say that she does look like a real life Barbie. But I think a lot of people were drawn to her personality. So our Spanish speaking researcher translated a lot of just like casual videos that have nothing to do with her passing. And I will say that she naturally does seem intimidating because she's very beautiful, but she also has a very strong personality so she voices out her thoughts very frequently. But everything she does also seems humble at the same time.

I think it's kind of like the very, in Korea we have a stereotype almost of like the aggressive unni that cares. It's like the aggressive older sister who is not going to sugarcoat it, but also like she's holding your hair back, she's giving you her favorite lipstick, and she takes care of you.

but she's also calling you a dumb bitch because you were acting like one. Interesting. So she kind of has that personality. Like someone even asks her in her life stream in the comments. They're like, are you angry? And she responds, no, my love, why? So it's very like not, you know.

She's not like, oh no, why would you think I'm angry? I'm not angry. She's just very blunt, straightforward. She's just very, you know, someone will comment, do your pajamas smell bad? So this is supposed to imply that she only wears cheap clothes. and she immediately responds, no, but do you want to come smell it?

You can even smell my ass if you want. So it's just very, you know, and she's still putting on her makeup. And it's just, okay, like for example, another live stream she has. She shows all of her makeup that she's using. She's like taking time and she's like telling everyone, take pictures because I'm not going to show you, right? So she's like, okay, this lipstick is this color. This is this color. And she shows all her lipstick.

And then she finally gets to applying makeup and she reads a comment out loud. and they're like, can we see your lipstick to take a picture? And she said, fucking bitch, the first thing I said was take pictures because I won't show them over and over again. This is the last time I show my lipsticks, okay? Anyone who asks me again, I'm going to beat your ass. And then she takes a long time calmly showing every single lipstick again. So it's like, you know, and maybe she's copying a trend where there was a trend where like

a guy was selling purses and he would get upset when people wanted to see the purses up close. So like, but I don't know if she was copying that trend. It didn't seem like exactly. It just seems like she's kind of this. That was her way of humor. August 2024, she opens up her own business, the Blossom beauty lounge inside of a plaza. I did see people say that her salon is inside of a mall, which is not entirely false, but don't picture like an enclosed shopping mall where you walk through a giant building.

It's a plaza that has a parking lot right in front that will be important later. Salon was opened with her uncle, uncle from her mom's side. So he's a professional hairdresser. She frequently filmed with him. and the salon is full service. They do everything, hair, eyelashes, nails, eyebrows. The whole motto is there is no better treatment than the time you dedicate to yourself.

And so people would accuse her of flaunting on private planes and yachts and trying to show off a luxury lifestyle and her salon is actually very welcoming and affordable. So for example, a manicure, and obviously it's going to sound a little bit more affordable if you're based in the U.S., but this is still affordable in Mexico, but a manicure would be $11 to $22,

women's haircuts $7 to $35. Full tape in extensions including the hair starts out like $175, which is still pricey, yes, but extensions including hair can get incredibly expensive. A full 50-minute-long lymphatic drainage massage to the face is $41. And I couldn't find specific information about the total employee count of everybody that works there. But you don't really need to know. All you need to know is she's the manager, social media marketer. Her uncle is also a manager, a co-manager.

a co-manager, but he's the main hairdresser. So he's the one that does the hair. He's the hairstylist. Then you have Erica. Erica is the nail tech. She's going to be important later. And then you have another individual that does some of the other stuff

like the eyelashes, the facials, but it's a very small group of people. As for Vivian, she doesn't have the most interesting life path that's occurring to her. When she was younger, she said that she was very rebellious in high school and that caused a bit of problems. She actually did her first initial work

was as an image girl for a club. And she describes it as, you get this club. A bunch of club promoters will recruit a bunch of girls to show up and they just hang out around the club. When guys walk by, they hear there's pretty girls in the club with the hopes of going home with one of them,

which they're not going to because they're just like paid to be there. The guys will come, spend money on drinks, buy girls bottles, and then the girls come home and they do alternating days. So it's like if you went last Thursday, you can't come the next Thursday because like what if the same people are off on Thursdays. It's just a weird.

She did Image Girl work before she was even legally allowed to enter a club, which is illegal, but you get the vibe. She meets Valeria through Instagram. They had a lot of friends and acquaintances that were the same, but they officially start talking through Instagram when they were both trying to just promote each other on Instagram. She said back then you would try to promote friends accounts and then they would promote you and that's how you meet people and followers. They're 15.

So they start doing, you know, they start promoting each other on Instagram. They go to the club and she describes it. Vivian describes it as Valeria is the very confident over the top personality, whereas Vivian is the very shy one. Vivian said she's basically an ice block. She was not opening up to anyone. She was very reserved and Valeria was the one that got her out of her shell. So Valeria meets her when she's 15 and she passes away when she's 23.

I mean, that's a very longstanding friendship. you would say that they're best friends, right? Vivian clarifies that they were not best friends throughout the entire timeline. They would have these like on and off moments in their friendship and most of that would occur when one of them would get into serious relationships. Because they just stop hanging out with friends, especially friends you go out to the clubs with because now you're dating a guy and he probably doesn't want you to go to the clubs. And that's when they would have these little off moments.

But it was never anything crazy. She says that she did meet Valeria's other partners like ex-boyfriends. and I mean she did find out that the ex-boyfriend cheated on her, and that was like a whole thing, but nothing crazy about them either. I mean, she says that there's really not much going on. In any case, when they were friendly, though, they presented as like best friends. They would have sleepovers. They would hug, cuddle, give each other presents. Usually if Valeria is showing a friend on live stream or getting ready with a girlfriend and she pans the camera over, you can almost bet money that it's going to be Vivian.

I mean, they're always together. They do a lot of girl talk live streams. In one live stream, Vivian is reading comments and someone asks her, do you have a boyfriend, Vivian? She seems a little uncomfortable. And this is like where people point out, maybe there's tension. Valeria blurts out a husband. Wow. Vivian responds, well, something like that.

I have it. And another seven have him as well. Another seven girls have him as well. Yes, which Valeria seems annoyed, rolls her eyes and blurts out like a slang word that I guess would be equivalent to the word that's been circulating a lot. which I know has been a word in, basically it's like a crumb eater. Like you just settle for anyone in a romantic relationship. She's calling Vivian? Yes, but it's not like the worst word to call someone.

I guess. That's just how they banter. Yeah. You're just, okay. And it seems like Valeria is upset because she probably gave Vivian advice over and over again that you shouldn't put up with this type of behavior. And Vivian is still putting up with it. It seems like a sore spot.

But that live stream has been analyzed to Helen. back in a controversial interview after Valeria's death. Vivian has asked if the two of them ever fought over guys and Vivian says, no, they have completely different types of guys that they go for. And more on this later, because it's very important. Some people speculate that Vivian has started dating one of Valeria's ex-boyfriends after Valeria's passing, but that is a rumor and we're going to get into it in a second. But she says they've got completely different interests. Like they have two different types of people that they like. Vivian says that she likes more of a street style guy who is more dark-skinned and she says that Valeria likes a light-skinned guy with

like that Buccona lifestyle the more, you know, that kind of look. But I don't know, people are skeptical about all of this. Anyways, they have had full-blown falling outs in their friendship. On Valeria's private chat, she once messaged the group of her followers, the personal girlfriends. Viv doesn't want to be my friend anymore. She told me she doesn't want to talk to me anymore and to break up the friendship. She literally said that to me. A few days after that, she sends another message and says, we're back to being friends forever. So it's hard to tell if they're just being dramatic, but they did seem to have some sort of tumultuous friendship during another live stream. Valeria is talking about a fight she and Vivian had where a side note, the way she's talking about it is more so in like a

ha ha, isn't this so crazy funny, crazy story time type of tone? I mean, they're both together in the live stream. So it's not a serious sit down of let me tell you about the most toxic fight I've ever had with my best friend. It's like a very, like, can you believe this bitch? She says, this bitch grabbed me by my neck and she said, what's wrong with you? And I snapped back and people were shouting at us like, don't fight. Anyway, we were a little out of it. Vivian adds, it was all a misunderstanding. And they're both kind of giggling and both clarify. It was just a crazy moment, a crazy little episode. They post another TikTok together after not posting each other for months. And the caption of that TikTok just reads, we're so pretty. It doesn't look like a few months ago.

we were fighting to the death. Even before Valeria's death, people were going through live stream after live stream, just trying to point out odd moments because, I mean, they go from being together 24-7 to all of a sudden Valeria stops answering questions about Vivian. She stops posting about Vivian. And then all of a sudden, they're back to posting together. So people were naturally invested and had these, they wanted to know what was going on. You know, in one live stream, the two girls are drinking.

Vivian is holding the camera. She's live streaming. But it's not obvious that she's on. the phone, it just looks like it's popped up. And she doesn't announce to anyone in the beginning of the live stream. Like, I'm live streaming or like, hey guys, look, we're live streaming. We're live. And Vivian says, we're having a little drink.

You can hear Valeria's voice in the background. Her speech seems much slower than usual. It sounds like they just got home after a night out. And she seems a bit drunk. And she asks Vivian, is that my phone? Vivian responds, obviously gorgeous. I started a live stream on your phone. Oh, that's crazy.

Yeah. That is. That's like, yeah. That's crazy. Yeah. Okay. And then what's valerious reaction to that? She just like kind of plays it off and they just keep live streaming.

But I think for one, it's insane to take someone's phone and start live streaming. And then second, I think it's insane to live stream without telling people because like what if she had taken off her shirt to change after a night out? Like what it? You'd never know. Yeah. In the house. Yeah. Just generally speaking.

Like, it's just weird. Yeah. It almost seems kind of like a setup. Exactly. Yeah. So it's odd. Other times, she'll steal Valeria's phone while she's live streaming. And then she'll be like, I'm going to kidnap you now.

And it's, so Valeria would start the live stream. But this is Valeria's account where Valeria has much more followers than Vivian does. And she's like, I'm going to kidnap you now. And then she'll run with the camera. And then Valeria is chasing after her. It just, I guess a lot of people see it as. Vivian is trying to take Valeria's clout. I mean, that's such a weird word to use.

No, no, no. Okay, I see why people say that, yeah. I guess they're saying, like, this is Valeria's Instagram and her live streams, but Vivian is trying to make it a her thing. Like, she's the main character in Valeria's live streams. And it's done in a way where it doesn't feel natural. They're saying, like, it doesn't feel like both of them are just engaging in a conversation.

It just feels weird in another clip that has since gone viral. making the rounds, you know, Valeria's live streaming in her house getting ready. She looks to the side and she says, why the fuck are you coming into my house? I don't even get a notice, fucking bitch. And she continues doing her makeup. And it's clear that she's just talking in a blunt way. But she's answering comments and she's like, yes, Vivian is here. I'm telling you, she walked into this house like it's her house, that bitch.

So, I mean, I don't know. Maybe some friends. And like, maybe it's because I don't have like a crazy best friend that just like barges into my house. but I think it would throw me off. Okay, it wouldn't throw me off if someone shows up to my house, like a friend shows up and announced, but it would throw me off if they ended up inside the house. And I'd be like, how did you get it? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I don't know. It's just, but her reaction tells me it's a little weird. Valeria thought it was weird. Yes, because I imagine if it's a common thing between them, she'd be like, oh, hey, you're back. Or like, hey, where were you, you know? Yeah, like basically Vivian's crossing boundaries that was not. Yeah, and I think Valeria is trying to set the boundary without being super firm, even though she has a firm personality. Yeah, yeah.

So it's just, I don't know. Some people thought it was normal between them. Some people thought it was a strange and toxic friendship. But does that mean that you could be a killer? A lot of people have noticed a lot of jealousy as well. Just looks wise, people think that Vivian went to the doctor and showed them a picture of Valeria to tell them what she wanted to look like. The resemblance, I will say, is pretty striking. neither of them have natural blonde hair,

but Valeria has always been blonde. That has been her trademark. Not to say that anyone who is blonde is copying Valeria, but Vivian eventually decides that she's going to go blonde, which is normally fine, but she also decides to get blue contact lenses, which Valeria has naturally blue eyes. And just the resemblance in the facial features,

but more so than that, is eventually they start wearing similar-looking outfits, but Vivian keeps posing, like similar outfits, same pose as, Valeria. So there's like a picture of them and the camera is angled upwards. So the camera is lower and they're both wearing this animal print looking tube top with a little thin scarf with the same print. And it's like such a distinct picture angle and it's such a distinct top. That's two separate photos you are saying. Yeah. So Valeria's went up first and then Vivians. And it's just looks like the

clothing is the same. The pose is the same. Makeup is the same. It's just kind of. It's just kind of like, so it's just a lot of similarities, which I mean, like, I do think best friends naturally have a lot of similarities because you start wearing similar clothing. You start adopting the same mannerisms and I think that's completely normal and I actually think it's kind of cute. But in this situation, it was kind of weird. It just felt like maybe she's copying her or trying to be her. And it's not just that. She keeps using Valeria's things and it seems like Valeria is getting fed up. In one clip, Valeria is live streaming and she looks to the side and she shouts at Vivian. You're going to steal my panties again. Like, why don't you just bring your own

Vivian? Vivian is like, I forgot them. I'll buy you more. No, I don't need you to buy them, you stupid bitch. I'm going to be left with none. They're over there. I can't stand you. So it seems like every time she comes over and they go out, she like borrows Valeria's undies. And Vivian is like, I'll just buy you more. But Valeria's like, no, because it's not about buying me. more. It's about the fact that like you're taking so many of them. I don't have any more undies in my drawer. Vivian walks up hugs Valeria from behind and Valeria pouts no, fuck off. And she's like, I need black ones. And Valeria looks at her live stream comments and goes, no, she doesn't give a fuck. Like just saying like my friend is crazy. Like she doesn't give a fuck. They start digging through

the drawer though and Valeria picks up a great pair of undies and is like, this one's yours. All right, as long as they're not visible. And then Valeria eventually offers. I also have a black one if you need. One person on Reddit says about destiny swapping in general, not in relation to this case. I'm going to keep it real as a woo-woo girl. I don't believe in destiny swapping because I don't believe somebody can take what God has for you. And even if they get what they want, it will never be exactly what you had. Not only do I believe it doesn't work and it's incredibly complex to attempt.

I also believe, you know, people describe destiny swapping for other things. Some people think it's like when your friend picks up style tips or your friend is introducing you to a work opportunity or your friend is introducing you to other things or doing things with you. People think those are examples of destiny swapping, but it's not. It's like someone trying to move into your life and replace you. It's like they're trying to steal your husband, your kids, your house, your job. It's not even like they like the clothes that you wear

and they want to buy their own. They want to dress in your clothes. But is Vivian doing that? And is she the only suspect for who killed Valeria? Not really. There were rumors that Valeria is linked to various other people that could have had motive to kill. Such as Francisco Alvarez Solario, the son of LR1. That's what they call him.

That's his nickname. He is one of the most dangerous cartel leaders in the state of the state of, of Halisco. Francisco the son is often nicknamed Narco Jr. And there are pictures where people believe Valeria is with Narco Jr. And it seems that they broke up and not on good terms. And some people even suspect that Vivian is dating him now. It's such a mess. But that is where I leave you with part one of this case. Part two is going to be up in a few days where we go through the entirety of the live stream, like the 55 minute live stream where she is eventually killed, as well as the eventual arrest that were recently made in this case.

So for like a year, nothing happened with this case until recent. So with that, stay tuned, stay safe. Let me know your thoughts. And I will see you in the next one.