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| Photo by the Author |
After running for two months, the first season of Drag Race Philippines finally came to an end back in October 12, 2022. The first ever Philippine Drag Superstar was crowned—the Bicolana queen, Precious Paula Nicole. Truly, this is a big celebration for the LGBTQIA+ community as this is a major platform that recognized queer identities, as well as important issues surrounding them. Now, let’s take a look back on some key moments that made Drag Race Philippines an important series in today’s Philippine media landscape.
Honoring The Paper Dolls
During the run of the show, contestant and finalist, Xilhouete (Wong Israel), made it their mission to honor and reintroduce to mainstream media the first Filipino female impersonators that gave way for the Philippine Drag Culture to be born, the Paper Dolls. They were performers who made a living in impersonating famous female celebrities such as Pilita Corales, Dionne Warwick, Liza Minnelli, Marilyn Monroe, Barbra Streisand, and many more.
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| Photo by HBO GO |
In Xilhouete’s first runway, in the category of “Ter-no She Betta Don’t” or a Terno-inspired look, they stepped out on the stage with a dress plastered with photographs of the Paper Dolls. Xilhouete themself said in an article from Mega that helping to introduce the trailblazers of the queer community was their main reason for joining the competition and has proudly said that they were successful in doing so.
Abuse on Queer Children
During the preparation for the second maxi-challenge of the season in Episode 2, the queens were discussing their coming out stories. Gigi Era, another contestant of the show, revealed how she was beaten up by her father for being gay as a child and how this continues to affect her to this date as she still relives the memories of the physical abuse she endured as a child in her dreams.
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| Photo by HBO GO |
It is no secret that LGBTQIA+ children have always been discriminated because of their differences against the heteronormative standard. Films such as Petrang Kabayo gives us an insight to the possible abuse that queer children have to go through. In the movie, the protagonist Peter Kasimsiman is constantly abused by his father for being gay, which resulted to him running away. These experiences only shows the importance of the SOGIE Bill in helping to protect not just queer people, but especially queer children. There are many more stories on this matter, and Gigi's experience is sadly not a unique one.
Shake, Rattle, and Rampa
In the season's third episode, after leaving the audience with gag-worthy performances in the girl group challenge with the song Pop Off, Ate! the queens were tasked to prepare a look that showed off our Philippine Folklore and Mythology in the category, "Shake, Rattle, and Rampa." It was really nice to see Philippine culture being exposed to a larger audience, especially on a platform as big as Drag Race Philippines.
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| Photo by WOWPRESENTSPLUS |
From queens serving Tiyanak Realness to Viñas DeLuxe's mind-boggling manananggal look, and even to the category name referencing the popular horror anthology film series, it was a true celebration of the Philippine's rich culture.
Finale Drag Extravaganza
The show ended with a bang in the finale episode reintroducing the eliminated queens, giving an homage to camp and indigenous couture through a runway catalogue, and finally culminating into the main event of the episode: a lip sync extravaganza among the final four contestants of the show.
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| Photo by HBO MAX |
Starting off the round with the lip sync smackdown between Precious Paula Nicole and Eva Le Queen's to RuPaul's "Sissy That Walk" with the former queen winning and moving on to the final round. Drag mother and daughter duo Xilhouete and Marina Summers battled it out after a season-long drama and competed for the second round of lip syncs to RuPaul's "Call Me Mother" which the latter ultimately won.
The final two of Precious Paula Nicole and Marina Summers then squared off to the iconic "Sirena" by Gloc-9 which is a staple to Philippine pop culture as it tackles the problems related to being queer in the country. It was befitting as the final song for the season because of its empowering LGBTQIA+ representation and relevance to queer culture.
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| Photo by HBO MAX |
Ultimately, it was Precious Paula Nicole who took the crown and reigned victorious, thus inducting her as the Philippines' first ever Drag Superstar and winning P1,000,000 and a one-year supply of ONE/SIZE Beauty Cosmetics by Patrick Starr—and possibly even being eligible for a future all-winners season.
Drag Race Philippines was a needed platform for queer communities to express the art of drag and everything it encompasses. It was a series that helped to voice out the struggles of the LGBTQIA+ community, from their coming out experiences to the culture that they have with one another.
Eva Le Queen, Finalist and Tampalukean queen—a term coined by fans of the show after the queen's excellent impersonation of Rufa Mae Quinto in the Snatch Game challenge—expressed eloquently how the show has helped to give platform to queer communities in an interview with CNN:
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| Photo by Eva Le Queen on Facebook |
“To have our own ‘Drag Race Philippines’ means there is a spark of hope in such a conservative country in Asia,” said Eva. “This is a very conservative country. We’re the only country that doesn’t have divorce. We don’t even have a SOGIE bill. So to know na a huge franchise, a huge name such as ‘Drag Race Philippines’ is already taking chances here in this small country, parang it gives hope that we are finally being heard, we are finally being seen. It starts to normalize the conversation about the LGBTQIA society.”
The show is slated for a second season, so let's see how the future of Philippine drag evolves.
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