Before we go full force into 2023, let us reminisce and salute all the giant waves we rode throughout this remarkable Filipino drag renaissance.
2022 was the year we reclaimed the things the pandemic took from us. Drag has dominated many LGBTQIA+ events and moments that shaped the year. The release of two drag reality competitions ignited the drag explosion in mainstream media. Drag has arrived and is seated on a throne in Filipino queer and pop culture.
22. THE RETURN OF HALLOWEEN
After its two-year absence, Halloween was a massive spectacle of wit, glamour, and pop culture awareness (highbrow and mass-market). Like thundering herds of wildebeests out in the wild, people in eye-catching costumes reemerged on the streets to participate in the revelry of our beloved queer holiday, from the tasteful to the intentional tasteless, all drop-dead gorgeousness.
21. AURA MAYARI AND ANETRA ON RPDR S15
The cast of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 15 was revealed, and we have two queens repping the Philippine flag. Frat boy turned theatre diva Aura Mayari was born in the Philippines and moved to the US in 2003. Meanwhile, Piranha Nightclub Las Vegas resident queen Anetra is a true global superstar with Puerto Rican, German, Japanese, and Filipino heritage. The last time we had this much Filipino representation on the international show was in 2012, when Jiggly Caliente and Phi Phi O-hara competed in the fourth season.
20. THE RESUMPTION OF DRAG CARTEL
The circus that launched many of our favorite and prolific drag queens today, like Minty Fresh, O-A, Marina Summers, Pince, Shewarma, and Xilouete, made a comeback this year to inspire more drag artists and become a stage to sharpen their skills, explore, and live their fantasies. The people behind Poison Wednesdays at Nectar Nightclub still host the drag competition, but it now happens every last Thursday of the month. They have been crowning their monthly winner since they returned last June and will lead up to an all-star battle to crown Marina Summers’s (2019 winner) successor.
19. STEPHANIE PRINCE ON CANADA VS. THE WORLD
The Filipino-Canadian had her sweet return on the Drag Race stage, but her time was cut short as she was eliminated after just two episodes. She once again had the talented Filipino designer Patrick Isorena create her showstopping runway looks for Canada Vs. The World that made her mark stunalina.
18. PRIDE IS BACK ON THE STREETS
Pride month celebrations were reawakened this year with two significant locations in Metro Manila: Pasay (by MMPrideOrg) and Quezon City (by Pride PH), with 29,000 and 25,000 attendees, respectively. The community flocked to these streets to celebrate, be with each other, and be reminded of our plights and continued fight for our rightful space in this world.
17. THE RE-INTRODUCTION OF THE PAPER DOLLS
Xilouete paid homage to the Filipino drag superstars of the 70s at the first runway presentation of Drag Race PH. The judges gave her an earful for looking simple; however, the moment she turned to reveal the faces of the Paper Dolls printed on her skirt and briefly introduced them as the original female impersonators who paved the way for drag culture to flourish in the country, we were all taught the importance of looking back and honoring what came before us. The intent was successful.
16. 10S ACROSS THE BOARD: THE AMAZING NIQUE MANZA
What can’t she do? Drop from the ceiling? Check! Fly across the audience? Check! Stunt queen Nique Manza exploded on social media several times this year because of her jaw-dropping performances. We can’t wait to see where else she can take us!
15. BIG-HEARTED QUEENS
Precious Paula Nicole reached out to Angat Buhay Foundation to help the communities affected by typhoon Karding that ravaged Luzon. Pink hearts were afloat in the social media sphere when Precious briefly appeared on the former vice president and Angat Buhay founder Leni Robredo’s Facebook live to personally thank the queen and her fans for their initiative. A few weeks into snatching the Drag Race PH crown, Precious Paula Nicole launched the Precious Foundation to help build a house for the Golden Gays.
Eva Le Queen set up Tampal Puso, a donation drive that aims to provide gifts to children from a charity organization in Pasig City called Tahanan ng Pagmamahal in time for the Christmas season. Before this, Eva was able to raise over P150,000 to give to the Angat Buhay Foundation for the victims of Typhoon Paeng.
14. QUEENS ON THE RUNWAY
Fashion and drag go hand-in-hand. It is only fitting that our queens dominated the runways of one of the best fashion presentations we saw this year. From the power punk aesthetics of Kaye Morales to the fairy tale wonderland of Ehrran Montoya, perfect and all-out slayage!
13. JIGGLY CALIENTE AND KALADKAREN MAKING HERSTORY
It’s the first time in the Drag Race universe to have two trans women as permanent judges. Famous for her spot-on impersonation of prominent broadcast journalist Karen Davila, Kaladkaren was on her way to treading a new path for her career when she joined season four and All Stars 6 Ru girl Jiggly Caliente to sit on the panel.
12. PAOLO BALLESTEROS
One of the main highlights of any Drag Race show is the edge-of-the-seat anticipation of having our gay eyes glisten when the main host sweeps the runway with their lewks. Every week, the Drag Race PH catwalk became a captivating display of young Filipino designers served by beauty incarnate Paolo Ballesteros.
They were praised for not trying to be RuPaul and relied on her shtick to steer the show. While her judging style garnered mixed reactions, I enjoyed how dagger-like they were: piercing, needed-to-be-heard, and funny. Sounds like a proper representation of okrayan to me.
11. NEW MUSIC
I’ll be brave to say that Pop Off Ate is up there with Read U Wrote U from All Stars 2 in terms of group performance supremacy across the Drag Race universe. Watching our queens do excellent in that episode made us all want to celebrate and squeal in delight.
On what has become a very colorful music landscape, we were blessed with drops from Marina Summers (Divine), Manila Luzon (Drag Den), Minty Fresh and Kio Priest (Don’t Wait Up).
10. BRAND CHAMPIONS
Big brands are starting to recognize drag queens’ star power and magnetism and entrust them with their messaging. MAC Cosmetics, IKEA, META, Casetify, and Netflix launched campaigns that spotlight queer excellence, beauty, and ingenuity.
9. VIEWING PARTIES
Ask any longtime Drag Race fan and you will hear the same sentiment of not having as many options to watch the show as we do now. There was only one way, for me, at least. I had to go to Makati Cinema Square to purchase a pirated DVD of full seasons and binge-watch. (Please read that in a stereotypical grandma voice.)
I didn’t get the appeal when viewing parties emerged in the scene a few seasons back. I prefer watching in the comfort of my couch and being unaccompanied by the distractions an outside venue brings. That changed—a complete 180—when Drag Race PH landed on our shores. The show is the story of our queer culture featuring queens we know, some of them our dear friends, and playing out the fantasies unique and marketed to us, so watching it with the community was a joy. There is nothing like cheering, laughing, and crying with everybody and some of the show’s cast.
Shout out and glitter bombs to Butterboy, Bekenemen, D’Intervention, and the one at FFTG Cafe.
8. UNKABOGABALL 2022 GOES TO CEBU
There was no shortage of fashion gasps as I went over the looks at Vice Ganda’s UnkabogaBALL. The easy winners for me were Marina Summers (Unkabogaball star of the night) and Eva Le Queen, who both used fashion to make strong political statements that provoked and tingled the spine. Such punk stars!
7. THE PROLIFERATION OF DRAG SHOWS
Drag enchantment is gaining widespread interest as it moves into the mainstream and out of underground entertainment. Our queens are booked and busy. Drag reality show contestants have massively increased their fanbase, so tickets to their shows sell like hotcakes, no matter the location. More eyes on drag mean more visibility, which helps other local drag artists shine. From small bars to the MOA Arena, there’s no stopping the force that is drag.
6. THE FIRST UNTUCKED OUTSIDE OF THE USA
1. “Alammo‘yan,Marina!” -Xilouete
2. “Becauseofthegravityinsidethepopcorn.” -Viñas DeLuxe
3. “It’s not the dress; it’s you.” -Marina Summers
4. “Baliw!” -Minty Fresh
I don’t need to say more. Icons!
they rlly made the first international untucked for drag race ph and the girls are NOT disappointing#DragRacePH #DragRace #DragRacePhilippines pic.twitter.com/xcTaz6JxTo
— icesis h&m (@srodulvss) August 19, 2022
5. MANILA LUZON OPENS DRAG DEN
Drag Lord Manila Luzon officially opened the den and introduced eight queens who will compete in the first drag reality competition made by Filipinos for Filipinos.
4. MINTY FRESH’S PINK VIRAL MOMENT
Ariana Grande posted the pink sea of people singing her 2014 hit song Break Free at Emerald Avenue in Pasig City on her Instagram Story. It was a pre-show performance by Minty Fresh for a political rally supporting Leni Robredo for president. Iconic hype girl Peabo Orilla was also on the stage, keeping the 100,000+ crowd turnt up and urging them to sing along.
What you didn’t see: They played parts of Leni Robredo’s speech about her presidential bid before the intro to Break Free. Who knew that such a pop banger would fit in the message of disentangling ourselves from the evils of our government?
3. PRECIOUS PAULA NICOLE: THE FIRST DRAG RACE PHILIPPINES WINNER
Season one of Drag Race PH kicked off with an unbelievably perfect chef’s kiss cast. Precious Paula Nicole had already established her place in the scene before Drag Race and had the respect of the other queens. She eventually won the hearts of many adoring viewers and fans because of the passion and kindness we saw in her eyes. She’s a queen that radiates boundless positive energy in all directions. As a master storyteller through performance, we watched her prance her way to the throne during that final lipsync battle. Truly an embodiment of charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent.
2. DRAG DEN
Welcome to Drag Den, a drag reality competition with a unique and genuinely Pinoy perspective. The show promises to dive into the drag experience as we’ve never seen before. This is a brand-new platform and avenue for drag artists to flourish and showcase their talents. The power of visibility is an overall win for the advancement of our community.
1. DRAG RACE PHILIPPINES
The show propelling its contestants to superstardom and breaking down many barriers worldwide, finally has a Philippine country code. This will elevate drag artists and all queer creatives working in the scene. These popular drag shows on mainstream media are mirrors of our lives. Representation matters. Our stories are being told for the world to see.
Watching the show felt like watching the birth of a waterfall. The river’s always been there, just looking for the right spot to be more visible and appreciated. Enjoy the view. Take a picture. Bathe in it. This is the precipice of change.
