Pura Luka Vega. Images: Instagram/@puralukavega, Screengrab from Instagram/@baruizzaaron, Screengrab from Instagram/@abad.jace
Undaunted by the number of local government units declaring them unwelcome, as well as a lawsuit for their drag portrayal of Jesus Christ, Pura Luka Vega recently held a persona non grata-themed performance at an undisclosed location.
A video by one @femcelgender posted on X (formerly Twitter) last Sunday showed the “Drag Den Philippines” Season 1 alum, whose real name is Amadeus Fernando Pagente and who goes by the pronouns they or them, doing a lip-sync performance to Taylor Swift’s hit song “Look What You Made Me Do” while holding a framed photo of themselves in costume as the Black Nazarene
“OKAY PERSONA NON GRATA TOUR!!!” the caption read.
OKAY PERSONA NON GRATA TOUR!!! pic.twitter.com/gMwIMj2wjI
— captivating m1ss squi 🏳️⚧️ (@femcelgender) August 20, 2023
In a separate post by another @kallandian, Pura Luka was seen performing to the same song while holding a bottle of vodka, while his audience was cheering him on. The drag artist then spoke about their persona non grata tag while quoting a verse from the Bible.
“Ito lang masasabi ko — simplehan lang natin ha — lahat tayo makasalanan. Hindi tayo perpekto. Gayunpaman, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Okay? Do not do to others what you do not want others to do unto you. Golden rule lang po ‘yun,” Pura Luka said in the video.
(This is what I’m going to say — let’s just make it simple — we’re all sinners. We’re not perfect. Despite this, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Okay? Do not do to others what you do not want others to do unto you. It’s the Golden Rule.)
“Para sa mga ibang lugar na gustong mag-persona non grata diyan, dagdagan niyo pa! Pakialam ko. Separation ng church at ng state [dapat]. ‘Yun lang po. Thank you po!” they continued.
(To those who are planning to declare me as persona non grata, keep them coming! I don’t care. The separation of church and state should be done. That’s it. Thank you.)
The Persona Non Grata tour, purr! 💅@ama_survivah https://t.co/KdbK2FjdVY pic.twitter.com/vw9SONmjQQ
— Jordy Rae Jepsen 🌻🎬 (@kallandian) August 21, 2023
The drag performer also reshared posts of their “persona non grata”-themed performances on their Instagram Stories.
Image: Screengrab from Instagram/@baruizzaaron via @puralukavega
Image: Screengrab from Instagram/@abad.jace via @puralukavega
Pura’s performance came after several localities declared them persona non grata or an unwelcome person for alleged blasphemous portrayal of Jesus Christ while “desecrating” the “Ama Namin,” (The Lord’s Prayer) in his gigs.
Among the localities that have so far declared them persona non grata were Cebu City; Floridablanca, Pampanga; General Santos City; Toboso, Negros Occidental; Bukidnon; Dinagat Islands; the City of Manila; Nueva Ecija; Laguna; and Occidental Mindoro.
The performer also faces criminal suits filed by the Christian churches under the Philippines for Jesus Movement (PJM), citing a supposed violation of Article 201 of the Revised Penal Code and in relation to the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
The “Drag Den Philippines” alum broke their silence on their X page earlier this month saying they are “open for a dialogue,” but that they were declared persona non grata “without even knowing me or understanding the intent of the performance.” EDV