Pura Luka Vega. Images: Twitter/@dragdenph, Twitter/@ama_survivah
“Tell me EXACTLY what I did wrong,” so said Pura Luka Vega, the drag performer who was declared persona non grata by several local government units for his alleged blasphemous portrayal of Jesus Christ Nazarene in several videos that went viral on social media.
Hours after he was unanimously declared unwelcome in the capital city of Manila, Vega, whose real name is Amadeus Fernando Pagente and who goes by the pronouns they or them, said on his X account that he is open for dialogue but it seemed that certain groups have closed their doors on him.
“Tell me EXACTLY what I did wrong. I’m open for a dialogue and yet cities have been declaring persona non grata without even knowing me or understanding the intent of the performance. Drag is art. You judge me yet you don’t even know me,” their post was quoted as saying.
Tell me EXACTLY what I did wrong. I’m open for a dialogue and yet cities have been declaring persona non grata without even knowing me or understanding the intent of the performance. Drag is art. You judge me yet you don’t even know me. 🤷♀️ https://t.co/dprxdySjkD
— Pura Luka Vega 🙃 (@ama_survivah) August 10, 2023
The Manila City Council, during a session on Tuesday, came out with a resolution declaring the Drag Den alum persona non grata for supposedly offending religious feelings.
Pura Luka also took to their Instagram Stories on the same day to show someone playing the worship version of the “Ama Natin” (The Lord’s Prayer), and not the more upbeat version which he used in his performances and which had been part of the controversy.
Image: Screengrab from Instagram/@puralukavega
Pura Luka came under fire for several videos that went viral online for her portrayal of a jovial Christ in shining garb. One of the videos showed them with a crown of golden sunrays on their head, dancing and waving to a crowd of spectators who were also taking their video and dancing to an upbeat version of “Ama Namin,” considered the most sacred prayer by Catholics.
In one video, they appeared to be making the sign of the cross as they bobbed their heads to lively music. They captioned their video: “Thank you for coming to church,” then a praying emoji. It has since garnered over 17.3 million views.
Another video showed them making inappropriate meaning to the letter inscription on the communion host, while another showed him wiping his face with a towel, mimicking a ritual among devotees of the Nazareno of using a cloth to wipe His image in the belief that it would provide protection to them.
Despite this, Pura Luka earlier said they will not apologize for his actions, claiming that these were just part of his performance, which he said is an expression of art.
The Manila City Council, in unanimously declaring Pura Luka persona non grata, pointed out that the city is home to the image of the much revered Jesus Nazarene, whose feast every January 9 attracts millions of devotees.
Manila is the first local government in the National Capital Region to declare Pura Luka as persona non grata, and the fifth locality, so far, to have done so, after the province of Bukidnon, General Santos City in South Cotabato, and the municipalities of Floridablanca in Pampanga, and Toboso in Negros Occidental.
The Christian churches under the Philippines for Jesus Movement (PJM) also filed a case against the drag performer last Aug. 1, citing alleged violation of Article 201 of the Revised Penal Code and in relation to the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
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