INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Drag artist Pura Luka Vega has been declared persona non grata here.
The Cebu City Council, during its regular session on Wednesday, August 16, 2023, passed a resolution declaring Pura Leka Vega, whose real name is Amadeus Fernando Pagente, as persona non grata.
The resolution was penned by Councilor Pastor ‘Jun’ Alcover Jr. There were no objections to its approval on last Wednesday’s session.
In his resolution, Alcover described Pagente’s controversial ‘Ama Namin’ (The Lord’s Prayer) remix and performance as offensive.
“Due to his offensive and disrespectful acts in the social and cultural values related to the religious beliefs of Cebuanos,” Alcover said.
Cebu City is also the first local government in Central Visayas to impose a persona non grata upon Pagente, the councilor added.
Pagente has been declared persona non grata in multiple localities in the Philippines, including the capital Manila, following his drag art performance last July.
READ: ‘Ama Namin’ drag performance ni Pura Luka Vega umani ng batikos mula sa madlang pipol
The others are the province of Bukidnon, General Santos City in South Cotabato, and the municipalities of Floridablanca in Pampanga, and Toboso in Negros Occidental.
The drag performer 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 he will not apologize for his actions, claiming that these were just part of his performance, which he said is an expression of art. / with reports from INQUIRER.net
/bmjo
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