Who is Pura Luka Vega, and how did he get the attention of the Roman Catholic community? Amadeus Fernando Pagente, famously known as Pura Luka Vega, is a Filipino queer artist and a former Drag Den contestant who started from cosplaying as ‘Joker’ to the controversial ‘Jesus Christ,’ where he received so much obsession when he performed the Ama Namin Remix (A remix of Lord’s Prayer).
Based on the study conducted by Capstone-Intel, the viral video gained its popularity through Facebook with 29.3 percent, videos with 23.8 percent, news with 19.7 percent, X, formerly known as Twitter with 17.8 percent, TikTok with 4.1 percent, Forums with 1.5 percent, Web with 1.3 percent and Podcasts with 0.5 percent.
Pura Luka Vega jiving in the song wearing Jesus-like clothes and cosmetics, and giving his audience the hype made everyone go crazy, especially the lawmakers and even the common citizens who watched the viral video. According to Capstone-Intel’s sentiment analysis, 78.8 percent of the population saw his performance as an utter disrespect, and the remaining 21.2 percent of the population claimed that that was just a simple drag performance, an art and a way of expressing oneself. Most of the negative opinions came from news sources such as Inquirer.net with 44.7 percent, Rappler with 18.3 percent and the Philippine Star with 4.2 percent. On the other hand, positive sentiments came from TikTok with 57.2 percent, YouTube with 9.9 percent and Twitter with 4.3 percent which shows that some people were not offended and saw the performance as merely a show.
Prior to this issue, netizens looked back to Pura’s other controversial content, “Ostya review,” wherein he made a video of himself doing a food review of the sacramental bread eaten by the Catholic community during a holy communion. He judged it based on its appearance, the ‘crispiness’ and its taste while, again, wearing Jesus-like makeup, props, and clothes. Based on Capstone-Intel, this review earned 100 percent of negative reactions among social media users, which is really not surprising considering how he used the sacramental bread, like a normal biscuit that you can get at the grocery store.
Upon looking at this incident, Vice Mayor Michael Galang of Floridablanca (a first-class municipality in Pampanga) thought that the best decision for Pura’s disrespect and his “sacrilegious deeds” was to charge him “persona non-grata” or be barred from entering a specific place, which was also a decision made by the governing body of General Santos City. Aside from this, Pura was also arrested by Manila police on October 4, 2023, charging him with violating the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 and RPC 201, or Article 201, of the Revised Penal Code for pertaining to the propagation of “immortal doctrines, obscene publications, exhibitions, and indecent shows.” However, he didn’t stay that long behind bars as he was released on bail that he got from donations. His friends and supporters have raised over five hundred fifty thousand Philippine pesos for the seventy-two thousand Philippine peso bail required by law.
Pura Luka Vega apologized for anyone whom he offended by his performance and explained that his goal is to heal those people who excluded him and the LGBTQ+ community within the Catholic community despite their faith in Christ. He also added that his unfortunate experience would not hinder him from making drags and would not mark an end in his career as an artist or in expressing his views and faith.
While drag is absolutely a unique art and a way of expressing oneself, I believe that it should not be a tool to harm others or a way to disrespect any person’s life, religion, belief, culture, or faith. We should always remember that in order to receive such respect, we need to earn it. And if asked, we should also give it to others. If you are a member of the LGBTQ+ community and you don’t feel accepted by some people from the Catholic community, why would you prove to them that you deserve to be excluded? Instead, you should show them that you know how to respect others, that you deserve to be respected, and that you stand strong, believing firmly in your faith in the Lord.
I hope this event has taught each and every one of us to always put ourselves in the shoes of others. Both Pura Luka Vega and the Catholic community have some things that they should learn and realize. But at the end of the day, what matters most is how we view life, how we decide as people, and how we respect each other, like how we want to be respected.
