Arzen Rose Dulzura

EXCLUSIVE: Pura Luka Vega on why they remain fearless about their art: ‘Ang sining ay mapagpalaya’

Article (news)

Rhea Manila Santos

Push Team

<p>Since entering showbiz as a contestant on the first season of the drag competition <em>Drag Den</em> in 2022, Pura Luka Vega has made it clear that they will not apologize for the kind of art they want to create. In 2023, they made headlines after their performance in a bar of the religious song &quot;Ama Namin&quot; while wearing a Jesus-inspired outfit. It went viral and led to a public outcry from members of the religious and political communities, leading to their arrest and subsequent release that same year. </p><p>This year, the outspoken artist shared their interest to get into theater and finally being able to make their debut as a comic book author in an exclusive interview with <strong>PUSH ABS-CBN</strong> during the <em>Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank 4</em> media launch held earlier this month at the PETA theater in Quezon City. </p><p>“I think I’ve always been very protective of my drag. I’ve always been protective of the art that I produce. So definitely they’ll see more of me because I think drag has always been healing for me. So I’ll continue to do whatever I do because that’s what I live for. That’s why I feel like doing. It’s important na dapat gumawa tayo ng sining dahil ang sining ay mapagpalaya,” they said. </p><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-17" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DX6q2iEDkq7/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=675&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A17%2C%22os%22%3A18141829%2C%22ls%22%3A3120.9000000059605%2C%22le%22%3A3368.199999988079%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="925" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-17" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/celebrities/2025/5/11/exclusive-pura-luka-vega-shares-their-mom-s-most-valuable-gift-1548"><strong><u>READ: EXCLUSIVE: Pura Luka Vega shares their mom’s most valuable gift</u></strong></a></div><div><br/></div><p>Aside from performing in drag, Pura also shared that they are hoping to become part of local theater this year as well. </p><p>“I’ve always been open to a lot of things. It’s just that I’m very fortunate to be able to watch these plays and little and little, I’m actually trying to audition as best as I can. But I’m always a fan of theater plays. I think theater and movies, all these things, are very important. It’s real time and I think we need to invest more in the arts because it’s not well funded. We want the government to fund the arts right?” they added. </p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-15" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DX6rFh3pWVF/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=675&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A15%2C%22os%22%3A18103646.900000006%2C%22ls%22%3A3120.9000000059605%2C%22le%22%3A3368.199999988079%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="857" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-15" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>During the media launch, the once-controversial drag artist shared the inspiration for their eye-catching OOTD came after watching the movie <em>The Devil Wears Prada 2</em>. </p><p>“I’m channeling somewhat of a younger version of Miranda Priestly (laughs). I am still on a high from how good the movie was from the latest franchise. I’ve been a fan of the movie, I’ve been a fan of the book. There’s also a musical of the <em>Devil Wears Prada</em>. So all of these things I love. In real life, hindi naman ako nagmamaldita sa taong mabait sa akin. So I’ll leave it at that (laughs). Pero mahirap maging maldita eh. Pero minsan kailangan kasi (laughs),” They explained. </p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-13" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYHYoLdTo15/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=675&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A13%2C%22os%22%3A18087945.699999988%2C%22ls%22%3A3120.9000000059605%2C%22le%22%3A3368.199999988079%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-13" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/2023/7/22/drag-queen-pura-luka-vega-declared-persona-non-grata-in-gensan-902"><strong><u>READ: Drag queen Pura Luka Vega declared persona non grata in Gensan</u></strong></a></div><div><br/></div><p>The talented drag artist also gave an update on their writing debut which was initially announced last year, but is finally happening in June.</p><p>“I have an upcoming comic book scheduled to be released next month. I hope they get to enjoy the comic book that I wrote. It took a while because we needed more time for the artist to actually make the comic. It’s not easy to make a comic book. Siyempre hindi natin puwede i-ask sa AI (laughs). And then apart from the comic book, I still do drag shows here and there. Hopefully, there’s a theater play for me in the future or a movie. The book that I wrote is an attempt to give people an idea of what the drag world is. Apart from the glamour, there’s a real story to the difficulty of doing drag. It’s under Anino comics of Adarna,” they told <strong>PUSH ABS-CBN.</strong></p>

<p>Drag artist Pura Luka Vega shares with PUSH ABS-CBN about the exciting new things happening in their career for this coming year which they have never done before in showbiz.</p>

Drag artist Pura Luka Vega shares with PUSH ABS-CBN about the exciting new things happening in their career for this coming year which they have never done before in showbiz.