Dennis Gaviola

Article (news)

Josiah Eleazar Antonio

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17328776615591732877693825.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Drag artist Salmo Nella during the &#x27;Drag Cartel&#x27; competition in May 2023 at Nectar Nightclub in BGC. Photo from Nectar&#x27;s Facebook page."/>Drag artist Salmo Nella during the &#x27;Drag Cartel&#x27; competition in May 2023 at Nectar Nightclub in BGC. Photo from Nectar&#x27;s Facebook page.</div>It was a night full of good memories after the well-known Filipino drag competition &quot;Drag Cartel&quot; at Nectar Nightclub when Salmo Nella decided to make it as her full-time job.After winning the monthly competition in 2023, Salmo went straight to her day job crafted her resignation letter and chose drag.&quot;When I won, pagdating ko sa work, doon ako nag-ayos, ganoon kalaki &#x27;yung bagahe ko nu&#x27;n. Nag-lock ako sa office ko nu&#x27;n, &#x27;di ako lumabas. I wrote my resignation letter,&quot; the drag artist told ABS-CBN News in an interview.&quot;At 4 p.m., pag-out, I handed my resignation letter sa superior. Doon nag-umpisa na nagbago &#x27;yung buhay ko because of &#x27;Drag Cartel.&#x27; Ayun, nagsunod-sunod na because of that win, mas nakita ako ng maraming tao, mas nabenta ko &#x27;yung sarili kasi &#x27;Drag Cartel&#x27; winner ako eh. Mas may prime na ako ngayon,&quot; she added.Before the reality shows like &quot;Drag Race Philippines&quot; and &quot;Drag Den Philippines,&quot; Drag Cartel was the drag competition at Nectar Nightclub known to the LGBT community in the Philippines.Its All Stars season winners like Minty Fresh, O-A, Marina Summers, and other contestants became the faces of drag as it grew in popularity on mainstream media.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/2024/11/17/popular-queer-club-nectar-in-bgc-announces-closure-1418">Popular queer club Nectar in BGC announces closure</a></div>However, earlier this month the saddest news broke that Nectar Nightclub will be closing its doors at The Fort in Bonifacio Global City, as it counts its last days till the end of the year.It was heartbreaking for Salmo to see the bar that honed her talent as a drag artist go and looked back on how &quot;Drag Cartel&quot; made an impact in her life with the hopes of its return to a new venue.&quot;Of course, malungkot tayo sa pagsasara ng Nectar kasi naging bahagi rin ng buhay ko &#x27;yung Nectar, pre-drag nagne-Nectar na ako. Jusko, naabutan ko &#x27;yung Nectar na ang liit-liit ng Nectar doon sa may gilid nung hindi pa &#x27;yung present side niya ngayon, &#x27;yung ang stage nasa bar pa,&quot; Salmo said.&quot;I&#x27;ve met good friends at Nectar. Nectar saw me actually grow bilang baby queen. Nag-full circle (moment) at Nectar,&quot; she added.<div>A HOME FOR BABY QUEENS</div>&quot;Drag Cartel&quot; saw the growth of many drag artists that we know now and we will know in the future.With the familiar &quot;Lipsync For Your Life&quot; segment from the Emmy-winning reality series &quot;RuPaul&#x27;s Drag Race,&quot; the local competition gives baby queens in the Philippines to shine and show ther chops to be the next drag star.&quot;Ang dami nang sumikat sa &#x27;Cartel.&#x27; Ang dami na nating nakitang produkto like Xilhouette, Minty Fresh, Marina Summers, O-A, Margaux, and everything. Felicia (Ding), my sister, up-and-coming superstar,&quot; Salmo said.&quot;Malaking bagay sa mga baby queens na makatungtong ka ng &#x27;Drag Cartel&#x27; kasi it means a lot. And to win a month in &#x27;Drag Cartel&#x27; is really a big deal para sa mga baby queens,&quot; she added.This convinced Salmo to give &quot;Drag Cartel&quot; a shot and eventually win in May 2023. While not winning the All Stars season, the competition helped her in two ways.She was able to make a name for herself and finally reveal her chosen sexual orientation, gender identity and expression (SOGIE) to her parents.&quot;That night was just magical, it was so surreal. There were a lot of people (who) would discredit my win that night but at the end of the day, I got home with a crown. I think I deserve it. No, I believe I deserve it,&quot; Salmo said.&quot;That was the moment when I was able to go out with my family. As a queer, as a drag artist, sabay pa &#x27;yun, so, nahirapan silang i-process lahat. Kumbaga, umamin na akong bading, aamin pa akong drag queen, ... so, ganoon kahirap,&quot; she added.&quot;After that win, mas naging open ako sa family ko kasi nga nag-out na ako and everything. Mas naging maluwag &#x27;yung buhay ko kasi nga tanggap na ako sa bahay, okay sila sa akin, nakawala na rin ako sa former work ko na ang tagal ko na ring iniinda for 10 years tiniis ko siya.&quot;  Salmo credited the competition for giving her career a jumpstart.&quot;Drag career-wise, mas nabenta ko &#x27;yung sarili ko. Super grateful ako Nectar Nightclub tsaka sa &#x27;Drag Cartel.&#x27; Sa &#x27;Drag Cartel&#x27; family ko, sa Poison Wednesday family ko kasi kung wala &#x27;yun, kung hindi dumating &#x27;yon ... hindi ako nakakuha ng jumpstart sa career ko,&quot; she said.&quot;Sobrang thankful sa kanila kasi wala ako sa platform na ito sa posisyon na ito kung hindi dahil sa kanila.&quot;<div>NAVIGATING WHERE TO GO</div>More than her drag career, Salmo looks at Nectar as a place that embraced her for who she is as there is a scarce of queer spaces in the Philippines.&quot;Monumental siya sa pagiging bading ko eh, so, malungkot na magsasara na ang Nectar pero ang daming hints sa posting nila eh, sa caption nila na magsasara lang sila sa Fort so ano&#x27;ng meron mga bakla kayo,&quot; Salmo said.&quot;It really gives you the opportunity to be authentically you na malayo sa mapanghusgang mga mata, malayo sa prejudice. You have your own space where you can celebrate who you are the way you want to celebrate who you are. Importante &#x27;yun.&quot; she added.Salmo will never get tired of stressing how Nectar saw how many queens started on its stage.&quot;Most of us started in Nectar. Most young drag queens started in Nectar. So, at the end of the day, I&#x27;m very, very, very, very grateful even though I have a new home,&quot; the drag queen said.&quot;Karamihan sa amin nagsimula talaga sa Nectar lahat, karamihan ng mga batang drag queen ngayon, nagsimula sa Nectar. At the end of the day very, very grateful kahit na may bago akong tahanan, very grateful ako sa Nectar, kasi nga nakita ako eh,&quot; she added.Right now, Salmo is taking on a new journey at Rampa Club in Quezon City carving her own path as a drag artist, strengthened by her experience at Nectar, the club that she first called her home.&quot;Happy and grateful ako for Nectar for building me, for seeing me. Kasi kung &#x27;di naman dahil sa kanila, hindi ako mapupunta sa Rampa ngayon, wala ako sa Rampa ngayon kundi dahil sa kanila. So, I&#x27;m very, very grateful,&quot; Salmo said.&quot;Let&#x27;s support all queer safe spaces. Let&#x27;s make all queer spaces safe, just like what we did with Nectar. Hindi naman masusundan ang Nectar, ang O-Bar kung hindi natin &#x27;to pinagtulungan gawing safe,&quot; she added.&quot;I have to tell you. It was a struggle finding a home. It was a struggle to fight for your passion, for your art. Sobrang happy lang ako na I found my place.&quot;

Before the reality shows like 'Drag Race Philippines' and 'Drag Den Philippines,' Drag Cartel was the drag competition at Nectar Nightclub known to the LGBT community in the Philippines.

Before the reality shows like 'Drag Race Philippines' and 'Drag Den Philippines,' Drag Cartel was the drag competition at Nectar Nightclub known to the LGBT community in the Philippines.

How Nectar Nightclub jumpstarted careers of PH drag superstars and more to come

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How Nectar Nightclub jumpstarted careers of PH drag superstars and more to come

Josiah Eleazar Antonio,

ABS-CBN News

Published Nov 29, 2024 07:51 PM PHT

Read More:

celebrity news

showbiz news

LGBT

drag

Nectar

Nectar Nightclub

Drag Cartel

Cartel

Salmo Nella

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