Pura Luka Vega, a drag queen, creates controversy and disrupts the LGBTQ+ community as she performs a remixed version of the revered Catholic prayer “Ama Namin” (Our Father) while wearing the iconic Holy Black Nazarene dress, which has become her signature drag costume.

Though it was not her first time, Pura finally succeeded in capturing the attention of many, particularly Christians, as she lip-synched the “Ama Namin” while her audience sang the sacred song with an upbeat tune deemed inappropriate by other Christian communities. “Our Father” is a prayer from the Holy Bible that fosters communion with Jesus Christ, His Son.

“It was in no way trying to demean,” claims Pura. However, in her intentional challenge to the way Christians worship, Pura overlooked the fact that there are LGBTQ+ Christian members who actively worship God. As a result, she failed to gain the support of the entire community, including Bataan Rep. Geraldine Roman, the first transgender lawmaker in the Philippines. In a text message to ABS-CBN News, Rep. Roman criticized Pura’s offensive action and questioned its relevance to LGBT rights, “Kailangan pa ba ng ganitong klaseng provocation? Anong ambag nito sa LGBT rights?”

Prior to Roman’s statement, many LGBTQ+ members criticized Pura as her performance faced backlash online. Netizens argue that while they support LGBT rights, romanticizing such actions is inappropriate, particularly considering the reverence Christians have for the Lord’s Prayer. Bro. Humphsky Rey of the Catholic Faith Defense of the Philippines explains how Pura’s actions are debunked.

Bro. Rey strongly contradicts Pura and asserts that there is no place for mockery and offense when exercising freedom of expression. According to Rey, Pura’s actions were undoubtedly offensive, as they involved casting hate and ridicule toward Christians. In his post, he directly addresses Pura and states, “What you did, even though you claim to be very careful, is still offensive to the feelings of the Catholic faithful for some reasons, including the inappropriateness given to these religious symbols.”

Without a doubt, LGBT Pilipinas Secretary General Renan Eusebio concurred that “Ama Namin” should not be the subject of humor and should be respected in its rightful context. He believes that Pura went beyond acceptable boundaries and committed the ultimate blasphemy, which deeply saddens him as a fan of drag art.

This situation tests the spirit and unity of the LGBT community, and according to Eusebio, people can respect each other’s differences and beliefs while still appreciating each other’s creativity.

“Malawak ang pang-unawa ng LGBT community sa ganitong mga aspeto ngunit sa sitwasyon ni Pura Luka, nalungkot din ang kapwa kong miyembro ng community sa nangyaring insidente,” he added.

Despite a significant portion of people being against it, Pura still finds support from a member of the community. Notable among them is the multi-awarded Filipino filmmaker, film historian, author, and the esteemed director of the Center for New Cinema, Nick Deocampo. Deocampo firmly believes that those upset by Pura’s actions are merely enjoying their comfortable lives. He stated, “Art is meant to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable. Check ur privilege po, dami dami issues on hate crimes targeted towards members of the community, ngayon kayo iiyak, pls pls pls kaya Im really faith>religion,” he stated.

Pura’s art, whether considered a form of art or blasphemy, effectively disrupts the comfort within his community, stirring feelings of dismay.

Photo: Screengrab from Pura Luka Vega’s Twitter and Tiktok.