‘DRAG is all over the world! It’s a phenomenon. It will live on and on!” Indeed. In quick succession, France just crowned its first queen, Canada its third and Down Under its second. This past week, the UK unleashed its fourth season (Cheddar Gorgeous is a juggernaut), just as Drag Race Philippines found itself in a tempest.
In the seventh episode’s “Divi-Divas” challenge, where the contenders made outfits from unconventional materials sold in Divisoria, fashion designer-judge Rajo Laurel read Eva Le Queen’s outfit for filth. He called it ugly, an atrocity, trash. Though admirably composed onstage, the feedback almost broke Eva during Untucked, the behind-the-scenes goings-on at the “werk room” when the judges deliberate.
That “critique,” though, horrified and terrified international RuPaul Girls, such as the Americans Kandy Muse, Kornbread “The Snack” Jeté, Nina Bonina Brown, and Jasmine Kennedie; Canadian Miss Fiercalicious; and Brit Cheryl Hole. Even Drag Race mainstay and Fil-Am comedian Alec Mapa.
The uproar only proves that Drag Race royalties are watching the local show. Just when they were cheering the Pinays queens, sad news enveloped the community when news of UK Season 2’s Cherry Valentine sudden passing was announced. The cause of death has not been reported.
But then here comes host-judge Paolo Ballesteros, in an attempt to #educatethechildren, created another maelstrom by delving into Viñas DeLuxe’s “Pink Pak Boom” runway look. (See Twitter for updates.) Also, be updated about judge Kaladkaren’s articulate thoughts about the SOGIE Bill.
All this brings me to my e-mail interview with Pinay plus-sized Barbie, Jiggly Caliente from Queens, New York, via San Pedro, Laguna.
When the show was announced, she replied to some Twitter critters who said she was undeserving of the role: “I understand you wanted @manilaluzon to be in my place. She has her own show coming soon where you can support, love and glorify her there. Can I just have this moment? I’m not asking for much. I’m not asking you to accept the inevitable that I’m the judge on Drag Race Philippines.”
Here’s Jiggly. Still unscathed. As of the moment.
How do you deal with the toxic fandom?
It’s growing pains because I have a therapist now. This is what I meant when Drag Race humbled me because of the comments that I received and mainly on my season. My teeth were, you know, they weren’t great but the fandom was really good at pointing that out. My weight has also been commented on. There’s just so much. They literally put you under a microscope and dissect you. It is not easy. But you have to have a thick skin to go through it.
But, yeah, like I have a therapist. I also have people that really know me, that keep me grounded and tell me, like, “Look, that’s not true. That’s not what it is like.” You know, it is a lot. It’s a lot to go through for a person. Sometimes you just got to have to learn to like and love yourself. So you can survive it. And I mean that as like yourself first, because nobody falls in love, like I know the whole love yourself and you’re gonna love me. But in reality, nobody falls in love right away, right? You like a person first. Find things to like about yourself to negate that conversation that is happening on social media. So find little things about yourself that you like. And from there, keep going. Find another thing that you like about yourself, and then find another. And another, and another till you fall in love with yourself.
All T All Shade: Were you kindest to the girls during the sewing challenges since this is your weakness?
Oh yeah, no, God! The difference for me is that just because I can’t create something doesn’t mean I don’t have an eye for it. The design of something, like the design of something is one thing. Execution is a whole other situation, But if you at least design something decent and pretty OK, I can get that. If you tell me what this was supposed to be and it just wasn’t executed the same way, I’m empathetic to the execution but not the design.
Because if the design is ugly to begin with, it’s ugly. Kung chaka ang design, chaka ang outcome. Pero kung maganda ang design pero hindi maganda ang execution, it’s a different situation. A prime example ’yung aking postapocalyptic look—the design was ang nangyari; ang execution ang chaka. Yeah. I was a lot kinder to the queens when it comes to execution for the sewing challenges. And, like, ang kapal naman nang mukha ko kung ganun ako kung malala ako, tapos ’di ko naman magawa—baka sampalin ako ng mga baklang ’yan!
But the good thing about Drag Race Philippines is, like, and at least with the Filipino queens, hindi sila sumasagot. Hindi sila…‘cause in America the queens really minsan sumasagot sa mga hurado eh. But in the Philippines, the queens weren’t like that. Iba ang ugali ng queens sa Philippines. Hindi sila palaban masyado with [the judges], like, not palaban pero wala pa silang sungay. Pero jusko kung ano masabi ko, mura-murahin ako nila noh! Sabihin nila, “Hoy! Ilang beses ka naligwak dahil dito, di ba?”
LGBT persecution still persists. How are you using your Drag Race platform to fight this?
By being very vocal about my opinion. Mainly for the Philippines. For our community and the LGBTQ community. The thing is, it’s like, I’m a privileged American citizen at this point. I feel somewhat like it’s unfair for me to be judgmental on what’s going on in the Philippines. But at the same time I can’t help but voice my opinion on it. Because, you know, we have to.
You have to move forward. I love that the Philippines is very (tolerant) of the community. And I say (tolerant) because, if you truly accept the LGBT community, we should have rights in the Philippines. The SOGIE Bill should have been passed a long, long time ago. You know, I’m not even asking for gay marriage in the Philippines. That’s not even what I’m asking for, or what I’m hoping for.
Because, right now, an LGBT can get fired from their job. I would love for a transwoman or transman to be able to live in their truth. Without their dead name being held against them. That is what I mean. I’m not asking, I’m not hoping for more. I would just like at least the bare minimum of basic human rights for the Filipino LGBT community.
Why is now the suitable time to showcase drag to conservative and judgmental Philippines?
Because times are changing. And you have to move with the times, right? We’re not going anywhere. We are not staying silent. We are no longer going to be the punching bag for your insecurities. The community is here. We have always been here. We have been part of the fold for the longest time and only because of the colonizers were we shunned. So, that needs to be eradicated. Get with the times. We’ve always been here. We never left. n