10 ‘Drag Race Philippines’ moments that live rent-free in our heads

By: Lora Reyes - 2 years ago

It seems like only yesterday when we were just waiting for Drag Race Philippines to premiere, and everyone was excited to meet the queens. And now, the first season is about to end with only four queens—Eva Le Queen, Marina Summers, Precious Paula Nicole, and Xilhouete—left.

But before the show crowns its first-ever drag superstar, let’s look back at some of the iconic scenes that live rent-free in our heads—from the queens’ sickening looks down to their funny lines and confessionals.

 

Viñas DeLuxe’s towel couture entrance lewk

In every pilot episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race, queens who have entered the werkroom have always left fans and viewers gagging with their entrance looks, and the queens of Drag Race Philippines are no exception.

But Viñas DeLuxe, also known as the “Pambansang Bunganga ng Pilipinas” (National Mouth of the Philippines) and Misis, immediately caught the eyes of many as she sashayed to the werkroom with just a towel wrapped around her head and body. To complete her fresh-from-the-bath look, Viñas also held a shower head in her hand which she used as a microphone. 

“My name is Viñas DeLuxe! I am from Bulacan,” Viñas introduced herself during her confessional. “Yes, my drag persona is all about fun! Yes, it’s all about having a good time, and of course, people want to see my unforgettable performances!”

Indeed, the queen showcased her campy and sickening looks throughout her colorful run in the competition.

 

Mama Pao’s search for Corazon’s flowers

Perhaps one of the most iconic scenes that ever come out of the show is Paolo Ballesteros’ reaction to one of the queens’ looks from the first-ever design challenge.

In the second episode, the queens were tasked to design an outfit and arch inspired by Flores de Mayo. But Corazon’s look is missing the main element in her outfit: the flowers.

Paolo asked Corazon where the flowers were, to which the contestant turned and showed the back of her costume. Paolo then told Corazon “okay” in a sassy way.

From that moment on, a new meme was born. 

 

Minty Fresh calling Brigiding “baliw” (crazy)

Drag Race Philippines is the first international franchise to ever have Untucked, a companion show that shows exclusive and never-before-seen footage, including all the drama in the werkroom. 

And, boy, did they really serve the drama.

During the Untucked episode of the Sagalamazon challenge, Minty Fresh and Brigiding were arguing about the latter’s show where she was stirring the past issue of Minty and fellow contestant Marina Summers.

After a heated argument, Minty distanced herself from Brigiding and called the latter “baliw” (crazy).

 

Viñas’ out-of-the-blue responses

It’s safe to say that the Untucked episode of the Sagalamazon challenge is one for the books. Aside from the drama between Minty Fresh and Brigiding, new meme-able content from Viñas and Corazon was also born.

During the Untucked, Corazon explained the meaning behind her outfit, particularly the incorporation of the chicken wires which she said was inspired by her father.

Viñas then asked Corazon: “Manok ba ‘yung daddy mo ha? (Is your father a chicken?)” 

https://youtu.be/vO8_5fUujzA

This isn’t the only time Misis had an out-of-the-blue response to a conversation.

In the seventh episode of Untucked, Viñas, who appeared to be drunk, went over to Marina and Brigiding who were talking on the couch.

She then started to ask questions out of the blue. Marina even asked her: “Bakit nag-uusap kami tapos bigla kang—? (Why do you have to interrupt as we—?),” to which Viñas responded: “Because of the gravity inside the popcorn.”

We still couldn’t make sense of Viñas’ answer, but as Drag Race legend Trinity the Tuck said: “I don’t know what she’s saying, but girl, I’m living.”

 

“Pop Off Ate” by Pink Pussy Energy and Flexbomb Girls

One of the well-known challenges in the Drag Race herstory is the girl group challenge. So seeing a challenge like that in the Philippine franchise is exciting. 

In the show’s third episode, the queens were divided into two groups for their first-ever girl group challenge and tasked to write their own verses and perform the song “Pop Off Ate” on the main stage.

The first team called Pink Pussy Energy (PPE) was composed of Precious Paula Nicole, Viñas, Minty Fresh, Gigi Era, and Xilhouete. On the other hand, the Flexbomb Girls consisted of Turing, Brigiding, Eva Le Queen, Lady Morgana, and Marina.

As soon as the episode aired, viewers from all over the world raved about the challenge. Well, who wouldn’t? The song is actually a bop! It was even included in the Philippines iTunes Top Song with Flexomb Girls’ version in the second spot, and Pink Pussy Energy’s placed in the 11th.

The queens have indeed popped off!

 

The queens channel their inner aswang on the runway

After popping off the main stage with the performance of “Pop Off Ate,” the queens transformed into aswangs as they strutted the runway with their interpretation of the theme, Shake, Rattle, and Rampa. 

Perhaps the most gag-worthy look was Viñas’ interpretation of manananggal. The queen presented herself as if her body was literally in half, causing an online buzz, with many people wondering how the queen pulled it off.

Even RuPaul’s Drag Race season 7 contestant and All Stars season 3 winner Trixie Mattel was bewildered and tweeted Viñas’ look.

Aside from manangggal, three queens have also shown their interpretation of tiyanak.

The first queen was Precious Paula Nicole, who was dressed as a pregnant tiyanak named Chona K. The gag in Precious’ runway presentation was that she gave birth to triplets, with one baby tiyanak even crawling to the judges.

Another queen was Xilhouete who sashayed to the runway holding a tiyanak in her hand. Lastly, there’s Gigi Era who was dressed as a literal tiyanak, because according to the Australian queen: “When I think of tiyanak, I think of tiyanak, not holding a tiyanak.”

 

Lady Morgana, the queen of confetti and wig changes

In the past Drag Race episodes and franchises, we’ve witnessed most of the bottom queens competing for the lip sync for your life have always prepared a trick up their sleeves.

For Davao-native Lady Morgana, her tricks were composed of throwing confetti on the air and changing to her pussycat wigs (which we love, by the way!).

https://youtu.be/fay1lB7vP88

But one question remains unanswered: where on Earth did our Davaoeña queen find the time to cut confetti during Untucked, though?

https://youtu.be/PjsYNhFXf5M

 

Marina Summers as former PGMA and Eva Le Queen as Rufa Mae Quinto

Snatch Game is one of the staples of Drag Race. It’s the most-anticipated challenge both by the queens and fans of the show. Not to mention, it’s also one of the hardest as it’s all about impersonating a celebrity, improv-ing your way through the challenge, and making people laugh. 

However, some queens this season made Snatch Game look so easy.

Marina Summers proved that she’s “the baddest b*tch in the game” as showed up as former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo during this season’s Snatch Game. She even came up with jokes and used the former president’s corruption issues as references.

“Alam niyo, nung nagising talaga ako kanina, nung narinig ko yung salitang ‘snatch,’ bumangon talaga ako to participate! (You know, when I heard the word ‘snatch,’ I woke up and got up to participate!),” the Filipina bombshell said.

The queen even made a parody video of the State of the Nation Address, which she called the State of the Nunal Address, where she addressed the public about her loss during the Snatch Game

Another queen who also understood and nailed the assignment was none other than Eva Le Queen, who impersonated Filipina actress and comedian Rufa Mae Quinto.

Much like Rufa, Eva has earned laughs both from the audience and fans with her unexpected answers. A case in point, when Eva was asked to complete the sentence, “Bruno Mars rewrote his hit song, ‘____ on the floor,’” the queen surprised the audience by answering: “Ang sagot ko—favorite ko kasi ‘to—tampalpuke. (My answer is—this is my favorite—flounder fish.)”

While she appeared to invent a new word, tampalpuke is indeed a real word.

“Totoong isda ‘to […] Ano ‘to, flounder fish  (This is a real fish […] It’s called flounder fish),” Eva explained. “Ito ‘yung best friend ni Ariel [from Disney’s Little Mermaid]. Tinatawag niya ito ng ‘Tampalpuke, halika rito’ (This is Ariel’s best friend. She calls it: ‘Hey flounder fish, come here.’).”

Eva Le Queen as the narrator of the season

Eva Le Queen may not have won a Ru badge yet, but we can all agree that she won the title of the narrator of the season. 

Eva’s confessional from the first episode has always been a joy to watch. From her shady and hilarious reactions to quotable one-liners, Eva never failed to bring color to her private interviews and the werkroom in each episode.

Here are some of Eva’s famous words:

Minty Fresh and Xilhouete battle against each other for the lipsync for your life

Even until the last episode before the finale, Drag Race Philippines still gave us one final tear-jerking performance as drag mother and daughter duo, Xilhouete and Minty Fresh, lipsync for their lives to determine who’ll join the final four of the competition.

Singing to Vernie Varga’s “You’ll Always Be My Number One,” the lipsync prodded the heartstrings of their fellow contestants and viewers of the show.

https://youtu.be/J4Ibk13cB_g

Thank you, queens, for sharing your charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent with the world. No matter what happens tonight, you’re all superstars! 

Happy Drag Race Philippines finale day!

 

 

 

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