Filipina drag queen Marina Summers captivated the audience and emerged victorious at the talent show in the premiere episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race: UK vs. the World Season 2 with “AMAFILIPINA.”
In the first episode, aired on Saturday (9 PM GMT), the 11 queens were challenged to showcase their talent in a variety show style. Renowned for her energetic performances, Marina chose to perform a riveting version of Maymay Entrata’s “Amakabogera,” along with an enthralling fire dance sequence.
“I’m just so excited to put on a great show. We may speak different languages, we may come from different places, but drag is our language and we share that,” Marina expressed before her performance.
With flawless enthusiasm, Marina delivered and showcased her graceful movements and fire dance-inspired props.
As she made her way to the runway section, Marina honored the farmers of the Banaue Rice Terraces by fusing aspects of her Filipino roots into an original Roman Sebastian outfit for the category “For Queen and Country.”
“Bringing my Filipina heritage and culture to the main stage, I feel very, very proud. I have this basket which is carrying sticky rice,” Marina shared. “I grew up surrounded by farmers and to be wearing this in front of the whole world gives me so much joy and pride,” she continued.
During the judges’ evaluations, Marina received favorable remarks for her intense performance. Judge Alan Carr praised her performance, calling attention to the powerful lyrics and contagious enthusiasm she exhibited, while RuPaul noted how “beautifully” she represented the Philippines.
Marina’s standout performance secured her a spot in the Top 2 with La Grande Dame of France. In the lip sync battle between the two queens, Marina prevailed with her performance of “Dreamer” by Livin’ Joy.
The first person to receive a gold RuPeter Badge was Marina.
Earlier in the episode, Marina donned a custom Lone Filipina Warrior/Katipunera-inspired off-balanced Philippine terno accompanied by a bolo, a traditional Filipino single-edged sword, by Jude Macasinag.
There, the queen dropped a feisty line as she made her entrance, “It’s time to give these colonizers a chop,” referring to her rivals in the reality show.
She is the only Asian representative in the season and is competing against drag artists from the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Spain, France, and Holland.
A whopping 50,000 pounds will be awarded to the winner of Drag Race UK vs The World Season 2.
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