The Passion of Pura Luka Vega

Pura Luka Vega walks the audience through artworks being exhibited at the VUHKLAAN SA KALAWAKAHN which they co-curated alongside Dex Fernandez (Garapata) and Shahani Gania (Superstarlet XXX). Photo by Karl de Leon/Mamser.net

It was in Elephant’s 2023 Pride party “Magandang Gabi, Bayot” where drag artist Pura Luka Vega (more famously known as Luka) performed their infamous “Ama Namin” piece. Days after the drag number where Luka, dressed up as Jesus, danced with the crowd to a rock version of The Lord’s Prayer, a video clip of it went viral and caused an uproar online and offline. Little did we know that the joyous performance by Luka would lead to a series of events that would arguably be one of the most challenging experiences they would face.

But now, with only one case against her pending, we find Luka spearheading one of the biggest Pride events this 2025. VUHKLAAN SA KALAWAKAHN, is a month-long Pride exhibition organized by the collective KalawakanSpacetime, Elephant, and Garapata. The exhibit gathered more than 100 LGBTQIA+ artists to showcase their works, both existing and new. 

We check in with Luka to talk about the whole experience, their relationship with art and the community, and of course, their relationship with faith.

Luka’s crucifixion

Dito sa lupa, para nang sa langit. This was how I saw the performance from the far side of the room, having been there to witness it for myself. It was as if the gates of heaven opened in that little space in Quezon City to comfort each and every queer soul that was hurting from all the persecution outside. A safe space on earth, as it is in heaven.

But not everyone felt the same. Several religious groups and politicians weighed in, heavily condemning the performance and even the community as a whole for simply dancing along with Luka. On July 15, 2023, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines expressed their disdain towards the said performance, calling it sacreligious, bordering on profanity and blasphemy. Even some members of the LGBTQIA+ community questioned the validity of Luka’s performance, dismissing it as cheap lip-syncing, and pointing out how no one should ever mock someone’s faith. 

“I understand that people call my performance blasphemous, offensive or regrettable. However, they shouldn’t tell me how I practice my faith or how I do my drag. That performance was not for you to begin with. It is my experience and my expression, of having been denied my rights,” Luka posted on X (formerly Twitter) in defense.

Two years after that fateful performance, Luka still held this view.

“My relationship with religion has always been personal,” Luka told Mamser.net at the sidelines of the art exhibit. “There’s such a term na “binakla”, alam mo ‘yun? Parang ang ginawa ko lang naman ay binakla ko siya and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

(My relationship with religion has always been personal. There’s such a term as “binakla,” you know? I just made it queer, and there’s nothing wrong with that.)

While it had been hell for Luka following the backlash over their performance, other impersonators of Jesus had it easy, being spared from the same level of hate and scrutiny and were even met with positive responses. Marlon Tapalord, who has gained popularity for his impersonation of Jesus, was not blind to this double standard. “‘Yan lang ang nakikita kong dahilan kasi badingarsi siya…yun lang yun wala nang iba…kaya siya kinukutya…kung ako gumawa niyan sure ako na madaming matatawa lang,” he said in response to one of the comments on his posts.

(That’s the only reason I see. It’s because they’re gay. That’s all and nothing more. That’s why they’re being criticized. If I did that I’m sure a lot of people would just laugh.)

In conversation with Mamser.net, Luka hesitated to make comparisons, but still called out the hypocrisy arising from the incident.

“Ayoko naman na me against the person,” Luka said. “Pero ang inaano ko lang is, can you not see the hypocrisy?”

(I don’t want to pit myself against the person. But what I’m saying is, can you not see the hypocrisy?)

Is there a limit as to who can be spiritual and where we can express it? As Rappler’s religion reporter Paterno Esmaquell II pointed out, “We should disabuse ourselves of the notion that God can be found only in church buildings…God trekked the hills, slept in boats, prayed in a garden, and died on a cross.” But it’s almost as if, in this case, the only access for queer people to practice and express their faith is to turn away from a life that is most authentic to them. If one refuses to believe in God, they’re condemned to eternal damnation. But if they chose to, they must turn away from the “lifestyle” to avoid condemnation. 

In a recent essay for Esquire, Luka echoed this thought. “Morality is subjective. So is blasphemy. No one holds the exclusive right to define Jesus, so why can’t I have my own version? My version of Jesus would party with the queer folks, and would welcome them with open arms. More importantly, and deeply concerning, why do people think rock music is evil and demonic?” they said.

Being there to witness the actual performance, I was immediately reminded of the poem Jesus at the Gay Bar by Jay Hulme. I wondered if that was as close as we will get to that imagery painted in that piece –  that maybe, if Jesus did come to the rave, this is how He would be dancing with us. I would like to think that the performance was a reclamation, a warm hug, the cup on the face mentioned in the poem, and the line “My child, there’s nothing in this heart of yours that needs to be healed.”

‘In the midst of it’

On October 4, 2023, Luka was arrested in Manila for failing to attend the preliminary investigation for the case filed against them by Hijos del Nazareno, a group of devotees of the Black Nazarene. The arrest was made on the grounds of Immoral Doctrines, Obscene Publications and Exhibitions and Indecent Shows, in violation of Article 201 of the Revised Penal Code in relation to Republic Act 1075 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. 

Film director and Drag Den Philippines creator Rodina Singh posted on X that Luka has not received a subpoena for said case filed against them, and has been diligently attending preliminary investigations in a separate case filed against them in Quezon City. A bail of P72,000 pesos was set for their release, and was released on bail three days later – ironically, the same number of days it took Jesus to rise again from the grave. 

Quick on their feet, several drag artists and other prominent members of the community gathered to host NKKLK. Held four days after the said arrest, the event aimed to raise enough funds to cover for the legal expenses that Luka has incurred so far. The community was able to gather Php 892,975.60. 

“Seventeen declarations of persona non grata. Eleven court cases. Three arrest warrants. Two imprisonments. All because of a five-minute performance”, Luka recounted in their Esquire essay. One would argue that such trials and tribulations would be impossible to survive, but in what seems to be the grace of God Himself, they are now down to one last case.

On June 10, Luka announced on X that they have been acquitted of the same case that they were arrested for nearly two years ago. The Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 184 ruled that same day that the prosecution failed to prove that the performance violated the law.

"A prayer or a song is very dynamic, in fact it can have a multitude of versions,” the court said in the decision penned by Judge Czarina Samonte-Villanueva. “Thus even if this Court regard the Lord's Prayer as the ultimate prayer but without establishing the reasonable community standard to apply on how to pray, sing or interpret the Lord's Prayer or the limits of using the said prayer, the Court as a trier of fact do not have basis to penalize the act complained of.”

Still, the court reminded Luka to be more “circumspect in his choice of medium or subject of his performances as a drag artist taking into account the society he belongs to. It is basic in the concept of social coexistence.”

“One more case left. Laban lang”, Luka said in their post on X.

Reflecting on the importance of the community’s presence in their journey two years later, Luka told Mamser.net, “I realized there’s so much more to it than just you. If you see yourself and you see how you connect with other people, then you realize that there’s a bigger purpose to why we exist. So I think the community has been there, [and] I’m part of this community”.

Indeed, the cross that Luka bears is shared, if not the same, of what we as a community have to carry. It’s a battle for our freedom to express our queerness –  in our art, our faith, and most importantly, our very existence. In a political climate where our plea to be recognized with the rest of the society as equal, among other things, it’s only imperative that we rally together. And that’s exactly what the community did with the support that they have given.

“He’s here in the midst of it,” a line in the Jay Hulme poem says. Perhaps in this context, it was in the way the community gathered together, how it was through the community that He made himself felt.

Remaining visible

“My way of giving back to help the community, is to remain visible, to remain present”, Luka told Mamser.net, “So that people who may see you may also do the same, [and] they become their most authentic selves in the process”. 

Luka is one of the co-curators of the VUHKLAAN SA KALAWAKAHN art show, along with Dex Fernandez (popularly known as Garapata) and Shahani Gania (more notably known as Superstarlet XXX). In their words, the exhibit aims to assert the existence of queerness throughout time – past, present, and future. 

In retrospect, the crucifixion of Luka two years ago could be traced back to the fact that they are queer, and from all the centuries of erasure of queer people’s existence in the society through the weaponization of Christianity by Spanish colonizers. Prior to their arrival, queer folks have been known to exist in society, some even taking the role of a Babaylan, a spiritual leader. 

In Miss Trans Global 2020 Mela Habijan’s TEDxIEMadrid talk last May, she mentioned that there are also historical records of the existence of a trans Filipino goddess named Lakapati, and of the indigenous Teduray who celebrated Mentefuwaley or their trans folk. She added that in places like Samoa and India, there are historical accounts of trans people being celebrated as healers, warriors, and educators.

“I think there's so much vilification of the oppressed, vilification of people who are different,” Luka told Mamser.net. “We want to remind people that we exist, we are as human as anyone else. No need to vilify our group, no need to erase the trans community, for example.”

Maybe if not for the indoctrination of queerness being a sin, maybe our existence could not have been as taboo. Maybe our trans folks would continue to be more celebrated and accepted, and maybe it wouldn’t be such a baffling experience for many to see a queer drag artist perform a gospel song.“The performance has always been a celebration. For me at least. A bold reminder that queerness and faith can coexist, and in many lives, they already do”, Luka says in his Esquire essay.

The fight for Luka’s freedom still continues. And while we have made big strides so far (with Quezon City institutionalizing the Right to Care Card, followed by San Juan City), we still continue to fight for the recognition of our rights. We continue to fight for the passing of the SOGIESC Equality Bill. For same-sex union. For the freedom to express ourselves and our faith. For the freedom to love who we want.

And it may seem that we still have a long way to go. Maybe even longer than two years. But fast forward to now, with Dignos as the DJ, I would like to believe that the dance floor is still open, the music still playing. And Jesus is still here, dancing with us.