Pura Luka Vega
Amadeus Fernando Pagente (born February 27, 1990), better known by their stage name Pura Luka Vega, is a Filipino drag artist. They were a Drag Den contestant. In 2023, they came into public attention for a drag performance dressed as Jesus Christ to the tune of a remix of Ama Namin, the Tagalog language version of the Lord's Prayer. Early life and education
They were born as Amadeus Fernando Pagente to a Filipino mother and a British father. They grew up in Dipolog, Zamboanga del Sur. In high school, they began to become aware of their queer identity but did not feel any strong attraction towards any specific sex so they had a typical experience for a teenager. Luka would move to Manila to attend the Philippine Normal University (PNU), where they took up education as their undergraduate course. After graduating from PNU, they would return to Dipolog where they taught for four years. They would return to Manila to study at the De La Salle University (DLSU) to pursue a master's degree. Drag career

Early years and style
Luka exposure to drag began when they were attending college in Manila. They explored their gender by doing female impersonations and reading children's books to kids. Luka started doing drag after they first saw a female cosplayer dressed up as the Joker. A year later they joined a competition which they won while dressing up as Marie Antoinette with a severed head – they consider this event as their debut in drag. Their would join the Nectar Nightclub Drag Cartel in October 2017. Luka initially did not have a beard, but started sporting one to challenge the conventional drag standards. Luka wears a beard and is not restricted to just one gender. They also believe in the stance that "drag is political", that practicing artform is inherently expressing a political statement. Origin of drag name
The drag name "Pura Luka Vega" as their name when performing as a drag artist came from the following:
 "Pura" comes from the name of beauty queen Pura Villanueva Kalaw. Luka may have came from Tagalog word luka-luka which means crazy. Vega is a reference to the name of singer Suzanne Vega who also performed a song named "Luka". Drag Den
Luka would join Drag Den as of one of the eight contestants for season 1 in late 2022. They finished last in the competition and was given the consolation prize of "Miss Fortune Award" or "Ranked Last But Still Served" at the end of the series. Ama Namin remix
In mid-2023, Luka's performance of a rock remix of "Ama Namin" () song while in a Jesus-inspired outfit in a bar was subject to controversy. Luka claimed that they did the performance as a means to challenge the notion of "praise and worship" and not intended as an act of blasphemy. Nevertheless, Christian church religious leaders and some members of the Senate condemned the act as blasphemous, while seventeen local government units (Floridablanca, Pampanga; General Santos; Toboso, Negros Occidental; Manila; Bukidnon; Laguna; Cagayan de Oro; Nueva Ecija; Cebu City, Cebu; the Dinagat Islands; Occidental Mindoro; Lucena, Quezon; Bohol; Mandaue, Cebu; Palawan; Oriental Mindoro; and Apalit, Pampanga; in respective order) have declared Luka as a persona non grata. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines saw the performance as "bordering" profanity, blasphemy and sacrilege, iterating its stance that "religious symbols and imagery are not for entertainment purposes". The Philippines for Jesus Movement, a coalition of Christian groups, on their part filed charges against them for alleged violation of the Revised Penal Code and Cybercrime Prevention Act. Luka has shrugged off the persona non grata declarations and made a drag performance revolving around it. They sang "Look What You Made Me Do" by Taylor Swift while in Black Nazarene-themed attire. They maintained that the separation of church and state must be upheld. Luka has since started a fundraiser from their supporters to cover their expenses in their pending legal cases as a result of the controversy. On October 4, 2023, Luka was arrested by the Manila PNP acting on a complaint by the Hijos del Nazareno. The arrest was regarding their case involving "immoral doctrines, obscene publications and exhibitions and indecent shows", in breach of article 201 of the criminal code. Human Rights Watch accused Philippine authorities of violating Luka's right to free expression, and called for charges against them to be dropped and for them to be released from custody. Personal life
Pura Luka Vega does not identify with any gender label, saying that the closest label for themselves is non-binary. They consider themselves as gender nonconforming or gender apathetic. Luka prefers they/them pronouns but uses any. Luka identifies as a Roman Catholic but "not religious". In Drag Den, they expressed dissent against the idea "that the LGBTQIA+ community will go to hell for being gay" insisting that if "Jesus was alive, he would love everyone". References

Living people
Censorship in Christianity
Christianity in popular culture controversies
Criticism of the Catholic Church
De La Salle University alumni
Drag Den
Filipino Roman Catholics
Filipino drag queens
Filipino non-binary people
Filipino people of British descent
Non-binary drag performers
Online obscenity controversies
People from Dipolog
Philippine Normal University alumni
Religious controversies in the Philippines
1990 births