Manila Luzon celebrates Pinoy pride by hosting first Phl drag show

MANILA, Philippines — International drag icon Manila Luzon felt welcomed like a “prodigal son returning from a long voyage” during her latest homecoming to the Philippines.

The Filipino-American artist’s “fifth or sixth” visit in the tailend of 2021 was mainly to shoot for the upcoming reality-competition show Drag Den Philippines as its host.

Coming to Manila as Manila was a long-held “dream” come true since the two-time RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars competitor’s career took off in the US. “When I was first on TV as a drag queen and started touring to different cities in the US and different countries in the world, my goal was to come to the Philippines to perform as Manila in Manila,” she told The Philippine STAR in a recent virtual interview.

“It wasn’t financially possible in the beginning… but as the years went by, it was something I continued to create, you know, a name for myself here in Manila. I was really determined to do something here in the Philippines.”

If her mom had the goal to “do that American dream stuff,” for the US-born Manila, it was the other way around. “I’m like, I want to come back to the homeland. I want to find out where I’m from, what helped me create who I am today. And I feel like everyone here in the Philippines has welcomed me back. I feel like the prodigal son returning from a long voyage, you know.”

With Drag Den Philippines premiering soon on the streaming platform WeTV, Manila is hoping for more homecoming opportunities. Meantime, she couldn’t keep the excitement over taking the hosting reins of the country’s first-ever reality drag show, co-produced by Cornerstone Studios and Project 8 Projects.

“First of all, drag in the Philippines is my favorite drag in the world. I’m so excited that there’s going to be a show featuring local talents in drag out here and it excites me that it’s Filipino. I’m honored to be included in it and bring my global, American experience back to the Philippines,” Manila said.

When Manila was first offered the project, she laughingly recalled, “I had a little bit of a freakout, like, oh my gosh, I don’t speak Tagalog, how am I gonna do this? But then the good people at Cornerstone gave me lessons and I learned a couple things. I’m not fluent just yet. But hey, if I keep practicing, maybe one day. But definitely, (the show) excited me.”

Manila Luzon was born Karl Westerberg to a Filipino mother and a Swedish-German father. In a Vice interview, Manila said she’d use she/her pronouns when in drag and he/him when out of the drag persona.

The first and only artist in the family, Manila’s mother was a chemist while the father an engineer and inventor. “My father is very crafty. Like my father and my grandfather, they built a single-propeller airplane together,” Manila shared.

“My creativity for art is born out of my parents’ skills of being good at what they do and thus providing me the opportunity… That’s why I love my family, like they recognized my talents in drawing and art, and made sure to nurture that part of me.”

Manila was created after Karl came out of the closet. “Drag was the main thing that helped me figure out who I really was by allowing me to unlock these characteristics of my personality that I’ve been suppressing for so long.”

Drag also became a creative outlet for Manila, whose day job back then as a graphic designer initially funded the “hobby.”

Manila decided to go full-time after getting a “boost” from appearances in US TV shows. Recalling the decision to shift careers and how scary it was having to inform the parents, Manila went full-steam ahead because “sometimes, you just have to act really fast on things, take the risk and do it — that’s what I did. Because if I waited any longer, maybe my 15 minutes of fame would have ended, and I wouldn’t have been able to do anything with it.”

“Was this going to pay off?” Manila remembered thinking, and “luckily it did.”

Of course, Karl chose Manila as name to celebrate being Filipino. “And Manila because it’s the birthplace of my mother. She’s my inspiration. She’s a powerful woman, a feminist and the smartest person I know.”

“She was excited,” Manila further said of her mom’s reaction to the Drag Den Philippines gig. “You know, my mom is so proud of me now. It was, at first, not so much. They got a little bit of pushback, but I think that’s common for most people. But now, I know that my mother is so proud of me for doing this… She brags about me to all of her Filipino friends, ‘My son is currently hosting the first Filipino drag reality TV show in Manila.’ She’s very proud of me and I love that of her.”

With Manila’s international following and WeTV’s overseas reach, the drag queen vowed to showcase Filipino artistry, fashion, culture, humor and entertainment in Drag Den Philippines.

Here are more excerpts from the Zoom interview.

On why the filipino drag is Manila’s favorite:

“Because the drag queens here are just so good. Of course, I’m a little biased because of my Filipino heritage. (But) in all reality, they are really creative. We don’t expect them to come out in million dollar gowns, but they can. Like, I literally came out and there in front of me was the Filipino version of Beyonce. I was like, how does she do that?... They’re also really dedicated because I got to work with them and I got to be part of their show. My first experience was here in O Bar in Manila.

“And I just love the fact that after rehearsal and before they’d get ready for the show, everyone ate together. The sense of community out here is just so good and so Filipino and so welcoming. It’s just my favorite drag right here, the best drag, you can put it down on your paper (laughs).”

On growing up proud to be Filipino:

“I was born and raised in Minnesota. There was a small Filipino community and my mother always made sure that we would go to these meetings every week. We would eat food. They would play mahjong and teach the kids how to do the tinikling. That was my favorite. We’d go hang out with all the Filipinos, which is great. But I also knew I was a little different because most of the Filipino families… mother and father were Filipino. I remember knowing that I was different even from my Filipino side because I was only half.

“But I really took pride in my Filipino heritage because I wanted to be like my Filipino friends and Filipino cousins, and it was something that was great because it separated me from my classmates and neighborhood kids who were predominantly white. It was always something that I took pride in and introduced me to be proud of who I was, which came in really handy when I came out of the closet and had to accept who I was.

“Then, the sense of family and community was brought in for me growing up as a Filipino-American because Filipinos are like everyone’s family. Everyone’s your tita or tito. I always knew that the family was more than who you were related to by blood. That was also helpful for me coming out and creating my own family, like my gay family, my drag family.”

On what the LGBTQ+ community can learn from Manila’s success story:

“I first want to thank all of my Filipino fans, especially in the LGBT community. They’ve been really the driving force in separating me from all the other drag queens around the world. I couldn’t have done any of this without them. But yeah, I think, I’m just trying to live my life. I’m trying to just be honest and true and live my best life. I am happy that my representation as a Filipino, as a gay man, as a drag queen, as a son or grandson, I have my own story that’s different from what other people are used to seeing on TV or in movies. I’m just excited that there are people able to relate to my story. I just want to encourage them all to just be their authentic selves and express themselves how they want to express themselves. And allow people to see that and maybe inspire other people along the way.”

On what life’s like when Manila is out of drag:

“I used to be so outgoing as myself, but then all of that energy went to Manila. When I first started doing drag, there were definitely two different personalities. There was this Manila character, and there was Karl. We used to be very outgoing and energetic, and all that transferred to Manila because she requires a lot. I am very happy to say that I’m very homebody out of drag. I’m kind of shy. I just like to stay at home with my husband, do normal things. And when it’s time, we get to have this extraordinary, fantastical lifestyle where I fly off to a different country for the weekend to perform for thousands of adoring fans in glamorous, glittery, fantasy costumes, and then return home, sleep all day and cuddle, hahaha!”