Nymphia Wind and Drag Race Alumni Perform at Taipei Pride

TaiwanPlus News

Taipei Pride festivities have returned in full force, and some of the most famous Asian drag queens were in Taiwan's capital to give showstopping performances at You Better Werq! A Night of Asian Drag Excellence. The lineup included Taiwan-born and reigning Rupaul's Drag Race champion Nymphia Wind and fellow Drag Race stars Kim Chi, Pangina Heals, Manila Luzon, Plastique Tiara, Marina Summers and Anetra.

Transcript

00:00Opulence, glamour, and fierce performances.

00:10Some of the biggest names in drag are in Taipei.

00:12Every October, the Taiwanese capital hosts what's been called East Asia's Largest Pride.

00:17And the city buzzes with events and shows like this one.

00:26This year, Taiwan-born drag queen Nymphia Nguyen shone a light on the country and its

00:31LGBTQ plus scene after winning the 16th season of the reality competition show RuPaul's Drag

00:38Race, becoming the show's first East Asian winner.

00:49And prominent drag queens say her win has made waves.

00:54Thanks to Nymphia winning, now more than ever, people are finally noticing the Asian

00:59excellence that we have going on in the media.

01:04The theme of the drag show is Asian Drag Excellence and is being headlined by Nymphia and a star-studded

01:11group of prominent drag queens of East and Southeast Asian descent, all of whom have

01:16starred in the Drag Race franchise.

01:21Asian excellence means being a representation of your culture, being completely who you

01:27are and being proud and saying it loud everywhere that I am Asian, I am here, and I am freaking

01:33excellent at it.

01:39Here the performers say the way they approach drag allows them to explore and express their

01:45cultural heritage.

01:47My name is Manila Luzon and I named myself Manila because it's the home place of my mother

01:51from Manila in the Philippines and it was a very important thing for me because I grew

01:57up in a predominantly white area in the United States and I thought that was something that

02:02set me apart and I chose to really like lean into my Filipino culture with my drag and

02:10yeah, it's been fantastic.

02:14Before the show, the drag queens took part in a meet and greet, which drew crowds of

02:18adoring fans.

02:20Taiwan is seen as a leader of LGBTQ plus rights in the region, with the country being the

02:25first in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage in 2019.

02:30And Taipei Pride continues to shine a light on the local thriving queer community.

02:36And with events like this, Taiwan's drag scene seems to be making a place for itself on the

02:42global stage.

02:43Hank Xu, Brian Craig, and Wesley Lewis in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.

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