As pride month comes to a close, Nadine Lustre honors the LGBTQIA+ community by staging a performance for the Golden Gays.
Nadine Lustre as a drag queen? Who would’ve ever thought. Vocal and supportive of the LGBTQIA+ community, Nadine has partnered with TaskUs to hold a concert for the benefit of the cornerstones of the community, the Golden Gays. Most of the older drag artists and elderly folks have been affected by the pandemic and with a platform as strong as Nadine’s, this was her way of not only supporting their trailblazing artistry, but also to actually give back to them and help them build a forever home.
You’d think it would end there? Always up to task, she enlisted the help of drag queen, Min Ortiz, to do her makeup was beat for the gods, as well as hairstylist Paul Nebres to make sure her weave was snatched. Meanwhile, a pool of Filipino designers from the community were enlisted to create her outfits. Below, we take you through the process of Nadine Lustre unleashing her inner drag queen for a day.
THE DRAG-ING PROCESS
If the blonde inches look familiar, it’s because hairstylist Paul Nebres used the exact wig from Nadine’s NYLON Manila cover shoot. Paul shares that initially, there was going to be a wig reveal ala Brooke Lynn Hytes in RuPaul’s Drag Race, but the time didn’t permit, so instead, he secured the blonde wig on Nadine all throughout.
READ MORE: Why Nadine Lustre Decided To Go Blonde For Her NYLON Cover
As for makeup artist Min Ortiz, giving Nadine that experience of being in drag made him feel proud and grateful. As a drag queen, Min shares, “I’m grateful because she explored the art of drag, which made me or us feel that what we do matters.”
In this mini concert experience that Nadine Lustre has graced us with, she knew it was part of her responsibility to fight for these causes just like how her favorite icon Lady Gaga once said she wanted to “inject gay culture into the mainstream” as it is not an underground tool for the artist. Nadine herself has professed her love countless times to the community by attending pride march pre-COVID and donating to the organization.
As cliché and overused as it sounds, pride isn’t all rainbow flags and glamour. For Paul, “pride month for me is not just the celebration of all the LGBTQIA+ but also a fight for equality that’s being deprived specially to us Filipinos.” It’s a movement that isn’t only reserved for a month, it’s an everyday protest. For Min, it’s a “reminder that everyone has the ability and freedom to be who they truly are and openly love the person they choose to love. Pride shouldn’t only be celebrated and remembered every June, it should be every single day.” And for Nadine Lustre, raising the flag is and will always be part of her greater cause.
You can donate to the Golden Gays through this account:
BPI Family Savings Bank
Account Name: Ramon C. Busa
Account Number: 5626764705
Corporate Name: Home for the Golden Gays, Inc.
Photography ED ENCLONA
Styling LYN ALUMNO assisted by GEE JOCSON
Makeup MIN ORTIZ
Hair PAUL NEBRES
CONTINUE READING: This Is Your Reminder That Pride Is Way More Than Just Splashing The Rainbow Flag on Everything Else
