Pura Luka Vega

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 Norte. They also believe in the stance that "drag is political", that practicing artform is inherently expressing a political statement. Their drag name comes from the name of beauty queen Pura Villanueva Kalaw, a Tagalog word luka-luka which means crazy, and the name of singer Suzanne Vega.

On November 17, 2022, Luka was revealed as one of the contestants competing in the first season of Drag Den. Despite never winning a challenge, they finished last in the competition with 87.2 as their final score of the series, and was given the consolation prize of "Miss Fortune Award" or "Ranked Last But Still Served" at the end of the series.

2023–present: Legal issues 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. 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.

Nevertheless, Christian church religious leaders, some members of the Senate, and a number of LGBTQIA+ groups in the Philippines condemned the act as blasphemous, General Santos; Toboso, Negros Occidental; Manila; Bukidnon; Laguna; Cagayan de Oro; Nueva Ecija; Cebu City, Cebu; the Dinagat Islands; Bohol; Mandaue, Cebu; Oriental Mindoro; Apalit, Pampanga, and Malolos, Bulacan; in respective order) have declared Luka as a persona non grata.

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. The drag performer 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. of the Revised Penal Code filed against them by Kapisanan ng Social Media Broadcasters ng Pilipinas, Inc. in October of the same year. On February 29, 2024, Luka was arrested for six counts of Violation of Article 201 (immoral doctrines, obscene publications and exhibition, and indecent shows) of the Revised Penal Code in relation to the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 after losing a Quezon City court suit with the Philippines for Jesus, a sectarian movement founded by pastor Eddie Villanueva.

On June 10, 2025, Luka was acquitted by the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 84 of violating Article 201, which cited the fact that Luka did not upload the video of their performance and could not be held liable as such under the Cybercrime Prevention Act. At the same time, Luka was asked by the court to be "circumspect" in their performances.

In July 2025, during a controversy involving the online misgendering of Awra Briguela, Luka urged the public to respect pronouns, arguing that accidental misgendering can be corrected, but deliberately doing it is unacceptable.

Personal life

Pagente 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,

Discography Promotional singles + List of promotional singles, showing the year released, and album name Title Year Album "May Kapa" 2023

Filmography Television + List of television credits Year Title Role Notes 2022 Drag Den (season 1) Themselves/Contestant 8th place 2023 Mudrakels Themselves/Contestant 2024 Drag Den (season 2) Themselves/Judge Drag Agent