Corazon says she “definitely deserved” to be in the bottom for her rule break on the latest episode of Drag Race Philippines.
For their second maxi-challenge, the 11 remaining contestants competed in their first-ever sewing challenge for the ‘Drag Flower Festival,’ which required them to create high-fashion couture made solely out of flowers.
Corazon, who hails from Bolinao, Pangasinan, was called out on the main stage by judge Jiggly Caliente for wearing a dress that she sewed prior to the competition underneath her constructed outfit. It was a “gasp!” moment.
Despite the rule break, the panel chose not to disqualify Corazon and she faced the lip-sync smackdown with Turing to Chona Cruz’s I’m Feeling Sexy Tonight.
Corozan, who chose to take a sultry approach Cruz’s cheerful pop anthem, was unable to defeat Turing’s jubilant dance number and subsequently became the second queen to get the chop.
“I definitely deserved to be in the bottom,” Corazon tells GAY TIMES after her exit.
“I wore a dress that I had brought inside the workroom, which I know was against the rules. When Jiggly asked me about it on the main stage, I didn’t lie. That’s one of my principles in life.”
Corazon adds: “The judges are just doing their job. It’s never easy but I ate the criticism and learned from it. I grew up joining pageant competitions, I’m used to being critiqued.”
While she describes her elimination as “hard”, the star expresses gratitude to the series for allowing her to “showcase” her charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent, as well as the vibrant and diverse drag community in the Philippines.
“Honestly, it’s so amazing – I am living my dream. To be on the first-ever season of Drag Race Philippines and help showcase my culture to the world stage, it’s just so amazing. We are really thankful for this platform,” she says.
“We will continue the legacy of the OG queens and the rest of herstory and definitely continue to inspire the drag queens of the next generation.”
During her short-lived stint on the series, the star came into conflict with Turing after jokingly (?) expressing how she ‘wishes’ Corazon would be sent home.
In an exchange in the first Untucked, Turing said her issues with Corazon came down to her ‘noisiness’.
“We don’t fake our drama and are very authentically ourselves,” Corazon says of how drag entertainers in the country communicate with one another. “Filipino drag slays, and I also know that we are so competitive!”
Despite their animosity, Corazon reveals that she and Turing are “friends” and are “closer now than we’ve ever been before,” adding: “I will be a forever fan of hers, she can dance like no other and I am proud to have had the opportunity to compete with her.”
“No matter how hard the life of being a drag queen is,” she continues, “even if we have misunderstandings at the end of the day, we can resolve it.”
Looking ahead to the rest of the competition and what she would’ve offered the season had she remained in the competition, Corazon says she would have provided us with “comedy stunts” and even more drama: “I just love being myself, I know I can be very shady and would give the season funny reactions to drama – or be right in the middle of it!”
For Snatch Game, she planned to impersonate Joy Vidao or Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the former president of the Philippines.
“I’d been practising both so much before the series filmed,” she explains. “I wish I’d gotten to show them – they would’ve been really funny.”
Drag Race Philippines is hosted by the legendary actor Paolo Ballestoros, who is joined on the panel by season four alum Jiggly Caliente and comedian KaladKarden, as well as alternating judges BJ Pascual, Jon Santos and Rajo Laurel.
The cast for Drag Race Philippines season one is as follows: Brigiding, Corazon, Eva Le Queen, Gigi Era, Lady Morgana, Marina Summers, Minty Fresh, Precious Paula Nicole, Prince, Turing, Viñas Deluxe and Xilhouete.
Drag Race Philippines continues every Wednesday at 12pm BST exclusively on the streamer of all things drag, WOW Presents Plus. Subscribe via https://uk.wowpresentsplus.com/.
For fans wishing to meet Drag Race alum and host Jiggly Caliente, tickets are now on sale for RuPaul’s DragCon UK 2023 at https://uk.rupaulsdragcon.com/.