Keith Lafuente premieres the film Binibining Iniibig: a beauty pageant short where Filipino tradition meets American ambition. The film showcases eleven contestants and their captivating capabilities in three compelling categories: runway, talent, and Q&A. Alas, only one can claim the crown! Prepare for a viewing experience full of fashion, spectacle, determination, and product placement, in this thrilling competition of beauty and power hosted by Apple Mei. The contestants include Ana Roxanne, Diva Soria, Alika Hall, Keekai, Cal Glorioso, Ben Florencio, Jared Chung, Garrett Traya, Miles Barretto, Eris Argate, and West Dakota.  

Beauty pageants are a staple in Filipino culture. While pageants were first established in the Philippines by the American colonial administration, in the intervening decades, Filipinos evolved the pageant spectacle on their own terms. According to Lafuente, the Manila Carnival (1908-1939) was the original pageant that propagated American intervention as effective and benevolent. Upper class women would compete for the title of Carnival Queen by embodying colonial ideas of civilization and progress. However, many of these women also used their platform to advocate for change. The very first Carnival Queen Pura Villanueva fought for women's suffrage. Thus, Filipinos transformed the pageant into an important gathering place for culture, creativity and upward mobility. Despite its colonial origins, now Filipinos of all demographics can be found serving beauty and grace from local neighborhood pageants to global stages like Miss Universe. In Binibining Iniibig, Lafuente uses the structure of a beauty pageant to question: What standards are we striving towards? Who do these standards serve? Do these systems serve us? 

Iconic queen West Dakota joins the SoMad stage for the first time, as well one of our favorite performers from our community, Esther the Bipedal Entity.

West Dakota is a mixed-Filipinx drag artist based in Brooklyn, NY. West is the producer of several shows including Oops! with drag performer Chiquitita, Femmes! Femmes! Femmes! a cabaret exploring feminine archetypes through drag and burlesque; and Work! a reimagining of famous art historical works through the lens of drag. In 2019, West was named Drag Queen of the Year at the Brooklyn Nightlife Awards.They are one of the lead organizers of the Brooklyn Liberation march, which has been described as the largest action for Black Trans lives in history. For this, West was a recipient of the Stonewall Vision Award in 2020, and named an inaugural Logo Legend

Esther is a conduit through which various biochemical algorithms choose to express themselves. In her practice, Esther explores history, media studies, fashion, and dance through video and live performance. After stints as a video producer at NYLON and Hearst, she recognizes the limitations of legacy/liberal media and seeks to create concise and engaging content to better contextualize our position in history. Esther has collaborated with SoMad in Mad World and Mad Pride.

Photographer Jobert Tupas and Artist Kevin Cruz showcase a video piece on SoMad's 2nd floor space.

Joebert Tupas is a queer Filipino Photographer based in New York. He studied at The School of Visual Arts where he earned a master’s degree in Fashion Photography. His work is focused on highlighting the beauty and power of queerness and self-confidence. It is a love letter to his younger self, inspired by his journey as a queer man who grew up in a small province in The Philippines and began to develop his creative voice in New York.

Kevin Cruz is a first generation American of Dominican descent currently living and working in New York. Working as a 3D CGI generalist, Kevin’s work focuses on leveraging the broad application of 3D softwares in depicting human subjects as rendered 3D avatars placed in fantastic and often futuristic scenes. Currently, Kevin is developing an independent video game in Unity 3D.

Bibingka Mama, a Pinay drag queen, baker, songwriter, and entertainer, serves hot Filipino food at the event. Their signature dish, Bibingka, is an ooey-gooey, coconutty Filipino rice cake dessert. After perfecting the family recipe, Bibingka Mama realized that most Americans weren’t familiar with Bibingka and decided to begin building an empire to share the Filipino culture through food and entertainment. They began selling these delicious rice cakes derived and modified from their family recipe at local New York Pop-up events, with the goal of sharing Filipino culture and food with the world.

We’re thrilled to co-host with these two iconic Queer Asian communities making a significant impact on the NYC nightlife scene. Bubble_T is a vibrant collective of creative minds dedicated to advancing visibility, inclusiveness, diversity, and love. Tito Vida, one of Bubble_T’s founders, will be performing a DJ set at the event. Barkada’s mission is to build and nurture a community of like-minded LGBTQ+ Filipinx individuals, friends, and allies who unite to celebrate Queer and Filipinx culture.