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00:00Hey, my balls of toasted coconut.
00:02Welcome to another episode of Whatcha Packin'.
00:10We are here with Philly's own Mandy Mango.
00:13Hi, Michelle.
00:14Hi, ma bu hai.
00:15Ma bu hai a te, Michelle.
00:16I love it.
00:18How are you, my darling?
00:20I'm doing so good.
00:21I'm doing so good.
00:22I'm feeling fruity.
00:22I'm feeling fresh.
00:23I'm feeling juicy.
00:24I love it.
00:25Ooh, OK.
00:26So you've got your mango earring on.
00:28I do.
00:29Tell me about the name Mandy Mango.
00:31Mandy Mango, I was eating a pack of Philippine dried mangoes
00:36with some friends, and we may have
00:38been under the influence of several bottles of wine.
00:42And I picked it up, and I said, oh, my gosh.
00:45I'm literally a Philippine mango.
00:47I'm a Philippine fruit.
00:48And then we found M as a good alliteration name,
00:50so we stuck with it.
00:51I love it.
00:52How long have you been doing drag, Mandy?
00:54I've been doing drag for seven years now.
00:55Yeah.
00:56In Philadelphia.
00:57I started drag, actually, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
01:00OK.
01:00Where's that?
01:01In central PA.
01:03So right smack dab between Pittsburgh and Philly is
01:05Williamsport.
01:07They host the Little League World Series.
01:09That's their claim to fame.
01:10OK.
01:11But I started drag there.
01:12So good.
01:13I know.
01:14I know.
01:14So I had to bring a drag scene there to even things out.
01:18And then you moved to Philly when?
01:19Shortly after the lockdown, when we were able to start to slowly go
01:22back into the world during the pandemic, I started to get homesick
01:25after three years in Williamsport.
01:27And so I decided to go back into the city.
01:30So how many times have you auditioned for RuPaul's Drag Race?
01:33Once.
01:34Oh, my God.
01:35You know how lucky that is?
01:35OK.
01:36I feel so, so blessed.
01:38It's kind of crazy, actually, because the week of,
01:40I had a bit of, like, a nervous breakdown of getting everything
01:44together, and I was about to not do it.
01:46But my friends talked me into it, and they helped me edit the video.
01:48And we put this all together, and I submitted it two minutes
01:52before the deadline.
01:53Right.
01:54And I'm like, you know what?
01:55I think I'm happy with this.
01:56This is a great first impression.
01:58And then when I got the first call, I was like, oh, my God.
02:01This is actually better than I thought.
02:02Right.
02:03Maybe I'm, like, a star or something.
02:05Yes, you are.
02:07And I think it was a learning process for me of really learning,
02:10oh, I have all these talents.
02:12This is who I am as a performer.
02:14And this is, like, my mission as a drag queen of, like,
02:17my purpose as an artist.
02:18What is your purpose?
02:19I really find a lot of inspiration
02:22in seeing celebrities use their platform for activism.
02:26I mean, one of my looks here is based on Elizabeth Taylor,
02:28largely because she used her celebrity status
02:31to advocate for HIV care and for legislation
02:35that supports people living with HIV.
02:37So I would love to be able to use my drag
02:39to combine that with my RN license
02:42and provide more sexual health education, HIV education,
02:45and LGBTQ health advocacy
02:48from the perspective of a drag entertainer.
02:50So you went to nursing school and you are an RN?
02:53I am an RN.
02:54Okay. What do you do with it?
02:56And have you done anything with it?
02:58Yeah. So the reason I moved to Williamsport
03:00was my first nursing job.
03:01Okay.
03:02I worked as a clinical case manager for people living with HIV.
03:06So I supported them in making sure they got to their appointments.
03:09They understood their care and what their paperwork meant.
03:11And you had all the tools they needed to get to undetectable.
03:14Because undetectable equals untransmittable.
03:16I love that. Say it louder.
03:18Yes. Undetectable equals untransmittable.
03:21I really see this opportunity to provide something I like to see as edutainment.
03:26Edutainment.
03:27Edutainment. Education, entertainment.
03:31My shows can be still in the spirit of drag, be playful, be funny and dramatic,
03:38but also still have a message behind it and something for you to take away
03:41that makes you kind of think through like,
03:43oh, let me consider searching where the nearest testing site is.
03:47Or let me just consider this sort of conversation I need to have with my partner
03:51or partners in the future.
03:53So I love to, you know, think about how performance can have that effect as well.
03:57I love that.
03:58What inspires you?
03:59My family.
04:00I have so much respect for my parents especially because when I first came out as gay,
04:05my parents took a little bit of adjustment.
04:07And then I know my mom told me like,
04:10well, as long as you're not dressing up as a woman.
04:12Oh, oh.
04:13And I said, oh, that's not gonna happen.
04:16Fast forward two years later, doing my college drag show and winning.
04:20And I was like, well, I'm actually kind of good at this.
04:22So I'm not gonna stop.
04:24Have they come to see Mandy yet?
04:25Yes.
04:26And the most lovely thing I really take away from it is they started to bring
04:31other family members to my shows.
04:33Oh, I love that.
04:34And then alongside my parents, my brother has always been very protective.
04:37And in those times when my parents weren't always understanding,
04:42my brother has always been there to say,
04:44no, this person is still the person that we know them to be.
04:47Nothing has changed.
04:47That coming from my brother who is older and is straight,
04:51my parents can definitely took that a little bit more differently.
04:55Very special.
04:55I'm so lucky.
04:57You didn't get to be with us very long.
05:00Not very long, no.
05:01But what I did notice and what I was able to find out is you are a really fun performer.
05:07I love watching you dance.
05:09I love watching you get into it.
05:10You sent Didi home.
05:12Yes. Sorry, Didi.
05:13We love Didi. We love Didi.
05:16Your dance moves were really, really fun.
05:19How did you learn that stuff?
05:20It's very ballroom the way that you present.
05:22Funny enough, my brother.
05:23What?
05:24My straight brother.
05:25Your straight brother.
05:26He was a dancer.
05:26He started to do more of these dance crew, dance company things.
05:30They taught him voguing.
05:32They taught him quacking.
05:34And seeing it for the first time live and hearing the music, I was like,
05:38why am I resonating with this so strongly before I even knew I was gay?
05:43I started watching videos of Leamy Maldonado, Deshaun Wesley,
05:47and educating myself about the ballroom scene and the history there and how that's
05:51contributed to drag today.
05:53It just put so much into context for me and I'm like, whoa.
05:57There's this whole history and legacy behind the queer community I didn't know about.
06:01I kind of live for you learning about ballroom culture
06:05and voguing and whacking through your straight older brother.
06:08Yeah.
06:09I kind of live for that.
06:11And it's cute because sometimes we get together and the right song comes on and we're at the club.
06:15He'll Vogue with me.
06:15He'll whack with me.
06:16And it's like, it's really cute.
06:19Let's talk about your fashions here.
06:21We noticed a theme and the through line is the traditional Filipino butterfly sleeve.
06:27Yes.
06:27Thank you for recognizing.
06:28I love it.
06:29I learned about it once.
06:30And once I learn about it, I do deep dives and I see how important it is to
06:35the women in your culture.
06:37And I think it's amazing that you bring it through your drag.
06:39Do you look like your mom when you're in drag?
06:40I do.
06:41I do.
06:41I think that's one of the first things I clocked when I started doing drag.
06:44Does she see it?
06:45She does.
06:45She does.
06:46When she was in the Philippines, she was a pageant queen.
06:49Oh, wow.
06:50She, there's pictures of her competing in Miss Baguio City, Philippines, 1987.
06:54So was she like telling you like, no, no, no, do this, do this?
06:57Actually, yes.
06:58When I was like leading up to the show preparing, she was like,
07:01Oi, it's like a competition.
07:03So you're going to meet a lot of dramatic queens.
07:06They're going to fight with you.
07:08Are you ready to fight with them?
07:09And I'm like, mom, I'm not trying to fight with girls,
07:11but like if they cross paths with me and they're coming at me a certain way,
07:14I will.
07:15I'm just like, okay, you better, you better.
07:17So talk to me about these gorgeous pieces.
07:19Talk about the first woven numbers.
07:21Yes.
07:22So this is entirely made out of burlap.
07:24It is inspired off of Southeast Asian baskets that are woven.
07:28So it's very much giving deconstructed basket and a lot of woven burlap.
07:32So the designer Ignacia really put a lot of skilled handwork.
07:35She's Filipino.
07:36All the designers for these three looks are all Latinx.
07:40Okay.
07:40But I think that also speaks to in American culture,
07:43how Filipinos sometimes have a lot of overlap with the Latinx community.
07:47Sometimes more so than with some other Asian cultures.
07:49The middle one, was that a finale?
07:51This was more so paying tribute to Elizabeth Taylor.
07:55She is someone who inspires me to use my platform for activism.
07:59She was incredible.
08:01Yes.
08:01Her legacy still lives today with the Elizabeth Taylor Foundation
08:05and through the HIV is not a crime awareness day.
08:10That's my bread and butter of work during the day.
08:12So I was really happy to be able to include that with my drag.
08:16Who made this?
08:16My two friends, Elias and Juan.
08:19It's funny.
08:20They like don't really enjoy 80s aesthetic,
08:24but I was like, no, we're going to go 80s with this.
08:26Who doesn't enjoy an 80s aesthetic?
08:28Elias and Juan.
08:29I know, but they still killed it.
08:31And they love lace.
08:33So that was sort of our meeting point there.
08:35And the purple nod.
08:36Right.
08:37Yes.
08:38This gorgeous, see-through, organza, magical number.
08:43Who did that?
08:45This is also Juan and Elias.
08:46They didn't have to go 80s with that.
08:47So they were very happy.
08:48No, but I wanted to show my body.
08:51I wanted to show skin because I love my natural body.
08:54Your body's great.
08:55When you cinch it, it just like gives really body tea.
08:58Thank you for cinching it.
08:59You're very welcome.
09:00You know, someone has to on this cast.
09:02I will appreciate that.
09:04What were you going to wear under it?
09:06It was going to be pasties and pretty much a tucky canning.
09:09Oh.
09:10All crinoline.
09:11Obviously, it's sheer and see-through.
09:13The text on the front and on the sleeve is Baibayan.
09:16So Baibayan is an indigenous script that was used in the Philippines prior to Spanish colonization.
09:23And since colonization, it's pretty much been eradicated.
09:26So only about a dozen people in the world are literate in Baibayan.
09:30What does it say?
09:31So on the front, it says a person who knows where they come from.
09:34And on the back, it says knows where they're going.
09:37It was so much fun watching you, Mandy, and seeing you do your thing and bring your culture to the runway and bring your happiness.
09:43You always had a smile on your face.
09:45Even though it wasn't long enough, the world still got to see Mandy Mango.
09:49Thank you, Michelle.
09:50I can't wait to see you out there on the road doing your thing.
09:52Maraming salamat.
09:54That too.
09:55Yeah.
09:56That means thank you very much.
09:57How do you say it?
09:58Maraming salamat.
10:00Maraming salamat.
10:01Yes.
10:02She's a bilingual queen.
10:03Don't come for me, polyglot.
10:05Thank you very much for watching another episode of Whatcha Packin'.
10:08And we'll see you next time.
10:09How do we say goodbye?
10:10Siganah.
10:11Siganah.
10:12I see the sun shining bright.
10:14Ain't a cloud in the sky.
10:16Yeah, it's a good day.
10:17Have you gone there?
10:2025 years ago.
10:21So it's time for you to go.
10:22Yeah, so if you want to book me in the Philippines.
10:23Oh, Mandy's going back to the Philippines.
10:26Mabuhai, everybody.
10:27Yes.
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