The first Taiwanese winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind, took to the stage on Thursday at the Paris Cultural Olympiad along with members of her group Haus of Wind to showcase Taiwanese culture.
“Let us put this out there: I know it says Chinese Taipei, but in my world, it says Taiwan,” the drag queen said during the show at the Taiwan Pavilion.
“It means a lot to me to be able to represent Taiwan in a foreign country,” she added.
Photo: CNA
In the show, titled “Formosa Follies,” she captivated the audience by dressing as Mazu and the butterfly queen, and performed a selection of timeless Taiwanese songs.
“She is inspiring — she is the ‘Banana Queen,’” said a French Nymphia fan named Antoine.
He had come with a group of friends specifically to see Haus of Wind perform, Antoine said.
Discussing their perception of Taiwanese society, he said he believes Taiwan must be an open-minded society, as it allows Nymphia to shine.
“It is wonderful that she can share messages of openness, inclusivity and excellence with the world,” he said.
Meanwhile, Antoine’s friend Jerome said that although he had only learned about Taiwan’s vibrant drag community through RuPaul’s Drag Race and Nymphia, he knew that Taiwan was the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage.
At the end of the performance, a video montage featuring fan contributions from around the world since mid-June was displayed on the screen, featuring the rainbow flag and a map of Taiwan.
A group of Taiwanese audience members based in France said they were very inspired by the performance, especially given it was the first time that two of them had watched a drag show.
“I was fully absorbed tonight. I appreciate that she presented Taiwanese culture in such a brave way,” an audience member nicknamed Hsia-yu (小魚) said. “I enjoyed her selection of music, and sang and danced along.”
“It was really touching. With the backdrop showcasing the beautiful scenery of Taiwan, the show allowed me to relive the feeling of my home country. I am really glad to see all this in Paris,” said Peng Hsuan (芃萱), another audience member.
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS