Jorge Luis Flores Sánchez[1] (born February 22, 1974),[2] better known as Nina Flowers, is a Puerto Rican drag queen, DJ, activist, professional make-up artist, and reality television personality who has been performing since 1993.[3][4] He is best known for being the runner-up of the inaugural season of RuPaul's Drag Race, as well as being a contestant on the first season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars.

Nina Flowers
Born
Jorge Luis Flores Sánchez

(1974-02-22) February 22, 1974 (age 50)
Occupation(s)Drag queen, DJ, music producer, make-up artist
Years active1993–present
Known for
TitleMiss Congeniality
SuccessorPandora Boxx
SpouseAntonio Purcell de Ogenio
Websiteninaflowers.com

Biography edit

Flowers was born and raised in Puerto Rico.[5] He started his career as a DJ in 1989 when she became a resident DJ at Krash Klub Kafe, one of the most prestigious clubs in the Caribbean. He started his drag career in March 1993 while studying to become a professional makeup artist.[6] In 1999, she won both the Miss Puerto Rico Continental and Miss City Lights Continental pageants.[7] His drag name originates from a combination of the names Nina Hagen, who was his favorite rockstar, and his last name, Flores, which translates to flowers in English.[8]

Television edit

Flowers became a cast member on Logo's reality series, RuPaul's Drag Race, which premiered on the network in February 2009. Flowers finished in second place and won the Miss Congeniality award during the first season's reunion special, making him the first runner-up to win the title and highest ever Miss Congeniality in the history of the show. He is also the first ever contestant to win a maxi challenge in the history of the show as well as the first contestant to never place in the bottom two. The publicity generated by his participation on the show brought many new opportunities to perform at various national and international LGBT events including Denver Pride, San Juan Pride, Chicago Pride and Vancouver Pride. Besides his participation on RuPaul's Drag Race, Flowers (along with season two contestant Jessica Wild) has performed on the popular Puerto Rican television program Objetivo Fama, which airs throughout the United States and Latin America.

In early 2010, Flowers joined the cast of Logo's new reality series RuPaul's Drag U. This summer replacement series premiered on July 19, 2010.[9] Flowers was one of 12 past Drag Race contestants in the season-one cast of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars, which premiered on the Logo network on October 22, 2012.[10] Forming Team Brown Flowers along with contestant Tammie Brown, both contestants were eliminated in the second episode of the series which aired on October 28, 2012.

Music edit

Flowers first discovered DJing as a young child, when she accompanied her father in assisting his friend in DJing for private parties. She eventually began playing small events until, at the age of 16, landed her first DJ residency at a club in San Juan.[11] In December 2009, Flowers (in collaboration with DJ Ranny) released his first dance single "Loca". The single has been remixed by William Umana, Joe Gauthreaux, and Manny Lehman. The single reached its highest spot (#15) on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play the week of 30 January 2010.[7] Continuing her first venture in the dance music industry, Flowers released her first EP of original songs on July 15, 2010. Titled Start Your Engines, the album is a compilation of six tracks that he and producer/remixer William Umana produced. The first single, "Locas in da House", utilizes Flowers's trademark catchphrase in a tribal house anthem.[12] In January 2011, Flowers released his dance single "I'm Feelin Flowers", which he produced in collaboration with Miami-based deejay/producer DJ MDW.[6] His single "Rock the Beat" was released on July 31, 2012. Today, Flowers holds DJ residencies in several cities in the US,[13][14] and describes his sound as edgy, spicy, colorful, energetic, groovy and original.[15]

Personal life edit

Flowers and his husband, Antonio Purcell de Ogenio, resided in Denver, Colorado from 2009, and moved to Dallas, Texas in December 2020.[5]

On May 29, 2009, Denver's mayor, John Hickenlooper, proclaimed May 29 "Nina Flowers Day" in recognition of Flowers's contributions to the city's LGBT community.[16]

Filmography edit

Film edit

Year Title Role Ref
2020 The Queens Herself [17]

Television edit

Year Title Role Notes Ref
2009 RuPaul's Drag Race Herself Contestant (2nd place)
2010 RuPaul's Drag U [18]
2012 RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Contestant (9th/10th place)
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars: Untucked

Music videos edit

Year Title Artist Ref.
2009 "Cover Girl" RuPaul
2012 "Responsitrannity" [19]
2014 "I Look Fuckin Cool" Adore Delano ft. Alaska Thunderfuck
2016 "Backstabber" Fior

Web series edit

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2013 RuPaul's T-Dance Herself Guest [20]

Discography edit

EPs

Year Title Notes
2010 Start Your Engines[21] With William Umana
Start Your Engines (Remixes)[22]

Singles

Year Title Notes
2011 I'm Feeling Flowers[23]
Tip[24] Featured artist for William Umana
Bailar[25] With DJ MDW
2012 Rock The Beat[26] With William Umana
2013 The Queens[27] With DJ MDW and VButterfly La Mariposa
Cafre[28] Featured artist for Cindel
Tekila[29] Featured artist for Armenta Violinist
2015 Drums (For The Diva)[30] Featured artist for Peter Presta
My House[31] Featured artist for Alan Capetillo
2016 Beat It, Bitch[32]
Subelo[33] Featured artist for Erich Ensastigue & DJ CARLOS G
Damelo[34] With Erick Ibiza
Flow[35] Featured artist for Obra Primitiva
Intersection[36] With Jossep Garcia
Intensity[37] Featured artist for Jersy Beeats & Erick Martell
Eternal[38] With DJ Goozo and Jr Loppez
De Tin Marin de Do Pingue[39] Featured artist for Armenta Violinist
Deranged[40] Featured artist for Jesus Montañez
International Superstar[41] Featured artist for Paulo Pacheco
2017 La Bomba[42] Featured artist for Daniel Castillo
Dreams[43] Featured artist for Ralph Oliver
Tambores[44] Featured artist for Bio Zounds

References edit

  1. ^ "About Me". Nina Flowers official site. Archived from the original on April 5, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
  2. ^ "About". Nina Flowers verified Facebook page. Archived from the original on March 28, 2017. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
  3. ^ Patricia. "Nina Flowers: RuPaul Drag Race Finalist" Archived 2012-03-01 at the Wayback Machine Right Celebrity March 24th, 2009, accessed January 13, 2010.
  4. ^ "Interview with Nina Flowers" Archived 2010-01-07 at the Wayback Machine ChicagoPride.com December 2, 2009, accessed January 13, 2010.
  5. ^ a b Kennedy, Lisa. "Nina Flowers is hot!" Archived 2016-10-26 at the Wayback Machine Denver Post May 31, 2009, accessed January 13, 2010 |archivedate= AOctober 26, 2016| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20161026043446/http://www.denverpost.com/2009/05/28/nina-flowers-is-hot/
  6. ^ a b Elfman, Sheri (January 2011). "Flower Powe". Hot Spot. Archived from the original on September 26, 2013.
  7. ^ a b "Nina Flowers One Night Only @ Spin Night Club!". ChicagoStageReview.com. December 3, 2009. Archived from the original on March 28, 2017. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
  8. ^ Vilhena, Arthur (December 20, 2020). "Who's That Queen? Nina Flowers". Draglicious. Archived from the original on March 26, 2022. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
  9. ^ RuPaul's Drag University: Sneak-Peek! Archived 2010-06-16 at the Wayback Machine from hollywoodjunket.com 14 April 2010
  10. ^ RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars cast includes Jujubee, Latrice Royale, Manila Luzon Archived 2013-07-18 at the Wayback Machine from chicago.gopride.com; 06 August 2012
  11. ^ Valdés González, Yariel (February 17, 2021). "'I was born to create and entertain'". Los Angeles Blade. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  12. ^ Getting to know Denver's hottest drag queens Archived 2010-06-16 at the Wayback Machine from denver.metromix.com June 2010
  13. ^ https://werrrk.com/conquering-the-world-with-nina-flowers-and-the-prism-torontos-unity-party/ Archived 2019-08-03 at the Wayback Machine>
  14. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-11-26. Retrieved 2009-12-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. ^ "Conquering the World.......with Nina Flowers and the Prism Toronto's Unity Party! -". Archived from the original on 2019-08-03. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  16. ^ Nina Flowers: Queen for a "Day"[permanent dead link] from outfrontcolorado.com 1 June 2009
  17. ^ Dunne, Peter (August 7, 2020). "The Queens documentary focuses on the trans contestants of major drag pageant". GCN. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  18. ^ Stransky, Tanner (August 3, 2020). "'RuPaul's Drag U' series premiere recap: To judge or not to judge such tragic figures?". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on June 3, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  19. ^ RuTube (October 25, 2012), RuPaul Responsitrannity music video, archived from the original on 2021-12-20, retrieved May 29, 2020
  20. ^ RuPaul's T-Dance: Featuring Amanda Lepore, Nina Flowers, and The Fabulous Pop Tarts. YouTube. December 26, 2013. Archived from the original on 2021-12-20. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  21. ^ Start Your Engines EP by William Umana & Nina Flowers on Apple Music, 2010-06-15, archived from the original on 2020-07-03, retrieved 2018-03-02
  22. ^ Start Your Engines EP (Remixes) by William Umana & Nina Flowers on Apple Music, 2010-10-26, archived from the original on 2020-06-27, retrieved 2018-03-02
  23. ^ I'm Feelin Flowers (Dj Mdw Miami Loca Mix) - Single by Nina Flowers on Apple Music, 2011-01-12, archived from the original on 2020-07-02, retrieved 2018-03-02
  24. ^ Tip (feat. Nina Flowers) - EP by Various Artists on Apple Music, 2011-06-15, archived from the original on 2020-06-27, retrieved 2018-03-02
  25. ^ Bailar by DJ MDW & Nina Flowers on Apple Music, 2011-09-29, archived from the original on 2020-06-29, retrieved 2018-03-02
  26. ^ Rock the Beat by William Umana & Nina Flowers on Apple Music, 2012-07-31, archived from the original on 2020-06-26, retrieved 2018-03-02
  27. ^ The Queens by DJ MDW, Nina Flowers & VButterfly La Mariposa on Apple Music, 2013-05-09, archived from the original on 2020-06-27, retrieved 2018-03-02
  28. ^ Cafre (feat. Nina Flowers) - EP by Cindel on Apple Music, 2014-02-04, archived from the original on 2020-06-26, retrieved 2018-03-02
  29. ^ Tekila (feat. Niña Flowers) - Single by Armenta Violinist on Apple Music, 2015-09-04, archived from the original on 2018-03-03, retrieved 2018-03-02
  30. ^ Drums (For the Diva) [Peter Presta Diva Mix] [feat. Nina Flowers] - Single by Peter Presta on Apple Music, 2015-09-14, archived from the original on 2018-03-03, retrieved 2018-03-02
  31. ^ My House (feat. Nina Flowers) - Single by Alan Capetillo on Apple Music, 2015-10-10, archived from the original on 2018-03-03, retrieved 2018-03-02
  32. ^ Beat It, Bitch - Single by Nina Flowers on Apple Music, 2016-01-09, archived from the original on 2018-03-03, retrieved 2018-03-02
  33. ^ Subelo (feat. Nina Flowers) - Single by Erich Ensastigue & DJ CARLOS G on Apple Music, 2016-02-01, archived from the original on 2022-10-08, retrieved 2018-03-02
  34. ^ Damelo - EP by Erick Ibiza & Nina Flowers on Apple Music, 2016-02-12, archived from the original on 2018-03-03, retrieved 2018-03-02
  35. ^ Flow (feat. Nina Flowers) - EP by Obra Primitiva on Apple Music, 2016-02-19, archived from the original on 2018-03-03, retrieved 2018-03-02
  36. ^ Intersection by Jossep Garcia & Nina Flowers on Apple Music, 2016-04-08, archived from the original on 2018-03-03, retrieved 2018-03-02
  37. ^ Intensity (feat. Nina Flowers) by Jersy Beeats & Erick Martell on Apple Music, 2016-06-14, archived from the original on 2018-03-03, retrieved 2018-03-02
  38. ^ Eternal - Single by DJ Goozo & Jr Loppez on Apple Music, 2016-08-11, archived from the original on 2018-03-03, retrieved 2018-03-02
  39. ^ De Tin Marin de Do Pingue (feat. Niña Flowers) - Single by Armenta Violinist on Apple Music, 2016-09-23, archived from the original on 2018-03-03, retrieved 2018-03-02
  40. ^ Deranged (feat. Nina Flowers) - Single by Jesus Montañez on Apple Music, 2016-10-18, archived from the original on 2018-03-03, retrieved 2018-03-02
  41. ^ International Superstar (feat. Nina Flowers) - EP by Paulo Pacheco on Apple Music, 2016-11-11, archived from the original on 2018-03-03, retrieved 2018-03-02
  42. ^ La Bomba (feat. Nina Flowers) - Single by Daniel Castillo on Apple Music, 2017-10-05, archived from the original on 2018-03-03, retrieved 2018-03-02
  43. ^ Dreams (feat. Nina Flowers) [House Mixes] by Ralph Oliver on Apple Music, 2017-10-20, archived from the original on 2018-03-03, retrieved 2018-03-02
  44. ^ Tambores (feat. Nina Flowers) by Bio Zounds on Apple Music, 2017-11-10, archived from the original on 2022-10-08, retrieved 2018-03-02

External links edit