Title
Honoring and congratulating Sapphira Crist?l, "Philly's Crown Jewel," for her outstanding representation of Philadelphia's unique queer performance art and drag scene culture on MTV's RuPaul's Drag Race.
Body
WHEREAS, Sapphira Crist?l is a classically trained opera singer, composer, and drag queen with a six-octave vocal range. Sapphira Crist?l was born in Houston, Texas; began performing in drag while studying music at a conservatory in Rochester in 2009; and has called Philadelphia home since 2014; and
WHEREAS, Sapphira Crist?l holds 14 drag pageant crowns, including Miss'd America 2020/2021, and has performed nationwide. In 2014, she won the title of Miss Everything upon moving to Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, Sapphira Crist?l is a member of the drag queen girl group Philly's Foxes, together with fellow drag queens Maria Topcatt, Iris Spectre, Omyra Lynn, Poison, Mary D'Knight, and Zsa Zsa St. James (with show DJ Chris Urban); and
WHEREAS, Sapphira Crist?l has appeared twice at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival: first in 2019, when she sang on the same bill as Stephanie Blythe, and again in 2023, when she was featured as a headlining artist; and
WHEREAS, Sapphira Crist?l is representing Philadelphia on the globally televised show RuPaul's Drag Race, an MTV show in which drag queens compete to win the crown and title of America's Next Drag Superstar. After applying to be a contestant on the show eleven times, Sapphira was cast on season 16 of the show, which premiered on MTV on January 5, 2024, and is airing through the spring; and
WHEREAS, Sapphira Crist?l became an early strong competitor on her season, winning the mini challenge, maxi challenge, and the lip sync all in the first episode; and
WHEREAS, Sapphira Crist?l carries on Philadelphia's strong legacy as a Black opera performer, making this tradition her own by incorporating her signature "stunt queen" elements of drag into her live operatic performances, like sliding slowly into the s...
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