| Nina Flowers | |
| Birth Name: | Jorge Luis Flores Sánchez |
| Birth Date: | 22 February 1974 |
| Birth Place: | Bayamón, Puerto Rico |
| Yearsactive: | 1993–present |
| Miss Congeniality | |
| Successor: | Pandora Boxx |
| Spouse: | Antonio Purcell de Ogenio |
| Occupation: | Drag queen, DJ, music producer, make-up artist |
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 .
Flowers was born and raised in Puerto Rico. 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.[5] In 1999, she won both the Miss Puerto Rico Continental and Miss City Lights Continental pageants.[6] 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.[7]
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.[8] 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.[9] 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.
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.[10] 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. 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.[11] In January 2011, Flowers released his dance single "I'm Feelin Flowers", which he produced in collaboration with Miami-based deejay/producer DJ MDW. His single "Rock the Beat" was released on July 31, 2012. Today, Flowers holds DJ residencies in several cities in the US,[12] [13] and describes his sound as edgy, spicy, colorful, energetic, groovy and original.[14]
Flowers and his husband, Antonio Purcell de Ogenio, resided in Denver, Colorado from 2009, and moved to Dallas, Texas in December 2020.[15]
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]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Year | Title | Artist | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | "Cover Girl" | RuPaul | |
| 2012 | "Responsitrannity" | ||
| 2014 | "I Look Fuckin Cool" | Adore Delano ft. Alaska Thunderfuck | |
| 2016 | "Backstabber" | Fior | |
Albums
EPs
| 2010 | Start Your Engines | With William Umana | |
| Start Your Engines (Remixes) | |||
| 2016 | Damelo | With Erick Ibiza | |
| 2023 | Arrecha[21] | With Tribal Land |
Singles
| 2011 | I'm Feeling Flowers | |
| Tip | Featured artist for William Umana | |
| Bailar | With DJ MDW | |
| 2012 | Rock The Beat | With William Umana |
| 2013 | The Queens | With DJ MDW and VButterfly La Mariposa |
| Cafre | Featured artist for Cindel | |
| Tekila | Featured artist for Armenta Violinist | |
| 2015 | Drums (For The Diva) | Featured artist for Peter Presta |
| My House | Featured artist for Alan Capetillo | |
| 2016 | Beat It, Bitch | |
| Subelo | Featured artist for Erich Ensastigue & DJ CARLOS G | |
| Flow | Featured artist for Obra Primitiva | |
| Intersection | With Jossep Garcia | |
| Intensity | Featured artist for Jersy Beeats & Erick Martell | |
| Eternal | With DJ Goozo and Jr Loppez | |
| De Tin Marin de Do Pingue | Featured artist for Armenta Violinist | |
| Deranged | Featured artist for Jesus Montañez | |
| International Superstar | Featured artist for Paulo Pacheco | |
| 2017 | La Bomba | Featured artist for Daniel Castillo |
| Dreams | Featured artist for Ralph Oliver | |
| Tambores | Featured artist for Bio Zounds | |
| 2019 | The Flash[22] | With Erick Ibiza |
| La del Cuerpo[23] | With Luis Erre | |
| Halloween Fest Bogota[24] | With Omar Segura | |
| 2020 | El Ritmo[25] | With Moussa |
| La Regia[26] | With Omar Segura | |
| The Cha Cha[27] | With Obra Primitiva | |
| Un Poquito[28] | With Guy Scheiman | |
| Satyricon[29] | With Bruno Knauer | |
| 2021 | Queer Universe[30] | With Rafael Dutra and Junior Senna |
| La Moza[31] | With Alan Capetillo | |
| Stitches[32] | With Dani Brasil | |
| 2022 | Revulera[33] | With Erick Ibiza |
| Matrix Sun Festival (Official Anthem)[34] | With Manuel de Diego | |
| Everytime You Lie[35] | With Micky Friedmann | |
| Pelo P'atras[36] | With De Felipe | |
| Industry[37] | With Luis Vazquez | |
| Mamacita[38] | With Cajjmere Wray | |
| Me Da Calor[39] | With Jesus Montañez | |
| Sabrosura[40] | With Las Bibas From Vizcaya | |
| 2023 | High Heels[41] | With Rafael Barreto and Lourenzo |
| Boom Boom[42] | With Omar Segura | |
| La Borracha[43] | With Erick Ibiza | |
| 2024 | Ricura[44] | With Isis Muretech |
| Prayer[45] | With Cindel | |
| Ciao Guapa[46] | With Leo Blanco |