PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) – Valencia Prime has been a fixture on the Philadelphia drag scene, hosting their own live showcase called “Prime Time”.
While hosting this show on Monday night, she collapsed and later died.
“It happened so quickly,” said friend and drag performer Nikita Sinnn Monroe, who was preparing to perform elsewhere when she heard the news about Prime.
Asia Monroe, who is also a cast member, says she received updated information about the incident when friends attended the show and witnessed what happened.
“I think the Philadelphia scene will never be the same,” said Asia Monroe. “She was truly a wonderful, loving and caring person.”
At 25, Valencia was prime in her heyday as a popular drag queen in Philadelphia. She self-identified as a trans woman and billed herself as “Philadelphia’s Plus Size Dancing Diva.”
“She was really all over the picture,” said Asia Monroe. “If you didn’t know who Valencia Prime was, you didn’t see Philadelphia draw!”
While doing what she loved, which was performing, Prime collapsed on the stage at Center City’s Taboo nightclub.
“Paramedics were there, they weren’t responding,” Asia Monroe said.
The Philadelphia coroner lists Prime’s cause of death as atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, which is a form of heart disease. The agency classified the cause of death as natural.
Instead of thinking about how she died, Valencia Prime’s friends prefer to remember how she lived.
“I really saw Valencia step up to the top and be the person to help people in times of need,” said Asia Monroe.
Friends say Prime has served as a mother figure in the drag and trans communities.
“She was the first person to help me figure out I was trans,” Nikita Sinnn told Monroe through tears.
Left with a void, the friends of Valencia Prime vow to carry it in their hearts and on stage.
“Just knowing that she’s up there looking down on us, we’re going to keep performing because I know that’s what she would expect us to do,” Asia Monroe said.
A GoFundMe page has raised more than $11,000 for Valencia’s family.
A benefit performance will be held at Tabu on Monday night in honor of Valencia Prime.
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