Going Broadway for Pride

Pride runs strong in Puerto Rico. That goes equally for the LGBTQ community and for the “fuerza Puerto Rico” power that rallied the island after 2017’s devastating hurricanes. For this year’s Pride Puerto Rico celebra... Show more

celebration, the force drew thousands of participants and spectators to San Juan, pushing through flashes of tropical rain for a colorful parade and festival. Following a weekend full of Pride events, the June 2 march kicked off at Condado’s Parque del Indio, launching floats, bands, activists, and queens down Ashford Avenue. They landed at Parque del Tercer Milenio for the big Pride stage’s rally and performances, organized by Colectivo Orgullo Arcoiris (Rainbow Pride Collective, orgulloarcoiris.com). Despite passing storms, the local pride was clear as ever in 2019. Puerto Ricans and visitors filled Millennium Park to see two dozen different stage acts, including fabulous drag queens Maravllosa Placer, Catalina Tyrrell, and Miss Shalae Michaels and drag king Dingo Konpé, as well as other local entertainers. The day’s true beauty, though, was the show of collective strength. Puerto Rico’s queer community is growing and gaining momentum, especially in the capital city of San Juan.

Clean Sheets Daily

The season that just closed was notable for the diversity of its shows — from the complex and moving “The Ferryman” to the ridiculous and hilarious “Tootsie.” The variety of offerings means that whatever type of sh... Show more

type of show appeals to you, there’s probably something that will delight and entertain you. And you’ll be able to get your money’s worth. Ticketing innovations in recent years have improved accessibility to shows for those with either time or money to invest. If you’ve decided that you want to add a show to your Pride celebration but haven’t planned ahead, in most cases it’s still not too late to score good — or even great — seats. For those for whom cost is no object resellers like Stub Hub, Vivid Seats, and even verified resale seats through Telecharge and Ticketmaster can get you in. If you’re willing to gamble, you can track seats on a reseller on the day of performance, and the closer you get to curtain the better a deal you can get. Some out-of-town friends of mine bought tickets to “Hamilton” 15 minutes before curtain at the Stub Hub office on 39th Street, between Seventh Avenue and Broadway, and they saved $200 per ticket. They did, however, have to sprint to the theater. It

Queer Culture Under Glass

The hotel where Mexican director Lila Avilés’ “The Chambermaid” takes place is shot as if it had no exit. Although the film’s title character, Eve (Gabriela Cartol), works there willingly, Avilés makes some choices th... Show more

choices that emphasize her confinement. There are almost no exteriors. Eve is constantly separated from the outside world by windows or doors. Her flirtation with a window-washer is mediated via frustration and voyeurism; in a scene near the end, she takes off her clothes slowly as he perches just outside the room where she lies on a bed. Eve works at one of Mexico City’s most luxurious hotels. The mother of a very young son, her hours prevent her from taking care of him. She finds her work a drag but thinks her life will improve if she can get a promotion to the executive suites. While she cleans hotel rooms that cost several hundred American dollars a night, her own apartment doesn’t even have a shower. She takes classes in the hotel’s education program and becomes friends with an older co-worker, Minitoy (Teresa Sánchez). But the frustrations of her job pile up, and it becomes apparent that there’s nothing positive to be gained from trying to get ahead there. “The Chambermaid” br

Trans Community Board Member Makes History in Brooklyn

Well over a year ago, out of the blue, I was contacted by Rebecca Klassen, assistant curator of Material Culture at the New-York Historical Society (NYHS). She had been tasked with crafting an exhibition to mark the ... Show more

50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, and heard through the queer grapevine about my collection of flyers and other ephemera from New York gay clubs from the 1990s. She wanted to take a look. Klassen recognized that the 1990s were a heady and historic time for club-going in New York, when mammoth weekly gay parties at the Roxy, Limelight, Palladium, and Twilo, among others, reigned supreme. Not to forget scads of smaller venues like Sound Factory Bar, Crowbar, and Meat. These clubs were not only places to let loose, but a space to foster community and activism. They were safe havens for an LGBTQ community reeling from the AIDS crisis and often hosted benefits for Gay Men’s Health Crisis and ACT UP. Upon exiting, promoters would hand out flyers advertising the next party, but most ended up in the trash. I was so taken by the images of half-naked hunks and drag queens I hung onto mine. I joined mailing lists and grabbed flyers from gay-friendly stores. I also collected posters,

Abel Cedeno Forgoes Jury Trial

The newest member of Brooklyn’s Community Board 9 made history on June 18 when she became the first transgender person to be sworn into the board — and she is also believed to be the first out trans person on any communit... Show more

unity board in the borough. But Alejandra Caraballo, a trans Latina lesbian who lives in Prospect Lefferts Gardens and idolizes Sylvia Rivera, wasn’t so sure she would even be appointed in the first place. “I had applied but did not hear for four months,” Caraballo said during an interview with Gay City News just minutes before she was sworn in at Borough Hall. One week before officially joining the board, however, she received a letter in the mail. “I was with my girlfriend and she heard me screaming. She said, ‘Hey, what’s going on?’” The rest was history. Caraballo opened the letter and realized she would have a newfound opportunity to help shape hyperlocal politics in the city’s most populous borough and play a role in addressing issues facing the neighborhoods of South Crown Heights, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Wingate, and portions of North Flatbush. “I am so overwhelmed,” Caraballo said of her appointment. The 28-year-old Caraballo spends her days as a staff attorney w

Gestational Surrogacy Dead for Now in NYS

Twenty-one months after a Bronx classroom fight that left one student dead, another slashed, and a third charged with manslaughter and assault, bullied gay teen Abel Cedeno, who says he used a knife to defend himself again... Show more

st an attack from classmates Matthew McCree, the deceased, and Ariane LaBoy, told Judge Michael A. Gross that he is forgoing his right to a jury trial and will let the judge decide whether he is guilty or not. Gross opened the trial on June 18 in Bronx Criminal Court by asking Cedeno’s counsels, Robert J. Feldman and Christopher R. Lynn, and prosecutors Nancy Borko and Paul Andersen if they were open to a plea deal, telling Cedeno that he faced a minimum of five years on each count and a maximum of 25 years on each and that they could run consecutively. Feldman said they would not accept a plea deal and would pursue a defense of “justification,” commonly known as self-defense. Lynn said, “Under no circumstances would Abel get the max. He has no prior criminal record before or after this. He is not a violent person.” Lynn is seeking youthful offender treatment for his client if convicted, in which case the maximum sentence is four and a half years. But all that is now up to the jud