Tag Archives: inclusion

A Gala to Remember!

If you believe our beloved Angela Peralta Theater should be fully accessible to those with mobility impairments, I have a very special treat for you!

On Saturday night, November 20th, a group of people passionate about accessibility will gather together to raise funds to help install a freestanding glass elevator in the Angela Peralta Theater in order to make the galleries fully accessible. We will enjoy symphonic music and a four or five-course dinner prepared by our beloved Chef Gilberto del Toro of Gaia fame. If the tasting is any indication, you do not want to miss this! Wine will also flow freely.

Samples from the tasting menu by Chef del Toro

The evening will begin at 6:30 pm with a “blue carpet” in honor of those who are differently abled. The performance will begin at 7:30 in the theater, followed by dinner and an art auction at 8:30 pm. Vaccination certificates and proper use of a face mask will be required.

Tickets are 3000 pesos per person; Chef Gilberto is donating his time and expertise. Wines and artwork to be auctioned are also donated. Proceeds from the event will go towards purchasing a freestanding glass elevator to be installed near the bar of the theater, to allow access to the upstairs galleries without affecting the structure of the protected building. Artists who wish to donate pieces to support the cause are welcome to contact me, as are those wishing to make a donation towards the elevator.

Plans for the elevator are not yet finalized, but this is the general type we are looking at.

For me this is a dream come true. You may remember a few years ago when I had a photo exhibition on the second floor of the opera house. It was the best-attended art event in the history of Mazatlán, CULTURA told me. However, friends on crutches or in a wheelchair were not able to join me at the inauguration, nor was anyone with mobility issues able to view the six-week exhibition. It was so unfair! An elevator will help us rectify that and make the opera house of which we are all so proud accessible.

Please contact me via WhatsApp to get you your tickets or more information: +52-669-122-8962. To make a donation to the cause send your money to the Bancomer account on the flyer above, with your name so Cultura can thank you, or send a note via PayPal to dianne@vidamaz.com and I’ll make sure it goes to the elevator account. Thanks!

Pride

Daniel Marín and Ale Elenes

Most every one of us has felt marginalized, left out, misunderstood, bullied or abused in one way or another in our lives. For those who find themselves outside traditional binary gender categories or whose sexual attraction isn’t hetero, life can come with way too many challenges at way too young an age. I believe this is why Pride celebrations are so incredibly important; they give us permission to celebrate love, acceptance, visibility and justice.

As a Mazatlán resident, I am delighted that we have a vibrant, vocal and talented LGBTQQIAAP (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexuual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersexual, Allies, Asexual, Pansexual) community. This past Saturday, though our city is again under “red light” for the pandemic, both a Pride parade and a major Pride event in the Angela Peralta Theater took place. Many complained it was dangerous and bad timing to gather. While I agree, it surely was a better reason congregating than was the banda concert on Friday night at the new football stadium.

Performances included classical ballet, modern dance, comedy, impersonation and drag. The juxtaposition of complex emotions that often accompany these events was there. 

  • Attendees’ hearts soared; love and joy ruled. 
  • It felt great to shower attention on people and issues that are so often kept in the shadows. 
  • Though I no longer frequent night clubs, I am proud to know that our town has such high caliber performers and that I know I can go enjoy them anytime. 
  • It is discomfiting to see a man looking much more voluptuous and sexier as a woman than I’ve ever looked in my life. 
  • Knowing how it feels to struggle with an ill-fitting bra, high-heeled shoes or other item of clothing, I feel tons of empathy for those in drag struggling to keep their rubber hips and padded breasts in place while moving around on stage. 
  • I am saddened that people whose gender is not what their birth bodies indicate have to struggle so. Life is so not fair.
  • I realize how many LGBTQ+ individuals do not enjoy these sorts of events, for various reasons; it shows the diversity within any community of people.
  • There were so many communities of support in the theater on Saturday night! Performers’ families and friends showed up to hoot, holler and generally encourage them, multi-generational families in the audience all gleefully enjoyed the show, and the children in the audience learned to embrace difference rather than fear it.
  • So many attendees dressed up, cross-dressed, or wore Pride gear. They carried signs and flags. There was shared purpose.
  • It was incredible to see love expressed in so many different ways and combinations.

In the theater everyone wore masks and seats were socially distanced. However, it was very crowded. As a member of the press, it was hard to get close enough to get good photos. That’s where I admire the newspaper photographers; they do this all the time and know exactly what gear to bring and what settings to use. In this post I’ve included a few of my favorites from Saturday night. I trust you’ll enjoy them.

Click any photo to enlarge it or view a slideshow.

The Angela Peralta was decked out for the event. The façades of the Municipal School of the Arts and the opera house were lit with rainbow-colored lights. The lobby of the theater had a huge rainbow carpet, rainbow wall, tall statues lit in rainbow colors, and an altar in tribute to a departed friend. The stage lighting transported the theater to Broadway; everyone present knew we were part of something big. 

They say one in every ten people is LGBTQ+. My guess is it’s higher than that. In celebration of justice, love and inclusion, how about each of us reach out to a friend or neighbor and have a real conversation? Ask if they wouldn’t mind sharing with us a bit of their life journey, their joys and challenges. Find out what we all have in common, and what we don’t. And how we can all live in this world in ways that bring out the best of each and every one of us, while minimizing the struggle. Amidst all the social distancing and isolation, such conversations can surely do a world of good.

Miss Universo Carnaval 2018

God bless you, Thalia! Last night was the BEST EVER Miss Universo Carnavál (Gay Carnaval Queen) pageant, full of trans-gendered and trans-sexual pride and pure human joy.

I was born into this world with a whole lot of privileges. I’m white, I’m straight, I’m fairly intelligent. While born into a working-class family, we had a solid home and food, and all our necessities. I’ve received a good education.

Despite these facts, I’ve had my share of identity crises, as has most anyone. I’m sensitive, so at times I’ve listened too much to what others have to say, rather than following my heart. I have worried about how I appear, how I look, that I live in Mexico as a woman and don’t regularly put on makeup or dress up. I’d like to think now, at 57, I’ve reconciled most of these identity issues. I’m happy in my own skin. But, still… that triple chin, those extra kilitos…

Thus my complete and utter admiration for these drag queens born into our hetero-centric world, many of whom have had to struggle with gaining acceptance from family and friends, say nothing about themselves. Their identity questions were so much more fundamental than my own comparatively trivial ones, and most of them seem to have come out of that challenge more beautiful, confident and resilient than I could dream of being. When we are a bit different from the dominant “norm,” we are presented with loads of possibilities for exploration, creativity, and love, if we can find the presence of mind and strength of heart to see them. Click on any photo below to enlarge it or view a slideshow.

The gowns! The dresses! The swimsuits! The makeup! The hair! The shoes! The guts! The maturity! The confidence! The strength!

We saw chubby queens and skinny queens, buff queens and those with a roll or two. We saw cross-dressers and those who have undergone reassignment and cosmetic surgeries. In the dressing room we saw queens stuffing themselves into girdles and support hose, balancing fake boobies and butts, and those who’ve survived the pain of implants. I congratulate each and every one of you. You have more joie de vivre and bravery than I could ever aspire to have (and that’s a high bar, lol)!

Last night the money collected went to pay hospital bills for a local lady who is ill in the hospital in Culiacán. Thus, this fun event is actually a labor of love by the members of “Belleza con Propósito,” “Beauty with a purpose.”

This event always takes place just prior to Carnaval. Put it on your calendar for next year. I always announce it on the VidaMaz Facebook page. The last few years it takes place at Castillo de Lulu in Playa Sur. The event is BYOB: bring your own drinks. A lady sells hibiscus tea/agua de jamaica and tostilocos (chips with ceviche), but other than that, bring your snacks. Entrance is usually 60-70 pesos and goes to a good cause, and donations are gratefully accepted.

The pageant includes self presentation, dresses, swimsuit, evening gown, and questions. In between stages of the pageant we enjoy entertainment by dance troupes and drag queen performers, this year including Cher. I’m guessing the crowd last night numbered about 150-200, a good mix of locals and internationals. The judging table always includes local celebrities and politicians as well as members of the international community.

The organizer of all this is Thalia Fedorova Chequer-Zahap. I can not imagine the work that goes into this, the details, the pressure. And she pulls it off with incredible grace and beauty.

May we all grow more tolerant, more accepting, more respectful, of ourselves and others. May we all reach out to help a fellow human, today and every day. And may we all enjoy life to its fullest!

Oh, and CONGRATS to Miss Colombia, Yeimi, our Miss Universo Carnaval 2018!

 

Gay Pride Mazatlán 2017

DSC_0280Our 9th annual gay pride parade started at 5:30 pm Saturday afternoon, June 3rd, from in front of Valentino’s heading south down Avenida del Mar to the Glorieta Sanchez Taboada (cliff divers). It was better attended than ever. What a joy to see so many participants and the large number of spectators cheering them on and supporting authenticity! Witnessing our beautiful malecón lined with lesbian and gay lovers was rather nice, too. A society that embraces difference and has a place for everyone just as they are is a society where justice can reign and violence becomes unnecessary. Such is the hope for Mazatlán on a day of such sadness in London.

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LGBTQ Pride Mazatlán 2017

I absolutely loved the messages printed on front of each float, reminding us why celebrations such as this are so healthy not only for the LGBTQ community but society as a whole. Who can criticize the parade’s lead slogan, “With respect and love, less discrimination”? Key messages included:

  • Honesty: Know who you are and express what you feel.
  • Liberty: Sexual liberty without stigmas or discrimination.
  • Respect: We live together in diversity.

Click on any photo to enlarge it or view a slideshow.

Respect: Let’s live in diversity and respect one another.
With respect and love, less discrimination.
Liberty: Sexual freedom without stigmas or discrimination.
First Week of Sexual Diversity
Honesty: Be who you are and express what you feel.

Riders on the float included performers at the various gay nightclubs in town as well as the winners of charity and other beauty contests. My girl Thalia Fedorova was there with her entourage of drag queens. A man in a thong wore a full Aztec feathered headdress and a glittery big-horned-sheep-type mask. I loved the angel hottie.

CULTURA supports the celebration and thus the parade included floats from Carnavál 2017. There were no live bands but lots of upbeat dance music, and one group of young dancers in a comparsa. Candy, condoms and pens were thrown, and gay pride flags were circulated. Confetti was shot through the air and floated along the avenue.

People of all ages attended and participated. Some wore t-shirts supporting the cause—there were various types. Most waved flags and pet dogs and pigs got in on the act; there was even a costumed roller blader. Eye candy for every sexual orientation was on full display. Frank (Juan Francisco Diaz) from The Voice Mexico was there, as was a vendor selling flags.

A young migrant who just arrived Saturday via La Bestia from Honduras made the mistake of telling me he was Christian and didn’t approve of this sort of thing. After quoting him a few of Jesus’ words, and explaining to him that, as a migrant/undocumented worker, if he wanted acceptance, respect and inclusion, how could he deny it to others, he changed his tune long enough for us to give him a few hundred pesos to help him on his journey.

I’ve been blessed to have been able to attend quite a few Pride parades in my day, but Mazatlán is definitely the prettiest location of any of them. Thank goodness this parade grows in size and joy every year, and that participants hold strong to constructive messages that benefit our whole community. Lead on, friends!

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