The Pride LA June 18, 2021

the pride

6.18.2021 – 7.2.2021

ISSUE NUMBER 59, VOLUME 30 | JUN 18 – JULY 2, 2021

LOS ANGELES

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THE LOS ANGELES LGBT NEWSPAPER

WWW.THEPRIDELA.COM

WeHo One City One Pride Kick-Off

40 days of LGBTQ arts

By TimoThy michael aND Sam caTaNZaRo

On Saturday, May 22, 2021 the City of West Hollywood kicked-off its One City One Pride LGBTQ Arts Festival.

A special online performance of Patricia Loughrey’s play Dear Harvey: Stories of Harvey Milk, which recounts the life and lasting impact of groundbreaking LGBTQ activist and politician Harvey Milk.

A complete list of this year’s One City One Pride festival events is available at www.weho.org/pride. Due to the coronavirus crisis, festival events have moved to an online virtual platform to respond to the City of West Hollywood’s efforts to prioritize health and public safety.

The City of West Hollywood is like no other city in the world. West Hollywood is one of the most outspoken cities in the

nation in advocating for the legal rights and full representation of LGBTQ people. More than 40 percent of residents in the City of West Hollywood identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.

West Hollywood is also a thriving cultural center that has an unparalleled historical connection to music, entertainment, architecture, fashion, and culture-making.

The City embodies a unique rock-and-roll history and West Hollywood is home to numerous groundbreaking music venues, hotels, and restaurants that have, over many decades, influenced cultural currents throughout the world.

For 40 days One City One Pride will feature various artists, poets, performers from May 22nd- June 30th.

Among the installations is Meringue by artist Kiduck Kim. “The sensual curves of Meringue invite touch, and the artist intends it to feel like a portal to travel without moving — that you travel when you come in contact with it, not physically, but in the imagination. The

Meringue by artist Kiduck Kim on Santa Monica Boulevard.

translucency of Meringue lets sunlight in to glow naturally during the daytime, and at night transforms Meringue into a mixing

Photos: City of WeHo

chamber of various light combinations.

WeHo One City, see page 6

Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Second Annual Virtual Trans Pride L.A. Expands to Three Days Celebration features panel discussions, workshops, performances, interactive art exhibit, and more with special guest ACLU Deputy Director for Transgender Justice Chase Strangio

By STaFF WRiTeR

This year’s Trans Pride L.A. (TPLA) will be streamed live for the second consecutive year, expanded from two to three days, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, June 17–19. TPLA is one of the nation’s oldest and largest celebrations of the vibrant Trans, Gender Non-Conforming, Intersex, Non-Binary (TGI/ENBY+) community with virtual workshops, panel discussions, Trans Pride Community Gallery, the always highly-anticipated VarieTy Show, and a Big Queer Convo with special guest ACLU Deputy Director for Transgender Justice Chase Strangio.

The full schedule of Trans Pride L.A.

New Trans pride, see page 6

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6.18.2021 – 7.2.2021

LOS ANGELES

Buzzfeed’s Docuseries “The Andrea Mares Project” Six part series follows trans-feminine Latinx

By Timothy Michael BuzzFeed’s As/Is presents “The Andrea Mares Project,” a docuseries that shadows Andrea Mares, a trans-feminine Latinx, as she embarks on the journey towards a true and fulfilling self.

Spanning across the month of Pride through June 25, the six-part series follows Andrea Mares, a former BuzzFeed employee, who invited the BuzzFeed editorial team to film her transition journey in 2017.

The docuseries is an unflinching account

of the full transition process— from her initial doubts, painful conversations with her family in Mexico, physical changes, feminine style evolution, coming out at her workplace, and ultimately accepting her true identity as a gender neutral, trans-feminine Chicana.

Andrea Mares on selecting BuzzFeed as the platform to showcase her story raw and unfiltered: “When I first started transitioning, I was overwhelmed because I had never met another Trans Latina and had so many questions. I turned to Youtube for stories that looked and sounded like me. While I did find a few videos that I resonated with, it was almost impossible to find anything at the intersection of being

Trans and Mexican. That’s when I realized what an opportunity we had in sharing my story and helping others feel less alone. My hope is that people who are thinking about transitioning will see some of themselves (or their future) in my story. I’m really excited to share this journey with the world and hope that it can inspire people to step into their more authentic self, or, at least, learn more about some of the complexities that Trans Latinas face.”

“The Andrea Mares Project” is the latest example of BuzzFeed creating content that both represents and taps into the Latinx and LGBTQ communities, including its Facebook Watch original series “My Quinceanera Come True” and “Tasty Pride: 75 Recipes And Stories From

The Queer Food Community.”

Beyond heritage months and commemorative observances, BuzzFeed is committed to create identity-based content year-round through its Latinx heritage brand Pero Like, its dedicated LGBTQ vertical and more.

Talkshoplive Announces GLAAD As June Charity

As Pride Month kicks off, talkshoplive, the groundbreaking livestream commerce platform, announces GLAAD will be talkshoplive’s charity of the month for June 2021.

As the featured charity of the month, visitors to talkshoplive will have the opportunity to donate to GLAAD at checkout for each and every product and livestream featured on the platform.

Each week, GLAAD will also program a livestream on talkshoplive, kicking off with Cheyenne Jackson on Thursday, June 3rd

at 7pmEST. Additional livestreams, to be announced throughout the month will feature some of the most popular and thoughtprovoking LGBTQ performers, advocates and tastemakers of our time.

“Each June, it is important to remember the fight for equal rights our LGBTQ friends and family members endure. There is still a lot of work to do, and talkshoplive is honored to stand with GLAAD in the fight for the LGBTQ community. In honor of PRIDE, talkshoplive is thrilled to put a spotlight on GLAAD as the featured charity of the

month in order for them to continue their great work,” says Bryan Moore, CEO & CoFounder of talkshoplive.

Talkshoplive® is the leading live streaming, social selling online network.

Sellers showcase their products via live shows, displaying product details and chat in real-time with customers that they can purchase with one-click on the buy button.

The platform and iOS app are full service for sellers – from live show creation to order processing to ease of shipping and payouts.

Buyers are able to access unlimited channels

and live product shows. With talkshoplive®, buying has never been more interactive and entertaining.

GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, is rewriting the script for LGBTQ acceptance. As a dynamic media force, GLAAD tackles tough issues to shape the narrative and provoke dialogue that leads to cultural change. GLAAD protects all that has been accomplished and creates a world where everyone can live the life they love.

6.18.2021 – 7.2.2021

LOS ANGELES

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“WeHo Sounds” Free Virtual Concert Series Series kicks off June 18

By Timothy Michael The City of West Hollywood kicks-off “WeHo Sounds”, a free Friday evening virtual concert series on June 18.

Concerts will take place on the third Friday of each month from June through September on a livestream platform to tune-in from anywhere. Visit www.weho.org/wehosounds for a full schedule, links to concerts, and more details.

The virtual series will kick-off on Friday, June 18, 2021 at 6 p.m. with Ryan Porter & Friends. Los Angeles native trombonist Ryan Porter has released four self-titled albums, and has played and recorded with artists such as Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, as well as Thundercat, Kamasi Washington, Kendrick Lamar, and a host of other incredible West Coast Musicians.

A young group from Hollywood, California, Crawford will perform on Friday, July 16, 2021 at 6 p.m. Born out of a group of friends who met at Musicians Institute, Crawford aims to bring people together through recorded music, live performance, and community-building. They list one of their greatest achievements as Spill The Tea, a monthly get together they produced where

a vibrant community is created through music and art.

Grammy award-winning pianist, John Beasley performs with his 4Tet on Friday, August 20, 2021 at 6 p.m. Beasley has performed with Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, Chaka Khan, Queen Latifah, and Dianne Reeves, to name a few. As a recording artist he has a dozen albums, and also works on film and TV projects, including blockbuster projects 1917, Finding Nemo, Skyfall and

Spectre.

Friday, September 17, 2021 at 6 p.m. will feature Buyepongo. With deep roots in South and Central America, Buyepongo draw heavily from the Latino and AfroIndigenous musical culture. Taking their cues from traditional roots music of Colombia, Haiti, Belize, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic, Buyepongo creates a very vibrant polyrhythmic sound by seamlessly fusing merengue, punta, cumbia, and more.

The City of West Hollywood’s 2020-2021

WeHo Sounds Free Virtual Concert Series is

organized by the City of West Hollywood’s Arts Division.

For additional information about the

performers and to view the series, visit

www.weho.org/wehosounds.

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LOS ANGELES

6.18.2021 – 7.2.2021

Pride Poets’ Corner: Featuring Nate’Eya Kahsai Pride Poets’ Corner, curated by WeHo’s Poet Laureate Brian Sonia-Wallace, would like to spread the word about their upcoming poetry hotline event by showcasing several poets who will be a part of it.

From June 11th-13th poet Nate’Eya Kahsai will be one of several poets who will be part of the poetry hotline.

Poetry lovers can call to receive their own free custom poem from one of the Pride Poets.

This project is supported by a One City One Pride grant from the City of West Hollywood.

Kahsai is an acclaimed writer/director who fights for a wide range of voices in front of and behind the camera.

As a child, a debilitating stutter suppressed her voice. This all changed at age eight when a teacher handed her a pen. “Write a poem.” So she did. Her teachers and mother were blown away. Kahsai’s silent imagination found a voice. With her eye on the mic, she crafts and contributes to projects across platforms–as writer/director and poet.

A spirited By Nate’Eya Kahsai if she knew taking a stand would save us all she wouldn’t have tied her spirit up A my thighs rub By Nate’Eya Kahsai the prince took one look at my thighs and walked away his kiss a reminder of his one dimensional perception and my inability to fit in a box i had eaten the cookies, i had napped by the ocean, i had lounged with my feet up to the atmosphere i walk with tiara sparkling, music blazing, and thighs touching each stroke reminding me that I am everything A For more information visit pridepoets.com & @pridepoets.

To get a free custom poem between June 11th-13th call 202-998-3510.

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6.18.2021 – 7.2.2021

LOS ANGELES

WeHo One City, from page 1

in 2006, Kiduck’s work has been showcased

internationally. A licensed architect, with a

The artworks are made of high-density polyethylene and illuminated with energyefficient LED,” the City said.

Award winning architect and artist Kim explores the spectrums between art and architecture; digital fabrication; and handcrafted — man-made and natural, virtual and real — through geometric experimentations. Kiduck searches to find the underlying meaning of life by making the invisible visible. First prize winner of Baku International Architecture Award endorsed by the UIA (International Union of Architects), recipient of the Next Generation Design Leader awarded by the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and exhibitor at the Venice Biennale

master’s degree from the Graduate School

New Trans pride, from page 1

special Zoom dance party hosted by award-winning DJ Shane Ivan Nash (he/him). Beginning now and leading up to the three-day TPLA festivities, community members can share their artwork within the Community Gallery, which will be featured on the TPLA website and Instagram by using the hashtag #TPLA21.

The program for Friday, June 18, begins with a special Spanish-language panel discussion entitled Somos Familias Trans for families with trans loved ones.

The discussion will be followed by the Center’s community forum series Big Queer Convo with this year’s special guest, ACLU Deputy Director for Transgender Justice Chase Strangio (he/they). Strangio is the first trans individual to argue—and win—a case (Bostock v. Clayton County) before the U.S. Supreme Court. Lauded in 2020 as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by TIME, Strangio will discuss the state of the struggle for TGI/ ENBY+ rights and share inspiring stories of his ongoing efforts on behalf of his

is posted online at lalgbtcenter.org/ transpride.

“During this extraordinary time while we are still unable to meet in person, we are determined to bring our community together once again,” said TPLA organizer and the Center’s Manager of Trans Lounge & Education Empowerment Programs Gina Bigham (she/her). “Trans Pride L.A. has always felt like an annual family reunion—and we want to make that reunion happen.

The strength and resilience of our TGI/ ENBY+ community in the face of the ongoing pandemic, the continued violence against us, and the transphobic legislation being enacted nationwide— these things only strengthen our commitment to provide a platform to celebrate our true selves.”

Heading into its 22nd year, Trans Pride L.A. kicks off on Thursday, June 17, with a live panel discussion showcasing the underrepresented Intersex community.

The discussion will be followed by a

of Design at Harvard University, he honed

his skills while working at Zaha Hadid

Architects and Eisenman Architects, and,

together with Frank Gehry, ran a graduate program at UCLA.

Meringue is an Art on the Outside

project organized by the City of West Hollywood’s Arts Division, part of the

City’s Communications Department. The

Art on the Outside program installs rotating temporary artworks on the City’s medians and in parks. It is anticipated to be on display through July 2022.

community. He will be interviewed by Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Director of Advocacy and Mobilization Joey Hernández (they/them).

Immediately following Big Queer Convo will be a live, online community talkback session to share thoughts and perspectives.

On Saturday, June 19, TPLA honors Juneteenth with two exciting events highlighting the Black TGI/ENBY+ community. At Noon, Mirror Memoirs presents a “storytelling as advocacy” workshop centering the narratives, healing, and leadership of LGBTQ survivors of color in the movement to end child sexual abuse. At 3 p.m. a powerful panel discussion entitled Black Liberation Through Mutual Aid will explore how the Black TGI/ENBY+ community has taken charge of liberation on its own terms.

Saturday will culminate with the 7th Annual VarieTy Show, a fully-produced concert to be streamed live on the TPLA website. Hosted by Abdullah Hall (they/ them) (Artistic Director, Trans Chorus

of Los Angeles), this year’s edition will include new performances by Pink Foxx (she/her), Jaden Fields (he/him), Ty Deran (they/she), Abdullah Hall, Amir Levi (all pronouns), Coretta Simo Love Monk (she/her), Louis Reyes Chavez (he/they) and Samuel Petre (he/him), Gio Bravo (he/him), Dorian Wood (they/ them), the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles.

To accommodate guests from around the world, the Intersex, Somos Familias Trans, Black Liberation Through Mutual Aid panel discussions as well as Big Queer Convo and VarieTy Show will be streamed live on the TPLA website and on the Center’s Facebook and YouTube Channel. Closed Captioning is available in English for all events, and ASL and Spanish interpretation is available for select events (see TPLA website for details).

Presenting Sponsors of Trans Pride L.A. are Angel City FC and Heineken; Official Sponsor is the Happy Hippie Foundation; Supporting Sponsor is Gilead Sciences; and Media Sponsor is The FIGHT Magazine.

6.18.2021 – 7.2.2021

LOS ANGELES

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Shake Your cruising Groove Thing! IS BACK! From the majesty of Alaska or tropical ports in the Caribbean, to the stunning views in Greece, or the rivers in the USA, many cruises are now open for sailings in 2021.

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Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Senior Prom Featured in Short Documentary Streaming Now on PBS Voices The Los Angeles LGBT Center’s annual Senior Prom is the subject of a short documentary that will launch this week and stream on PBS Voices’ YouTube platform.

Directed by Luisa Conlon and produced by the queer, female-led production company Cousins, the 14-minute film, Senior Prom, follows a cast of older adults—all of whom are residents of the Center’s Triangle Square apartments in Hollywood. It chronicles their preparation for and attendance at the highly-anticipated Senior Prom, organized and hosted by the Center’s Senior Services Department.

“Senior Prom succeeds in capturing the magic and energy experienced by hundreds of our senior clients who feel free to express themselves—in every sense of the phrase—at this event,” said the Center’s Director of Senior Services Kiera Pollock, M.S.W. “From their impeccable attire and appearances to their zestful dance moves on the dance floor, it details the prom’s revelry as well as its more serious moments. The film conveys the trials and tribulations which some of our seniors endured in the early years of the LGBT movement.

Thanks to them, our LGBT community has progressed this far. Watch Senior Prom and be prepared to shake your groove thing!”

Filmed at the Pickwick Gardens in Burbank at the 2017 and 2019 proms, Senior Prom showcases the stories of three

trailblazing seniors: Nancy Valverde, a lesbian from East Los Angeles. Valverde was arrested more than a dozen times by the Los Angeles Police Department from the 1940s to the 1960s for “masquerading,” a law which criminalized the wearing of gender non-conforming clothing; Father Robert M. Clement, a revolutionary gay priest who came out at the 1970 Christopher Street Library Day March in New York and performed the first holy unions of LGBT couples in the Big Apple; and Andi Segal, a romantic who found love on the dance floors of Los Angeles’ lesbian bars of the 1960s after battling rejection from her mother.

“This film is an opportunity to celebrate the generations who paved the way for us,” said producer Jessica Chermayeff and director Luisa Conlon. “For so many LGBTQ+ young people, prom has been emblematic of a world they could not experience as their authentic selves.

As we begin Pride month, we hope the stories in this film can offer inspiration and hope after such a difficult year. We’re thrilled to feature the Center’s prom which empowers LGBT seniors with the freedom and excitement to take back the night they never had the chance to have and honors those who fought for the right to love, live, and dance openly.”

Following its premiere on PBS Voices, Senior Prom will screen at several film festivals nationwide, including AFI Docs Film Festival and the Provincetown International Film Festival.

For more information about Senior Prom, visit seniorpromfilm.com and follow @seniorpromfilm on Instagram and Twitter.

For more information about the Center’s Senior Services, visit lalgbtcenter.org/ seniors

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