HOMENAJE: Tribute to Miguel Algarin, CHULO Undewear & Amer I Can by Ricardo Muñiz (Coquí Chulo)

HOMENAJE: A Tribute to Miguel Algarín

Sometimes you come across a new artist without fully grasping the full range of his or her work and the great affinity that exists between you and them! That happened to me in May when I met Ricardo Muñiz at the Loisaida Center during LoisaidaFest, where he was showing his fantastic HOMENAJE series. Little could I have imagined that he is also a major NYC gay scene photographer and video maker!

Ricardo's traveling exhibit HOMENAJE features a series of 17" by 11" horizontal posters celebrating outstanding Nuyorican figures, including legendary poet and founder of the Nuyorican Poet's Café Miguel Algarín, writers/poets Nicholasa Mohr, Dr. Nancy Mercado, Dr. Myrna Nieves and Jesús Papoleto Meléndez; opera singer Eva de la O; musicians Johnny Colón, Bobby Sanabria and Orlando Marín; artists Marcos Dimas and Nitza Tufiño; activists Teresa Santiago, Sery Colón and Jaime Estades; choreographers Merián Soto and Arthur Aviles; boxer Carlos Ortiz; and businesswoman and restauranteur Adela Fargas, owner of the legendary Casa Adela in NYC's Loisaida (Lower East Side).

Check out Ricardo's essay HOMENAJE: The Traveling Exhibit and a Tribute to Miguel Algarin in CENTRO Voices, where he tells a hilarious and sexy story about hanging out with our poet laureate Miguel Agarín! Ricardo's tale reminds us why all lovers of poetry with interests in gay and bisexual topics should go back and read Algarín!

Speaking about sexy, make sure to also see Ricardo's blog Coqui Chulo, which features a lot of his photography, including numerous images of models wearing CHULO underwear! You can even purchase CHULO Puerto Rican Flag Sport Boxers! Proceeds benefit community based organizations that help marginalized youth. Visit www.chulounderwear.nyc!

CHULO Underwear, Puerto Rican Flag Sport Boxer

Ricardo has also directed a video titled AMER I CAN, a fascinating counterpoint to Tato Laviera's AmeRícan. As the AMER I CAN's YouTube page indicates, "Puerto Rican poetic pride is celebrated in this work by Ricardo Muñiz. Come celebrate the real meaning of "I CAN" and the true diverse make up of our AMERICAN people as told poetically and rhythmically across the luscious landscape of skin. Edited by Joe Kavitski. Music by Jose Henriquez. Originally published in NEXT Magazine and originally performed by Sery Colon at the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance (BAAD!). Featuring in order of appearance: Rico King, Omar Mohran, Joe Kavitski, Marcos Soto, Carlos Sotelo, Tamala DeJesus, Cinderella Marin, Roman Anthony, Mariah Acevedo, and Neftaly Tejada." Enjoy!

Extramuros: Desbordes de lo homoerótico (Cuba)

Cubierta y contracubierta del número 38 de Extramuros: Desbordes de lo homoerótico
coeditado por Norge Espinosa Mendoza​ en Cuba. (Imagen: Eduardo Hernández)

Desbordes de lo homoerótico: Revista Extramuros número 38. En saludo al 28 de junio, Día del Orgullo Gay que conmemora la revuelta del Bar Stonewall Inn de New York que dio inicio a la batalla por el reconocimiento a los derechos de las personas homosexuales en 1969, la revista Extramuros presenta su número 38 con un dossier dedicado al tema “Desbordes de lo Homoerótico”.

La revista acoge un número de artículos y ensayos que repasan el estado del arte y la literatura cubana dedicada al tema del homoerotismo desde diversos puntos de vista. Víctor Fowler, Zaida Capote, una cronología sobre el tema preparada por Norge Espinosa, textos de Mae Roque, Félix Hangelini, Miguel Ángel Fraga y Yoandy Cabrera, entre otros; se combinan con la gráfica del pintor, grabador y fotógrafo Eduardo Hernández, sobre cuya obra ha escrito para esta entrega Claudio Sotolongo Menéndez. La revisión de los aportes del primer Curso de Literatura Cubana LGBT, organizado por Fowler y Espinosa en La Habana durante el 2014, apuntala varias de estas páginas.

La entrega, además, incluye en otra zona de la revista un homenaje al poeta Eliseo Diego, a 20 años de su fallecimiento, así como reseñas literarias y promoción del arte y la cultura en la capital. El número será presentado por la periodista e investigadora Martha María Ramírez, en la librería Alma Mater, (Infanta esquina a San Lázaro, Ciudad de La Habana, Cuba) el sábado 27 de junio a las 2 de la tarde.

Lola von Miramar, Arroz con Pollo, Feb. 7, 2015

AND IT'S A WRAP!

Filming the Feast of Fun's Cooking with Drag Queens: How to Make Arroz con Pollo episode for season one! Make sure to subscribe to their YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/user/feastoffun.

A Weimar Portrait of Lola von Miramar by Otto Dix (1926)

An early Weimar portrait of Lola von Miramar. Hallucination inspired by #CantBelieveYouRalph (@rrraaalllppphhh) aka A. R. “Ralph” Vázquez-Concepción. Any resemblance to Sylvia von Harden is purely intentional.

Chicago-Rican Jíbaros Cooking Up a Storm with Lola von Miramar

How fun! Marc Felion and Fausto Fernós from the Feast of Fun had a blast cooking arroz con pollo (rice with chicken) with the ever charming Puerto Rican drag queen Lola von Miramar (that's me!)! Check out our video on YouTube here. You will learn a little bit about Lola's history, visit Larry La Fountain's apartment, and see Fausto and Marc prepare a variety of dishes, including a nice sautéed peas dish to accompany your main course. Make sure to tell your friends about this episode and about the Cooking with Drag Queens series (Season 1), which includes videos with Dixie Lynn Cartwright (how to make meatloaf), Trixie Mattel (tofu pad thai), Shea Couleé (pulled pork enchiladas with salsa verde sauce), Kim Chi (bibimbap), Trannika Rex (fried chicken fingers), and Darienne Lake (donut burgers)! Make sure to subscribe to the Feast of Fun YouTube channel: YouTube.com/FeastOfFun! And watch out for our upcoming Feast of Fun podcast where we spill the tea about the making of our arroz con pollo video! (FOF #2182 In the Kitchen with Lola von Miramar)

Una lucha, muchas historias. Parada de Orgullo Gay San Juan (2014)

Parada de Orgullo Gay San Juan (2014): Nuestra Belleza Gay

¡Magnífica crónica y tremendas fotos! En "Una lucha, muchas historias. Parada de Orgullo Gay San Juan (2014)" (publicado en Estruendomudo y 80 grados) Manuel Clavell Carrasquillo captura la complejidad y heterogeneidad de la parada, las diversas motivaciones para participar en ella, las agendas divergentes y contradictorias, las tensiones de la realidad puertorriqueña. La parada es un espacio de democracia, de solidaridad ciudadana y de amig@s y Manuel plasma esto con su lenguaje barroco, lleno de metáforas atinadas y de sátira multilingüe. Las fotos de Herminio Rodriguez capturan la mezcla alucinante de personajes y ambientes, el contexto urbano marcado por la belleza de la costa y el agua, la idiosincrasia y creatividad que reluce, el verdor de la flora, las carrozas y los vestuarios, la omnipresencia del arcoíris. Gracias por el análisis y por el deleite de la palabra y de la imagen.

Cooking w/ Drag Queens - Lola Von Miramar - Arroz Con Pollo (Rice with Chicken)

YOUTUBE VIDEO

Lola von Miramar (photo: Fausto Fernós for the Feast of Fun,  2015)

Cooking with Drag Queens, Season One: How to Make Arroz Con Pollo with Lola von Miramar

Lola von Miramar, ADÁL, 2015

Lola von Miramar, ADÁL, 2015

Lola von Miramar Jumps, ADÁL, 2015

Lola von Miramar Jumps, ADÁL, 2015

Lola von Miramar on Cooking with Drag Queens Season 1

Lola von Miramar on Cooking with Drag Queens

Stay tuned for an upcoming shelarious video with the one and only Puerto Rican drag queen personality Lola von Miramar, to be released this week on the Feast of Fun's YouTube channel! Watch Lola, Marc Felion and Fausto Fernós prepare arroz con pollo, a delicious Caribbean-inspired rice and chicken dish and learn about Lola's life! Also remember to follow Lola on Facebook and Twitter!

Fausto Fernós and Marc Felion are the creative team behind Feast of Fun, a podcast recorded in Chicago five times a week since 2005. They have released over two thousand podcasts. In 2010 they invited Lola von Miramar (Larry La Fountain-Stokes) to record their first "Cooking with Drag Queens" video, in which they made tostones. They have gone on to record over 15 more Cooking with Drag Queens episodes, including launching a series in 2015 featuring nationally-renown and leading Chicago performers. Consider purchasing some Cooking with Drag Queens merchandise on the online Feast of Fun store!

Congreso de Literatura Queer en la Universidad de Puerto Rico, Carolina

25th Annual LGBT Pride March in San Juan, Puerto Rico!

San Juan, Puerto Rico LGBT PRIDE 2015: June 7

San Juan (Puerto Rico) will be celebrating its twenty-fifth annual LGBT Pride Parade on Sunday, June 7, 2015, starting at 10am at the Parque del Indio in Condado and marching to the Parque del Tercer Milenio at the Escambrón. Join us!

Movimiento LGBTT en Puerto Rico: Estrategias para la Resistencia

El suplemento cultural En Rojo le dedica su portada esta semana al artículo de Olga Orraca-Paredes titulado "Movimiento LGBTT en Puerto Rico: Estrategias para la Resistencia", que fue la ponencia que Olga leyó en el congreso de la Asociación de Estudios Latinoamericanos (LASA).

Resumen en inglés:

Panel on The Intersection of Queer Artists, Activists, and Scholars in Puerto Rico (Salvador Vidal-Ortiz, Session Organizer) held at LASA Conference, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 2015.

The Political and Social Advances and Setbacks of the LGBTT Movement in Puerto Rico: Revising Strategies for Resistance. (Olga Orraca-Paredes)

Taking into account the national and international historical context, we will discuss the LGBTT movement in Puerto Rico, both its setbacks and challenges. We will share the experience of the country that lives in so much contradiction politically as much as socially. The recognition and respect for diversity are trapped in this reality. Puerto Rico, a country with Latin American and Caribbean identity, but a political and economic relationship with the United States for more than a century, as a colony, has an organized LGBTT movement that is 40 years old. This movement has responded to the particularities of our country and the wider context in which we are located (social, economic, political, and patriarchal systems). Our communities have been organized around the needs identified in each moment, from the experiences for those who call upon us, and responding to the diversity of people, visions, and strategies. We will examine the challenges and reflect on the advances and setbacks that present themselves in this battle for equity from a human rights approach and its relationship with diverse social movement. The reflection will be framed by taking a look across the intersection of identities and the recognition of diversity within and outside the LGBTT communities.

25ta Parada de Orgullo LGBTTIQ