Tag: louie a. ortiz-fonseca
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JOSE & LUIS XTRAVANGANZA
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in 1990, madonna was arguably the most popular performer on the planet. already known as the queen of reinvention by the time “vogue” was released in the spring of 1990, it was two latinx gay men from new york who would helped to not only make the visual for “vogue”…
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Throwback Thursday: Landing in Orlando
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july 29, 2016:angel said “there are rainbows everywhere.” i looked around and saw that we were in fact surrounded by rainbows. the site of the bright colors is moving. at first but then you remember these rainbows are not because rain but because immense lost and pain..yesterday, after landing in…
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The Songs I Loved: Sarah McLachlan’s “Adia”
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in 1998, my relationship with my younger brother nicholas was strained. we were so young (me 21 and he 18 years old) and on our own. looking back, i realize now just how much we carried on our young shoulders and how much of that prevented us from carrying each…
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The Songs I Loved: Concrete Blonde’s “Joey”
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my life is a perpetual music soundtrack. i remember all of the moments – no matter how trivial or traumatic – in song. my friends often joke that whenever i say, “i love this song!”, they know a story will follow. and they’re correct. music and pop culture are usually…
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CBS News New York Tweets HIV-Phobic Headline
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on this 8th day of the new decade that is 2020, cbs news New York tweeted a headline, in all caps i might add, that read in: “RELEASED AFTER HIV ATTACK: A judge has let a suspect back onto the streets after police at LaGuardia say the attacker spit into…
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The Quick & Living History Of How The Philly Pride Flag Came To Be
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on june 8, 2016, after making national news for the pervasive anti-blackness in the gayborhood, philadelphia unveiled their new official pride flag. what made this pride flag notable was that it included black and brown stripes. while it was celebrated by many, it also pissed off many gays who said…
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That Time A Sitcom Beautifully Handled HIV Disclosure
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tv shows have an unbalanced history with HIV storylines. while some shows have failed completely, others like “pose” have succeeded in developing HIV story arcs that effectively challenge HIV stigma. on this national women and girls HIV/AIDS awareness day, we remember the time that a UPN sitcom beautifully handled HIV disclosure.…
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Forgotten AIDS Episode of Forgotten 80’s Sitcom
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in the fall of 1989, i was a 12 year-old fem as fuck youth who hungered for any queer representation on tv when i discovered the groundbreaking sitcom, “brothers.” the show, which was the first weekly sitcom on cable, had just ended it’s five-year run showtime and was now finding…
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My Thank You To Pedro Zamora
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In 1994, a friend of mine (who we will call Lionel) asked me to accompany him to a clinic in West Philadelphia to get the results of his HIV test. Back then, HIV tests were not rapid – it took an entire week to get your results, a week of…
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That One Christmas My Friends Saved Me From Loneliness
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We didn’t grow up celebrating Noche Buena. My mother didn’t bake cookies and we didn’t drink coquito. Chyle, I didn’t even know what a Parranda was until I was well into my 20’s. My mother, who was essentially estranged from her family, didn’t have any traditions to pass down. So…
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Never Dreamed You Leave In Summer: Remembering a Love Named Rob
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his name was rob. he was 26. i met him in the bronxm4m aol chat room. it was 2005 and that was still a thing. his screen name was br0nxprynce. we connected immediately during our chat. dude was funny as hell. for a week, we chatted while i was at…