louie ortiz-fonseca

Songs That Soundtracked the AIDS Epidemic: Sylvester’s “Do You Wanna Funk”

sylvester was more than the beloved literal queen of disco, he was a prophet, a visionary, and a savior. literally.…

every year, just as pride season is about to kick off, the interwebs argue, fight and debate about who is…

in the early 1980s, boy george was one of the world’s most popular musical figures in the world. as lead…

dubbed the queen of paradise garage, notable 1980’s night club in new york, gwen guthrie scored her biggest hit when…

i have been mourning in my sleep lately. my grandmother, my mother, and dear my aunts janet and carmen have…

in january 1986, the CDC reported more people were diagnosed with aids in 1985 than all of the earlier years…

in the late 1980s, paula abdul’s popularity rivaled that of her contemporaries, janet jackson and madonna. paula had gone from…

by the late 1970s, homosexuality had been decriminalized in multiple states including iowa, nebraska and wyoming. with the hypervisibility of…

in 1987 the AIDS epidemic was still unfolding. it was still a death sentence. those living with HIV–who were still…

One Wednesday night in late summer 1994, I snuck out the house with my friend Hopey and drove my mother’s…

girl groups have long been around since the turn of the 20th century. from the boswell sisters who were hit…

today would have been my brother’s 40th birthday. growing up with mother struggling with addiction often meant that christmas and…