Metrosource - February/March 2019

APRIL/MAY 2019 METROSOURCE

METROSOURCE

RETURN TO OZ

UNSEEN AUSTRALIA

WINE ABOUT IT

IN PORTUGAL, SPAIN & FRANCE

AMERICA’S GAY

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

APRIL/MAY 2019

TIM GUNN LEAVES THE RUNWAY

TRAVEL

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WEEKEND ESCAPES FROM NY AND LA

Something is brewing...

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CONTENTS

April/May 2019 | VOLUME 30, NO. 2

42 28 WEEKENDERS IF YOU NEED A GETAWAY BUT DON’T HAVE A LOT OF TIME,

we’ve gathered eight great destinations that are an easy jaunt from either Los Angeles or New York City.

36 MAKING LANGUAGE CLIC THEY SAY NOTHING HELPS YOU LEARN A LANGUAGE LIKE

total immersion. We sent one of Metrosource’s own to test the hypothesis in sunny southern Spain.

38 RETURN TO OZ

46

YOU’VE SEEN THE SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE. NOW RETURN TO

42 GRAPE EXPECTATIONS A GAY MAN PRANCES THROUGH PORTUGAL, SEEKS OUT

surprising flavors in Spain, and ends up in a part of France where the scent of wine fills the air.

38 ON THE COVER PHOTO BY SCOTT MCDERMOTT

46 TIM GUNN’S NEW YORK AS HE MOVES ON FROM HIS STAR-MAKING RUN ON PROJECT

Runway, quintessential New Yorker Tim Gunn takes us on a virtual tour of a perfect day in Manhattan.

THIS PAGE: TIM GUNN PHOTO BY BARBARA NITKE - LIFETIME

experience Australia’s lesser-visited locales to see a whole new side of Down Under.

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VIEWS

PUBLISHER Rob Davis ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Evelyn Vayner EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Paul Hagen

band) Justin and I planned a much needed long weekend away in Nova Scotia. However as the date approached, I had a sore throat that just would not quit.

When I went to the doctor, the verdict was likely strep throat. They sent me to pick up a prescription for antibiotics at a nearby pharmacy. When I arrived, the pharmacy’s computer system had gone haywire and couldn’t process my order. With little time to catch our flight, I pleaded with the pharmacists. They took pity on me and sent me on my way with a Zpak.

We had left our schedule for the first day mostly open to get a feel for the city, but I couldn’t make myself get out of bed. I recall HGTV blaring as I slipped in and out of consciousness.

With copious cold medicine, I rallied by dinner time — enough to limp my way through a walking tour of local restaurants. Though a Thai soup we encountered offered some soothing, I was still suffering and wondering when the antibiotics would kick in.

The next day was dedicated to visiting local landmarks with “Open Top Tours” (so named for ferrying guests about in Jeeps.) Our guide sported both a jovial attitude and some truly impressive mutton chops. Justin chatted with him amiably, while I spent most of the day shivering in the back seat. Occasionally I would clamber out to look at a local landmark like the storied lighthouse at Peggy’s Cove. I tried to find a positive attitude, but I felt terrible.

After that torturous day, I was not looking forward to the next. We’d be heading even further afield on a tour of local wineries. As it was a group outing, I feared having to make small talk with fellow tourists. However, I had underestimated the miraculous effects of mixing wine and cold medicine. By the second winery, I was cracking jokes with the other couples. At our last stop, a bucolic wonderland known as “Tangled Garden,” I even posed for some rather hilarious photos. I only partially remember doing this.

By the time we headed out for our end-of-trip dinner that night, I was hopeful the worst of the illness was finally behind me. Yet as we made our way through the tasting menu, the potent cocktail of wine and cold medicine began wearing off. Plus, there was a new symptom: An unpleasant rumbling in my middle that seemed to be saying,“You took much medication.

You pushed yourself too hard. And now you will be punished.”We informed our waitress that we’d be skipping our final course and set off for an almost entirely uphill walk back to the hotel. What can I say, reader? I almost made it back with my dinner and my dignity in tact.

By the time we got back to New York, my voice was nearly non-existent and my throat was constantly on fire. I was in so much pain, I couldn’t even sleep. My doctor’s office called to see how my antibiotics were working. In response to my croaked explanation, they informed me that a Zpak is rarely effective for strep throat. I would need to be on a much stronger antibiotic immediately. It would be weeks before I felt anything close to normal.

When I think back on that trip, it’s like trying to remember a dream. Even amidst the worst of it, there were some moments that brought me joy. I remember — during that first rough day in the hotel — how every designer on HGTV seemed to be building a pergola. I’d never heard of these intriguing little garden structures before and for some reason found the word bizarrely amusing. Even as I struggled through our “Open Top Tour” day, Mr. Mutton Chops played a favorite local sea shanty called “Barrett’s Privateers”; I’ve loved it ever since.

Most importantly, what I remember is Justin’s kindness throughout. He didn’t know I was on the wrong antibiotics and getting sicker. He couldn’t feel how the cold medicine was providing so little relief while making me feel increasingly bonkers. But he listened patiently, held me through the shivers, and never complained that my illness was ruining his vacation. I don’t ascribe to the belief that some all-powerful being sends hard times to test us. But being down and out in Nova Scotia proved Justin was the travel buddy I’d always want by my side. ■

EDITOR’S LETTER

A FEW SUMMERS AGO, MY THEN-BOYFRIEND (NOW HUS-

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DEPARTMENTS TRAVEL

April/May 2019 | VOLUME 30, NO. 2

28

56 CULTURE 6 METROSCOPE The Met Gala camps it up, GLAAD’s got Madge, Fosse/Verdon dances onto screens, and Crazy ExGirlfriend takes a bow.

15 FINANCE Is travel insurance worth it?

20 SCREEN Sauvage, Giant Little Ones and Wild Nights with Emily spotlight sexuality.

24 MUSIC Who’s coming to Coachella?

26 TECH

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Innovations that will change the way you drive.

34 BOOKS Tiki surprise, supersonic style and mid-century modern.

BODY 50 METRO HIV Philadelphia’s screenwriter stands up to critics.

52 HEALTH Apps that make you go om.

VIEWS 27 GAY VOICES Why we need Black Pride.

33 DIARY Determined to get up-close with the Mona Lisa, Wade engages in crowd control.

51 POV What Texas taught one gay man about finding the best (and worst) in other people.

56 LAST CALL Could a gay Indiana mayor win the White House?

THIS PAGE: CARDI B COURTESY ATLANTIC RECORDS • GIANT LITTLE ONES COURTESY VERTICAL ENTERTAINMENT • SIMPLY DIVINE IMAGE COURTESTY LOS ANGELES LGBT CENTER

24

Getting Together with PEOPLE ON JANUARY 15, METROSOURCE GATHERED

Dixon, Blogger Kenneth Walsh from Kenneth in the 212, community leader Leo Preziosi, Jr., and Dr. Evan Goldstein. “People We Love” was co-sponsored by Red Bull, Israel Ministry of Tourism, HealthSherpa, NY State Department of Health’s “Undetectable = Untransmittable,” and Entertainment Cruises. Learn more at Metrosource.com/peoplewelove, see photos at facebook.com/Metrosource, and watch Don Lemon speak at Metrosource.com/videos. ■

LOVE

THIS PAGE: PHOTOGRAPHY BY FRANK ROCCO AND ILOVEPHOTOS2

at 48 Lounge in Manhattan with fabulous fellow members of the LGBTQ community to salute our annual list of “People We Love.” Highlights of the evening included an inspiring speech by honoree Don Lemon, Tina Burner accepting the “slay-letto” award for “Legendary NYC Drag Queen We Love” and appearances by fellow honorees — including author Michael Musto, NYC & CO’s Fred

METROSOURCE.COM APRIL/MAY 2019

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THE MET GOES CAMPING CAMP IS DEFINED AS BEING “DELIBERATELY EXAGGERATED AND

theatrical in style, typically for humorous effect.” It’s long been a term applied to a number of LGBTQ-related aesthetics — on stage, on screen, and off. This year, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is celebrating and exploring the influence of camp on fashion with the exhibition Camp: Notes on Fashion.

If that alone were not enough to tempt you, it will also be the theme of the May 6 Met Gala, co-chaired by fashion forces Lady Gaga, Alessandro Michele, Harry Styles, Serena Williams and Anna Wintour. According to the Met,“The Costume

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From Left: Ensemble, Virgil Abloh (American, born 1980) for Off-White c/o Virgil Abloh. (Italian, founded 2013), pre-fall 2018; Ensemble, Alessandro Michele (Italian, born 1972) for Gucci. (Italian, founded 1921), fall/winter 2016–17

Institute’s spring 2019 exhibition will explore the origins of the camp aesthetic and how it has evolved from a place of marginality to become an important influence on mainstream culture.”Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay Notes on ‘Camp’ provides a framework for the exhibition, which examines how fashion designers have used their métier as a vehicle to engage with camp in a myriad of compelling, humorous and sometimes incongruous ways.”Even if you can’t score a ticket to the gala, you’ll be able to take in the fabulous fashions on display starting May 9. metmuseum.org

this page: ensemble, Virgil abloh (american, born 1980). for off-White c/o Virgil abloh (italian, founded. image courtesy of the metropolitan museum of art, photo © Johnny dufort, 2018 • ENSEMBLE, ALESSANDRO MICHELE (ITALIAN, BORN 1972) FOR GUCCI. (ITALIAN, FOUNDED 1921), FALL/WINTER 2016–17. IMAGE COURTESY OF THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, PHOTO © JOHNNY DUFORT, 2018

METROSCOPE CURATED BY PAUL HAGEN AND SEBASTIAN FORTINO

METROSCOPE CULTURE

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ART BEAT

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EAT UP

SIMPLY DIVINE WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU COMBINE A CELEBRATION OF FOOD

this page: simply DiVine images courtesy los angeles lgBt center • THIS IS US BY ANNIE LIEBOVITZ COURTESY NBC

and beverages with some of Los Angeles’ most fabulous LGBTQ people and our allies? Simply diVine! The premier food and wine event for queer people (and those who love us) returns April 27 at the always-memorable venue Hollywood Forever. Simply diVine provides samples of extraordinary food and drink from LA’s most popular restaurants, food trucks, wineries, distilleries, breweries, juicers, coffee roasters and more.”Foodies are sure to rejoice at the names of this year’s food and beverage partners,

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which include Bourbon Steak, Gracias Madre, hinoki & the bird, Hock + Hoof, Huntington Dining, Lovely Eats, Rossoblu, Salazar, PRP Wine International, Seedlip Drinks and Tequila Partida. Although the festivities are set to begin at 6pm, VIP ticket holders can get a jump on sips and nibbles starting at 5pm. Proceeds from this succulent event support the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s life-changing and life-saving programs and services — contributing to a 50-year-old institution that serves LGBTQ people throughout Los Angeles. simplydivinela.org

GOOD THING

GLAAD TO BE 30 WHAT A YEAR FOR ANNIVERSARIES! EVEN AS THE STONEWALL RIOTS

turn 50 in June, the GLAAD Media Awards turn 30. As in years past, there will be a party on both coasts. The first one (in LA) takes place March 28th at the Beverly Hilton, where Sean Hayes will be recognized in an evening augmented by appearances from The Good Place’s Jameela Jamil, Crazy Rich Asians star Nico Santos, Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds and the cast of Netflix’s Queer Eye. Then, on May 4 at the New York

Hilton Midtown, another ceremony will recognize Madonna for her work as an advocate for the gay community since the 1980s. In addition, both ceremonies will recognize films, television series, musicians, journalists and other sources of media for their representations of the LGBTQ community. Last year’s honorees included NBC’s This Is Us (pictured), Sony Pictures Classics’ Call Me By Your Name, and CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360˚. Who will win this year? Stay tuned. glaad.org METROSOURCE.COM APRIL/MAY 2019

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IMPORTANT FACTS FOR BIKTARVY®

This is only a brief summary of important information about BIKTARVY and does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your condition and your treatment.

(bik-TAR-vee)

MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT BIKTARVY

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF BIKTARVY

BIKTARVY may cause serious side effects, including:

BIKTARVY may cause serious side effects, including: } Those in the “Most Important Information About BIKTARVY” section. } Changes in your immune system. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections.

Tell your healthcare provider if you have any new symptoms after you start taking BIKTARVY. } Kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do blood and urine tests to check your kidneys. If you develop new or worse kidney problems, they may tell you to stop taking BIKTARVY. } Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat. } Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain. } The most common side effects of BIKTARVY in clinical studies were diarrhea (6%), nausea (6%), and headache (5%).

} Worsening of Hepatitis B (HBV) infection. If you

have both HIV-1 and HBV, your HBV may suddenly get worse if you stop taking BIKTARVY. Do not stop taking BIKTARVY without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to check your health regularly for several months.

ABOUT BIKTARVY BIKTARVY is a complete, 1-pill, once-a-day prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in adults. It can either be used in people who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before, or people who are replacing their current HIV-1 medicines and whose healthcare provider determines they meet certain requirements.

BIKTARVY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. HIV-1 is the virus that causes AIDS. Do NOT take BIKTARVY if you also take a medicine that contains: } dofetilide } rifampin } any other medicines to treat HIV-1

BEFORE TAKING BIKTARVY Tell your healthcare provider if you: } Have or have had any kidney or liver problems,

These are not all the possible side effects of BIKTARVY. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking BIKTARVY.

including hepatitis infection. } Have any other health problems. } Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if BIKTARVY can harm your unborn baby.

Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while taking BIKTARVY. } Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed.

Do not breastfeed. HIV-1 can be passed to the baby in breast milk.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.FDA.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with BIKTARVY.

HOW TO TAKE BIKTARVY

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take:

Take BIKTARVY 1 time each day with or without food.

} Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-the-

counter medicines, antacids, laxatives, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist.

} BIKTARVY and other medicines may affect each other.

Ask your healthcare provider and pharmacist about medicines that interact with BIKTARVY, and ask if it is safe to take BIKTARVY with all your other medicines.

Get HIV support by downloading a free app at

MyDailyCharge.com

GET MORE INFORMATION } This is only a brief summary of important information

about BIKTARVY. Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more.

} Go to BIKTARVY.com or call 1-800-GILEAD-5. } If you need help paying for your medicine,

visit BIKTARVY.com for program information.

BIKTARVY, the BIKTARVY Logo, DAILY CHARGE, the DAILY CHARGE Logo, KEEP CREATING, LOVE WHAT’S INSIDE, GILEAD, and the GILEAD Logo are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. Version date: December 2018 © 2019 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. BVYC0102 01/19

KEEP CREATING.

Because HIV doesn’t change who you are.

BIKTARVY® is a complete, 1-pill, once-a-day prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in certain adults. BIKTARVY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS.

Ask your healthcare provider if BIKTARVY is right for you.

To learn more, visit BIKTARVY.com.

Please see Important Facts about BIKTARVY, including important warnings, on the previous page and visit BIKTARVY.com.

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TOUR THING

our world. Her delivery of a rafter-shaking “The Wizard and I” at A Very Wicked Halloween (pictured) got us all hungry for more from the nimble-voiced diva. Then came her latest collection of tracks — thank u, next — which broke streaming records both for any pop album and for any female artist ever. Now, her Sweetener World Tour is bringing the little lady with the big voice to fans in person. It’ll kick off with late March dates in Albany, Boston, Buffalo, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Cleveland and at Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun arena. April sends her up into Canada for dates in Montreal and Toronto before she dips back into the U.S. for dates in Detroit and a headline spot at Coachella. May sees Grande wend her way down the West coast, with three LA stops (two at the Staples Center and one at The Forum). Then she’ll head east for dates in Nevada, Arizona, Texas and Oklahoma before finishing the month of May in Florida (and heading north in time to help celebrate World Pride in NYC).

Get tickets and more online. arianagrande.com

THE GRANDE TOUR

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SCREEN IT

THE HUSTLE IF WE LEARNED ANYTHING FROM PAUL FEIG’S DARINGLY QUIRKY

remake of Ghostbusters, it’s that nothing brings out the worst in internet trolls like a female-centric reimagining of a classic comedy. So it seems daring, indeed, that MGM would roll the dice on giving a similar twist to Dirty Rotten Scoundrels — the beloved 1988 film that saw Michael Caine and Steve Martin playing con men on the French Riviera. This new film, The Hustle (originally called Nasty Women) has a decided air of

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METROSOURCE.COM

female empowerment. It features Anne Hathaway stepping into the Caine role of a higher-end con artist, while Rebel Wilson steps into Martin’s broader comedic shoes. LGBTQ fans should note that Hathaway has been a tireless and vocal supporter of the gay community (including her openly gay brother), and Rebel Wilson recently insisted that her gay BFF in rom-com Isn’t It Romantic be played by *gasp* an actual gay actor. Get hustled May 10. mgm.com

this page: the hustle photo Christian BlaCk Courtesy MgM • ariana grande By eriC lieBowitz Courtesy nBC

CULTURE

METROSCOPE

LATELY IT SEEMS LIKE ARIANA GRANDE CAN’T STOP ROCKING

Crazy ex girlFriend april 5, we Bid a sad Farewell to the Cw’s CritiCal darling

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Over the course of its five seasons, the musical dramedy served up special appearances by such divas as Patti Lupone and Tovah Feldsuh, sexy shirtless guys, memorably hilarious tunes, deliciously high camp drama and its fair share of LGBTQ representation. The good news is that the show is going out with a bang. The Yes, It’s Really Us Singing: The ‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’ Concert Special! will air (immediately following the

Arlequn Assisi, 1901, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Ankauf Herr und Frau John L. Loeb, Schenkung 1960.

this page: VinCent rodriguez iii and sCott MiChael Foster By eriCa parise For the Cw • arlequn assisi, 1901, the Metropolitan MuseuM oF art, ankauF herr und Frau John l. loeB, sChenkung 1960.

Jpg-ForMat (3.464 kB). 1854 x 2500 pixel. © suCCession piCasso / 2018, prolitteris, züriCh Foto: © 2017. the Metropolitan MuseuM oF art / art resourCe / sCala, Florenz

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FACT CHECK series finale airs) at 9pm. The concert special will feature series co-creator Rachel Bloom and the cast of the critically acclaimed series performing live versions of fan-favorites along with full production staging, multimedia visuals and a live band and orchestra. And they’ll have plenty to choose from: The songwriters of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend have written over 150 tunes for the series, which has also spawned the Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Live Tour and talks of a possible theatrical adaptation. cwtv.com

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INK SPOTTED

period pieCes

iF you adMire the work oF paBlo piCasso, you May want to

put Switzerland on your travel itinerary this spring. In February, the Foundation Beyeler launched one of the most comprehensive exhibitions of the Cubist master’s early work. His“Blue and Rose Period” catalogues the artist’s early works — assembling at the foundation’s museum in Basel. If you can’t make it to the Alps before the exhibition closes in late May, you can experience it through The Early Picasso: The Blue and the Rose Period(Hatje Cantz, $85). This tome features 300 pages with 171 color illustrations of the paintings, drawings and sculptures on display. The Blue Period covers the years Picasso spent bouncing between Barcelona and Paris with his color hues capturing the suffering of those living on the fringes of society. His Rose Period, which began in 1905, coincides with his finally settling in Paris. This captures a different feeling altogether: his portraits of circus artists, jugglers, harlequins and other performers impart an artistic dignity to these performers, who were often regarded as outsiders. These works would eventually develop into what we now know as the master’s signature form: Cubism. hatjecantz.de METROSOURCE.COM APRIL/MAY 2019

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CIRCUIT SHAKERS

LOOKING FOR GAY DESTINATION EVENTS THIS

spring? We’ve got a Pride, a white party, a ball and some leather for you to try on.

MIAMI BEACH GAY PRIDE APRIL 1–7 BOOK YOURSELF SOME DECO DIGS AND TAKE YOUR

MARK YOUR LGBTQ CALENDARS

CULTURE

METROSCOPE

DOES SOMEONE LOOK UP TO YOU? TALK TO YOUR FAVORITE YOUNG PEOPLE ABOUT WHETHER

they’re participating in the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education (GLSEN) Day of Silence this April 12th. The Day of Silence is “a student-led national event where folks take a vow of silence to highlight the silencing and erasure of LGBTQ people at school.” (glsen.org) May 17 is the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. The date is significant because it was on that day in 1990 the World Health Organization finally removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses. Organizers describe it as “A Worldwide Celebration of Gender & Sexual Diversities” which is now observed in more than 130 countries, including 37 where homosexuality remains criminalized and some 1600 events were reported by 1280 organizations. (dayagainsthomophobia.org) We recently mourned the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Harvey Milk. Now, May 22nd marks Harvey Milk Day on what would have been the activist’s 89th birthday. Consider taking time this holiday to read The Harvey Milk Interviews: In His Own Words. (milkfoundation.org)

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WHITE PARTY PALM SPRINGS APRIL 26–29 THE DADDY OF ALL CIRCUIT PARTIES IS TURNING

30 this year. The classic gay event has a multifaceted history, celebrated by veteran and new circuit party fans alike. Get out your finest white attire, and prepare for multiple events across a few different venues, especially the Hilton Hotel Pool and Convention Center. Dance the night (and day) away and be part of the legend that is The White Party. jeffreysanker.com SUPERBALL AMSTERDAM MAY 11

LISTEN UP

LIZ IS IT

pride to the beach. Nearly 200,000 people hit up the event, now in its ninth year. Expect international DJs, steamy go-go boys from Score, stages with live performers, LGBTQ and supportive vendors — all served with Miami spice and heat. miamibeachpride.com

PARIS ISN’T THE ONLY HOTSPOT THAT’S BURNING! TO LEAVE IT TO LIZZO: SHE TICKLED OUR FUNNY

bones while looking for her“Phone,”and empowered all kinds of beauty (including gender-non-conformity) with her video of “Good As Hell.” If you’ve been clamoring for more from this phenomenon, you’re in luck: April 19, she drops her new album, Cuz I Love You. Fans are already gagging over the title single, which recalls Lauryn Hill’s masterpiece, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, and a video that mixes in the sultry allure of Christina Aguilera’s “Ain’t No Other Man.” Lizzo has been center stage at many a Pride celebration, in addition to the landmark lesbian event The Dinah. However, she hasn’t definitively answered questions about her own orientation. “When it comes to sexuality or gender, I personally don’t ascribe to just one thing,” she told Billboard.“That’s why the colors for LGBTQ+ are a rainbow! Because there’s a spectrum.” Love that. lizzomusic.com

celebrate of all that is glorious European drag, get your tickets for Superball Amsterdam. “The competition is on fire, the battle is real,” proclaims one emcee. Judging by the video from last year’s event, she’s right. Superball offers an infectious blend of gay wit, hot beats, fierce lewks and a Euro-classy-trashy-kitschy vibe. superball-amsterdam.com INTERNATIONAL MR. LEATHER MAY 23–27 IF YOU LOVE LEATHER, MAKE SURE THAT YOU’RE IN

Chicago to greet the community’s new Master at the International Mr. Leather competition.

Of course, it’s the parties and events surrounding the competition which are the real draw for many guests. Such sponsors as Mr. S Leather, Sportlube, LeatherWerks and others want to ensure you and your crew have a wild time beginning with the Opening Ceremonies, the Leather Market, and culminating in the Black and Blue Ball. Look out for the Leather Bear Stampede, brand new for this year. imrl.com

Thispage: phoTo by krisTina flour on unsplash • lizzo courTesy nice life recording company/aTlanTic records

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NEXT UP

This page: sanTino fonTana in TooTsie, phoTo by roberT TrachTenberg • fosse/verson courTesy fX

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TV SET

and all This jazz in recenT years, fX has become known for iTs limiTed and

anthology series thanks to properties like American Horror Story, American Crime Story and Feud. Their latest will take a deep dive into the lives and stage collaborations of two indelible artists: Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon (Sam Rockwell and Michelle Williams). His singular approach to dance helped him redefine choreography and led to his emergence as a visionary filmmaker. Her unique voice and unflagging energy earned her a place in the pantheon of great Broadway performers. Fosse/ Verdon takes a look back through five decades of their lives.

Likely on display: How Fosse fueled his manic creativity with

drugs, alcohol and sex. Meanwhile, Verdon will topple from the top of the heap (winning an almost-unbelievable four Tony awards in six years) to struggling in an industry obsessed with youth. Expect much to be made of their symbiosis: his extraordinary vision that she helped to shape — largely uncredited — and how she became Fosse’s shining star as one of the very few performers who could live up to his standards. Other legends along for the ride include Paddy Chayefsky (Norbert Leo Butz), Neil Simon (Nate Corddry) and Hal Prince (Evan Handler. April 9, get ready for music. Get ready for dance. Get ready for passion — and All That Jazz. fxnetworks.com

STAGE ADVICE

drag To The fuTure

in 1982, dusTin hoffman Took on The role of an acTor

named Michael, who was so tired of fighting his reputation for being difficult that he decided to create a whole new identity, which lands him a job (and leaves him stuck living a double life). Now, the story comes to the stage in a new, musical comedy with a score by Broadway veteran David Yazbek of The Band’s Visit and The Full Monty fame. This time, instead of a attempting to land a job on a TV soap opera, Michael is angling for a part on Broadway. And instead of Hoffman in the role of Michael/Dorothy, we have Santino Fontana. Fontana was a fan-favorite love interest in early seasons of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and reviews of the show’s outof-town tryouts indicate that his vocal prowess and comic timing are put to even more impressive use in Tootsie. It’s likely the plot makeover from being a film about making TV to a stage show about making theater might also provide a boost, considering Broadway’s long-standing affection for shows about making shows (see: The Producers, Noises Off, 42nd Street, etc.) Tootsie previews begin March 29, and opening night is slated for April 23. tootsiemusical.com METROSOURCE.COM APRIL/MAY 2019

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Advertorial

Lexus: Leading Luxury Autos into the Future We went looking for the latest in luxury — from divine design to technological trends — and found them in the Lexus line.

BY CASEY WILLIAMS

W

hen Lexus debuted the LS 400 in 1990, the car set new standards for luxury – including quality, style, and technology – that set both German and American automakers back on their wheels. Since then, the brand has led luxury trends — introducing the first luxury crossover, the RX 300, in 1999, and leading the luxury hybrid market with the RX 400h, introduced in 2004.

And Lexus’ latest vehicles will continue to advance this tradition of luxury leadership.

For example, prior to the RX, SUVs were, essentially, trucks. Today, the RX is the benchmark in luxury crossovers and has been recently stretched to offer a third row of seats and an EPAestimated 30/combined MPG1 for the hybrid.

Lexus has also spread its ethos to a variety of sizes with the NX compact crossover and the 2019 UX sub-compact crossover.

Though it’s smaller, the first-ever Lexus UX is still big on luxury. Its beautiful NuLuxe®2 upholstery is inspired by Japanese quilting. In terms of highend technology, the vehicle comes stocked with Lexus Safety System+3, a comprehensive suite of active safety features standard on most new models*. This includes a pre-collision system4 that is designed to help recognize a pedestrian5.

Lane Departure Alert with Lane Keep Assist 6 and Dynamic Radar Cruise Control7 further enhance safety. Choose a 168 horsepower 8 four-cylinder or 176 horsepower 8 hybrid that has an EPA-estimated 39-MPG9 combined. Get the F SPORT version for a fun fling. MSRP starts at $32,00010. Move up to the NX starting at $36,38510 or the RX starting at $43,57010.

Hybrids are an integral part of the Lexus line: they offer hybrid versions of nearly every model, including the redesigned 2019 ES 300h. When it comes to a luxurious look, designers took cues from the sophisticated LS flagship sedan, including Lexus’ trademark “spindle grille” flanked by LED headlamps, detailed body sculpting, and wide LED taillamps. Interior comfort is amplified by available heated and ventilated seats, heated steering wheel, and Mark Levinson®11 audio. There’s also a gleaming, expansive dash that includes the clock and infotainment display, while a Remote Touchpad infotainment controller, head-up display, and Amazon Alexa12 compatibility add tech touches.

The ES 300h hybrid system has an EPA-estimated 44 combined- MPG13. MSRP starts at $41,41010.

At the top of the Lexus hierarchy are the artfully crafted LS sedan and LC coupe —

cars that maintain the brand’s leadership in style, efficiency and indulgence. Since the LS 400, Lexus models have evolved to meet new standards of luxury. Their designers have embraced Takumi Craftsmanship, featuring premium wood veneers, Kiriko cut glass, and a blending of leather and suede trim, and metal to create cabins that are rolling art galleries. Amazon Alexa12 compatibility and Wi-Fi™ help keep both drivers and passengers connected.

These vehicles are luxury trendsetters under the frame, as well. The LS goes forth with a 416 horsepower8 twin-turbo V6 engine connected to a 10-speed transmission. (It also has an even more advanced safety system, the LSS+ A3, available as an optional feature.) The hybrid version is powered

by Lexus’ unique multistage hybrid system, which creates a sportier driving experience, achieving both 354 net combined horsepower8 and 25/33-MPG city/highway14. The LC shares the LS’ architecture and hybrid system. MSRPs start at $75,30010 for the LS or $92,30010 for the LC. With new technological advances amazing us all the time, it’s difficult to predict the future of the automobile, but it’s evident from these new models that Lexus will keep on leading the way in luxury.

Photography this page courtesy of Lexus.

Lexus UX 200 shown in Atomic Silver // Options shown 1. 2019 Lexus RX 450hL (AWD) preliminary 31/city, 28/hwy, 30/comb mpg estimates determined by Lexus. EPA estimates not available at time of publishing. Actual mileage will vary. 2. NuLuxe is a registered trademark of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. 3. LSS+ and LSS+A drivers are responsible for their own safe driving. Always pay attention to your surroundings and drive safely. System effectiveness is dependent on many factors including road, weather and vehicle conditions. See Owner’s Manual for additional limitations and details. *Lexus Safety System+ is standard on all new models except GX. 4. The Pre-Collision System is designed to help reduce the crash speed and damage in certain frontal collisions only. It is not a collision-avoidance system and is not a substitute for safe and attentive driving. System effectiveness is dependent on many factors including road, weather and vehicle conditions. See Owner’s Manual for additional limitations and details. 5. The Pedestrian Detection System is designed to detect a pedestrian ahead of the vehicle, determine if impact is imminent and help reduce impact speed. It is not a collision-avoidance system and is not a substitute for safe and attentive driving. System effectiveness depends on many factors, such as speed, size and position of pedestrian or bicyclist and weather, light and road conditions. See Owner’s Manual for additional limitations and details.

6. Lane Departure Alert with Lane Keep Assist is designed to read visible lane markers under certain conditions when DRCC is engaged. It provides a visual and audible alert and slight steering force when lane departure is detected. It is not a collision-avoidance system or a substitute for safe and attentive driving. Effectiveness is dependent on many factors including road, weather and traffic conditions. See Owner’s Manual for additional limitations and details. 7. Dynamic Radar Cruise Control is designed to assist the driver and is not a substitute for safe and attentive driving practices. System effectiveness is dependent on many factors including road, weather and traffic conditions. See Owner’s Manual for additional limitations and details. 8. Ratings achieved using premium unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of 91 or higher. If premium fuel is not used, performance will decrease. 9. 2019 Lexus UX 250h (AWD) EPA 41/city, 38/hwy, 39/comb MPG estimates. Actual mileage will vary. 10. MSRP excludes delivery, processing and handling fee of $1,025, which may be subject to change at any time. Excludes taxes, title, license and optional equipment. Dealer price will vary. 11. Mark Levinson is a registered trademark of Harman International Industries, Inc. 12. Amazon, Alexa and all related logos are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Certain Alexa functionality is dependent on smart home technology.

Not all Amazon Alexa functionality is available for in-vehicle use. Always drive safely and obey traffic laws. Apps, prices and services vary by phone carrier and are subject to change at any time without notice. Subject to smartphone connectivity and capability. Data charges may apply.

13. 2019 Lexus ES 300h EPA 43/city, 45/hwy, 44/comb MPG estimates. Actual mileage will vary. 14. 2019 Lexus LS 500h (RWD) EPA 25/city, 33/hwy, 28/comb MPG estimates. Actual mileage will vary.

Should You Buy Travel Insurance?

You may not want to add to the cost of your next trip. But there are circumstances when spending saves the day. BY JENNIFER DAY WHETHER YOU’RE A CIRCUIT QUEEN HEADING TO AN INTERNATIONAL

• For cruises Cruises hit all the major areas where comprehensive travel insurance is most recommended. You’re likely committing to a big, up front payment; probably participating in international travel; and possibly facing additional complications at sea or on excursions. It’s wise to insure this type of vacation with a comprehensive plan.

The decision to buy travel insurance boils down to two major factors: • Financial risk: Are you worried about losing your money due to a canceled trip, an interrupted trip, a lost bag, a delayed trip, or an emergency medical expense?

• medical concerns: Are you traveling outside your home country, where your insurance from home won’t cover you in case of an accident or other health-related incidents?

TIME TO SKIP COVERAGE

Armed with the knowledge of what travel insurance is and what it covers, let’s discuss guidelines for why you might need it and when you can probably save money by skipping it all together:

STOCK PHOTO COPYRIGHT: DAMEDEESO

TIME TO GET COVERAGE • international trips As someone who is clumsy and accident-prone, I always worry about needing medical care in a foreign country. I’ve fallen in London. I was bitten by a spider in Spain. I had an allergic reaction in Singapore. In those instances, travel insurance saved me time and money. As I have learned, if something goes wrong in a faraway place, medical help may be difficult to come by — and it can be expensive, too. That’s when a comprehensive travel insurance policy can come in handy, by helping you avoid out-of-pocket expenses and providing peace of mind while you are watching your foot swell from spider venom.

Keep in mind that some people’s medical insurance (with the exception of Medicare) will pay “customary and reasonable” hospital costs abroad, especially if you’re in major city like London. But if you run into a serious issue, your bills can pile up pronto. Check with your insurance provider to understand your coverage.

• u.s. travel Travel within the U.S. is typically a less expensive up-front investment. Plus if you have medical insurance, you’re typically covered for any emergencies that occur. Double-check the fine print related to anything you might need to cancel, but experts generally recommend opting out of trip insurance for short trips within the U.S. • iF your credit card has you covered Some credit cards actually offer travel insurance as a perk. For example, the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card offers built-in trip interruption insurance that reimburses up to $10,000 per person if your trip is cancelled or cut short by situations that range from an illness to severe weather. The Citi Prestige and Citi ThankYou Premier cards also offer baggage and trip cancellation protection. So even if you are traveling outside the U.S., if your credit card’s coverage is thorough, you won’t need to purchase anything extra.

• For Flights It can be tempting to purchase trip cancellation insurance when a flight costs hundreds or thousands of dollars. But the basic policies are usually not worth your money to insure just your flight if you know your rights as a passenger. For example, if your flight is cancelled, you’re generally entitled to have the next available seat on the next available flight going to your destination. Having insurance is not going to make much difference in getting you re-booked faster.

culture

• Basic trip cancellation protection covers lost bags and provides reimbursements if you incur costs from missing a connection or a refund if you can’t travel because you’re sick or hurt.

• comprehensive travel insurance covers all that, plus any expenses related to medical or dental emergencies, disaster evacuations and even costs associated with accidental deaths.

FINANCE

White Party or a just-married lesbian couple en route to your honeymoon, chances are you’ll have the option to protect the money you’ve invested in planning your big adventure. But what exactly does travel insurance cover, and why would you need it?

Travel insurance can cover costs including medical expenses, trip cancellations, lost luggage, flight accidents and other unexpected expenditures. There are two main types of coverage:

Bottom line: Do your research. Check your medical insurance coverage. Learn your credit card perks. Consider if you are accident prone or if insurance will relieve anxiety. Then make your decision.

■ metrosource.com APRIL/MAY 2019

15

YOU MATTER AND SO DOES YOUR HEALTH

That’s why starting and staying on HIV-1 treatment is so important.

WHAT IS DESCOVY®?

DESCOVY is a prescription medicine that is used together with other HIV-1 medicines to treat HIV-1 in people who weigh at least 77 lbs (35kg). DESCOVY is not for use to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 infection. DESCOVY combines 2 medicines into 1 pill taken once a day. Because DESCOVY by itself is not a complete treatment for HIV-1, it must be used together with other HIV-1 medicines.

DESCOVY does not cure HIV-1 infection or AIDS. To control HIV-1 infection and decrease HIV-related illnesses, you must keep taking DESCOVY. Ask your healthcare provider if you have questions about how to reduce the risk of passing HIV-1 to others. Always practice safer sex and use condoms to lower the chance of sexual contact with body fluids. Never reuse or share needles or other items that have body fluids on them.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

What is the most important information I should know about DESCOVY? DESCOVY may cause serious side effects: • Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. DESCOVY is not approved to treat HBV. If you have both HIV-1 and HBV and stop taking DESCOVY, your HBV may suddenly get worse. Do not stop taking DESCOVY without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to monitor your health.

What are the other possible side effects of DESCOVY? Serious side effects of DESCOVY may also include: • Changes in your immune system. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections.

Tell your healthcare provider if you have any new symptoms after you start taking DESCOVY. • Kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do blood and urine tests to check your kidneys. Your healthcare provider may tell you to stop taking DESCOVY if you develop new or worse kidney problems.

• Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that

can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat.

• Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain.

The most common side effect of DESCOVY is nausea.

Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effects that bother you or don’t go away.

What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking DESCOVY? • All your health problems. Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you have or have had any kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis virus infection.

• All the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Other medicines may affect how DESCOVY works. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist.

Ask your healthcare provider if it is safe to take DESCOVY with all of your other medicines.

• If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

It is not known if DESCOVY can harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while taking DESCOVY. • If you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. HIV-1 can be passed to the baby in breast milk.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Please see Important Facts about DESCOVY, including important warnings, on the following page.

Ask your healthcare provider if an HIV-1 treatment that contains DESCOVY® is right for you.

IMPORTANT FACTS

This is only a brief summary of important information about DESCOVY and does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your condition and your treatment. ®

(des-KOH-vee) MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT DESCOVY

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF DESCOVY

DESCOVY may cause serious side effects, including: • Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. DESCOVY is not approved to treat HBV. If you have both HIV-1 and HBV, your HBV may suddenly get worse if you stop taking DESCOVY. Do not stop taking DESCOVY without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to check your health regularly for several months.

DESCOVY can cause serious side effects, including: • Those in the “Most Important Information About DESCOVY” section.

• Changes in your immune system.

• New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure.

• Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat.

• Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain.

The most common side effect of DESCOVY is nausea.

These are not all the possible side effects of DESCOVY. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking DESCOVY. Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with DESCOVY.

ABOUT DESCOVY • DESCOVY is a prescription medicine that is used together with other HIV-1 medicines to treat HIV-1 in people who weigh at least 77 lbs (35kg). DESCOVY is not for use to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 infection.

• DESCOVY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. Ask your healthcare provider about how to prevent passing HIV-1 to others.

BEFORE TAKING DESCOVY Tell your healthcare provider if you: • Have or had any kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis infection.

• Have any other medical condition.

• Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

• Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed.

Do not breastfeed if you have HIV-1 because of the risk of passing HIV-1 to your baby.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take: • Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist.

• Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medicines that should not be taken with DESCOVY.

GET MORE INFORMATION • This is only a brief summary of important information about DESCOVY. Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more.

• Go to DESCOVY.com or call 1-800-GILEAD-5 • If you need help paying for your medicine, visit DESCOVY.com for program information.

HOW TO TAKE DESCOVY • DESCOVY is a one pill, once a day HIV-1 medicine that is taken with other HIV-1 medicines.

• Take DESCOVY with or without food.

DESCOVY, the DESCOVY Logo, LOVE WHAT’S INSIDE, GILEAD, and the GILEAD Logo are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. All other marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. Version date: September 2017 © 2017 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. DVYC0085 11/17

THIS PAGE: PHOTOS COURTESY VIKTOR LUNA/AMFAR

YOU LIKELY RECALL VIKTOR LUNA FROM SEASONS NINE AND 13 OF PROJECT

Runway, where he sent bold, vibrant and edgy creations down the catwalk. But now the Los Angeles-based designer is steering a different kind of platform: as an advocate to end HIV and AIDS. Luna is part of amfAR’s online Epic Voices video campaign, a program unveiled last fall to raise awareness among millennials and LGBTQ communities. In one of a series of videos, Luna candidly shares his experience of learning in 2007 that he’s HIV positive, and how that discovery transformed his outlook on life.

“When I found out I was HIV positive, I had a second chance at living,” he says in one video, “and I was not going to put it to waste.”

Epic Voices aims to renew awareness of the threat of HIV, the urgent and ongoing need to support HIV research, and amfAR’s leadership in the search for a cure. Luna, activist Maria Mejia, and other influential members of the LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS community shared their unique experiences and insights on living with HIV. “We’re so grateful to Viktor for generously sharing his personal journey and helping educate others about HIV through our Epic Voices video series,” says Kevin Robert Frost, Chief Executive Officer of amfAR. “Viktor has since joined us at numerous amfAR events, and we are delighted to count him as a friend and ally in the fight against AIDS.” Luna, who was born in Mexico, says stigma about sex in the Latino community dissuaded frank discussion about such topics when he was young. He openly discusses how promiscuity led to his status while pursuing a fashion career in New York City.

Luna disclosed his status while competing on Season 13 of Project Runway All Stars. He was the second Project Runway designer to do so,

after designer Mondo Guerra. Luna did the same on camera — for all intents and purposes to the entire world. (Though he says the delay between taping and the air date gave him time to talk with his family.)

That revelation prompted others to confide their secrets in him, and also brought Luna closer to other designers, where he flourished.

“I felt free,” the artist says.“You start to find out in your own circle who’s going to be there, who’s going to support you. I do get people who are ignorant about the information. I don’t get mad. I take the opportunity to educate them.”

Last fall, around National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day in October, Luna helped raise awareness about HIV rates in Latino communities.

Hispanics/Latinos accounted for nearly a quarter of the more than 40,000 new diagnoses of HIV infection in the United States in 2015, and about 87% of those infected were men, according to the CDC. “A lot of times people don’t see the reality of what it is like to live with HIV,” Luna says.“My message is to live my life to the fullest in a positive way.”

“When you hear about the virus you automatically think of stigma, but when you put a face to the person who has the virus,” Luna explains,“you see the potential of a future living with HIV.” And Luna is still in the process of ramping up his activism. While he’s busy producing several collections a year, he’s also committed to continuing his work with amfAR.“I was very touched by their mission and wanted to be part of the story,” he says. It’s a story he hopes will conclude eventually with a chapter about the end of the epidemic.

“The beginning of it is ending the stigma,” Luna says. “It takes a community of all of us, and supporting each other no matter what. I am so happy to be part of this campaign, and this journey.”

■ METROSOURCE.COM APRIL/MAY 2019

METROHIV

Project Runway alum Viktor Luna famously revealed his HIV status on TV, but his journey toward raising awareness continues to unfold today. BY JEFF SIMMONS

BODY

DESIGNING AN EPIDEMIC’S END

19

BOTH SIDES NOW

CULTURE

SCREEN

One teenager turns against another after a fleeting homosexual encounter; a great author revels in her lost-to-history lesbian romance; and a hustler lavishes affection on others while remaining utterly unable to take care of himself. BY JONATHAN ROCHE

WRITER/DIRECTOR MIKE LEIGH IS SIMPLY ONE OF THE BEST. I

recommend you see all of his films (especially High Hopes, Naked, Secrets & Lies, Topsy Turvy and Another Year). One of Leigh’s greatest strengths is in composing stories of very high intellectual quality while also representing very ordinary people exceptionally well. He now follows up his biopic of Britain’s master ‘painter of light,’ Mr. Turner, with another dive into England’s past, one particularly relevant to the troubles of today. It refers to the “Peterloo Massacre” — a mash-up of St. Peter’s Field (where it took place) and the then-recent Battle of Waterloo. The film explores a 1819 event near Manchester where establishment thugs and the military attacked a peaceful assembly — including women and children — who had turned out to hear a speech about the need for labor reform. The incident occurred at the dawn of the industrial revolution, when the working poor were already being treated like annoyingly needy machines who were being asked to work harder in worsening conditions for increasingly less

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pay. But workers hungered for change. But rather than consider their needs, many of the rich thought it better to crush their spirits (lest they give an inch and lose a mile). Peterloo follows the ordinary working poor of Manchester and the reformers organizing them and speaking out for redress.

Loudest among them was Henry Hunt, the gifted orator who drew the especially large crowd on that bloody day.

Leigh portrays the working class as praiseworthy and decent, in contrast with the disconnected, uncompassionate and often cruel decadence of the rich.

The grossest example of the latter is an overfed and dribbling prince regent, played disgustingly well by Tim McInnerny (Notting Hill). The rest of the cast are too numerous and praiseworthy to mention, as Leigh’s films always draw into them the cream of England’s thespian crop. THE WORD: Historically true and unembellished, Leigh’s matter-of-fact style camouflages the brilliance of his cinematic craft. COMING TO: Theaters

THIS PAGE: PETERLOO PHOTO BY SIMON MEIN COURTESY AMAZON STUDIOS

PETERLOO

GIANT LITTLE ONES

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THE SCENE IS SET WITH 17-YEAR-OLDS AND SEXUALITY. FRANKY (JOSH

Wiggins - Max) and his best friend Ballas (Darren Mann - Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) are living a teenage dream. They’re handsome, popular, athletic, smart, kind, and they know how to have fun. But after having a blast at Franky’s birthday party, a drunken sleepover leads to an experience neither of them expected. Though we don’t see exactly what happens under the covers, we quickly see Ballas pulling away from his best friend, and then smearing Franky’s sexuality via the high school rumor mill in an attempt to protect himself. Ultimately, Ballas is caught in a classic example the prisoners dilemma, in which the only perceived safety for oneself lies in condemning someone else. What makes this movie worth seeing is how Franky handles his dilemma, which is both unpredictable and liberating. There are a few twists and turns I’d rather not spoil, but I do recommend taking the ride, as this film by freshman feature

director Keith Behrman has a lot to offer. The best reason why may be Josh Wiggins himself, who straddles the line between handsome and beautiful, all the while exuding decency and sensitivity from soulful eyes and a nearly constant, sublime smile. Darren Mann sports a lot of appeal as well; he’s more masculine and animal than Wiggins, but his performance is no less coordinated. The film also features the ever radiant Maria Bello as Franky’s mom, and Kyle MacLachlan as his father (a character who’s more than he first seems). Taylor Hickson (Deadly Class) is also strong, as another character with her own teenage-sex-problem to overcome and Niamh Wilson (Maps to the Stars) takes a nice turn as Franky’s funny lesbian friend. THE WORD: The title echoes HBO’s Big Little Lies, although here Ones seems to reference both young adults and lies. Either way, this film contains a potent message about youth and sexuality that many should receive. COMING TO: Theaters

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THERE ARE A LOT OF WELL-WORN CINEMATIC CLICHÉS THAT A FILM

about a terrorist attack could fall into. Hotel Mumbai tastefully avoids a lot of them, instead respectfully allowing heroism and horror alike to simply be what they are. The film wastes no time; opening on a small boat carrying the ten men from Pakistan who in 2008 gunned down and blew up 164 people at several locations around Mumbai. We follow them as they spread out, heading to their targets, listening to the voice of a man through earpieces as he instructs them and pumps up their murderous religious resolve. This device works well, and even though obviously fictionalized, the man’s words provide insight into the attackers, who come off as human even while unforgivable in their reckless cruelty. The bulk of the film centers on the siege at the Taj Hotel where an American (Armie Hammer - Call Me

by Your Name) and his Muslim wife Nazanin Boniadi (Homeland) struggle to protect themselves and their infant son. Despite what you might expect of a movie star, handsome Hammer does not find a gun and turn the tables, though Jason Issacs as a surly Russian millionaire does put up a fight. No, the heroes of this film are the hotel staff — like famed chef Hemant Oberoi (Anupam Kher - The Big Sick) and waiter Arjun (Dev Patel - Lion), who help the guests to hide from the gunmen instead of saving themselves by simply slipping out the back doors. Be aware that

the violence is pretty brutal in this film. There’s no torture, apart from the fear of death, but the filmmakers accurately capture how badly AK47s can tear up human flesh. Perhaps more disturbing than the blood is the callous way in which the attackers execute people that they have been programmed to believe are less than human. THE WORD: It’s a story of ordinary heroism and perseverance in the face of murderous ignorance with Dev Patel continuing to display his growing star quality. COMING TO: Theaters METROSOURCE.COM APRIL/MAY 2019

21

SUNSET bues Sunset with the same haunted and assaulting style as his exceptional film Son of Saul, which took home 2015’s Oscar for Best Foreign Language Picture.

This worked particularly well in Saul where the camera very closely follows a slave laborer in a Nazi concentration camp as he struggles to survive, physically, mentally and spiritually, moment by moment. In that severe setting the non-stop barrage of horrors and dangers constantly flung at the protagonist (and the audience) became a rollercoaster ride through Hell; It was brutal and dazzling filmcraft. In Sunset, a similar assault takes place, as tight camera work keeps viewers almost completely within the sphere of the protagonist’s view while hostile folk and confusing threats swirl around her. Írisz Leiter (Juli Jakab - Son of Saul) has returned to Budapest after spending most of her life in exile to seek employment at the famed Leiter’s hat shop once owned by her parents before their death in a fire. The mystery of Írisz’s past (including her parent’s deaths and the shadowy brother she never knew) are slowly revealed. They come to help explain why Írisz looks so incredibly haunted

and distant, and why so many of the people she meets, even in passing, regard her with icy contempt. Be prepared to not fully know what’s going on for at least 80 percent of the film. Despite this, it’s easy enough to glean that the troubles which will soon lead to the tragic outbreak of WWI are beginning to reach a boil throughout Europe. So prepare for another well-constructed rollercoaster ride.

Though some will find it a relief that it’s less grounded in Son of Saul’s instantly familiar context of the Holocaust, they may also feel the ride loses some intensity as one’s attention leaves the tracks to figure out where you are. THE WORD: The constant immediacy of events begins to seem a bit forced by the end, but this is still top tier and dream-like filmmaking. COMING TO: Theaters

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Ralph Fiennes only chooses projects he feels genuine passion for. His first film, Shakespeare’s Coriolanus, percolates with that passion, as well as fury and blood. It could not have been easy to adapt to film, nor is it easy to take in, but it is impressive. For his second feature, The Invisible Woman, Fiennes was drawn to another legendary author,

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Charles Dickens — less the man’s work than the man himself, and the decades-long extramarital affair that so eloquently underscores his rare humanity. For his third effort, The White Crow, Fiennes tackles another towering artistic figure, Russian ballet dancer Rudolph Nureyev.

But in this film, Fiennes takes a back seat as an actor, portraying only Nureyev’s sad-eyed dance teacher and leaving the lead acting role to an actual dancer. That’s something The White Crow does well — displaying at least a bit of the awesome, soaring power of dance.

Watching Oleg Ivenko (Nureyev) leap and spin might be reason enough to see this film. His angular face and intense blue-eyed gaze can captivate, and his acting is serviceable, even pretty decent. What seems lacking is the fact that the story leans too heavily on the oft-declared concept of Nureyev’s irrepressible artistic passion and a somewhat tepid dénouement in which he frantically defects from the Soviet Union before his KGB handlers can permanently lock him behind the iron curtain. The film doesn’t really fail in any distinct way, but some viewers may feel that its charms are not enough to satisfy. THE WORD: I salute Fiennes for his commitment to passion, to art, to accuracy and to artistic diligence (like actually speaking Russian in the film), but he may have been better served by departing from the truth like Nureyev defying gravity. COMING TO: Theaters

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CULTURE

SCREEN

HUNGARIAN DIRECTOR LÁSZLÓ NEMES IM-

WILD NIGHTS WITH EMILY IT’S A WIDELY HELD MISCONCEPTION THAT ICONIC AMERICAN

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poet Emily Dickinson was a loveless, sexless reclusive spinster who wrote depressing poetry about sadness and death. It is true that Dickinson never married and eschewed society, rarely leaving her family’s land. And, yes, her poetry often reads as bleak (though beautiful).

But the truth is the woman knew passion better than most can ever hope to. This was suggested by the title of 2015’s A Quiet Passion, in which Cynthia Nixon portrayed Dickinson in the long-suffering, somber way one would expect. An excellent film, it might serve as a complimentary pairing with the often bawdy humor of Wild Nights with Emily. Here, the delightfully quirky Molly Shannon fills the role just as well, although quite differently.

Shannon is perfect casting for this highly unusual and refreshing mix of comedy and period poetry, because Shannon is one of those rare actors who can make you laugh and cry at the same time. (2016’s Other People is a great example). Shannon’s Dickinson, and the choppy vignette-like composition of Wild Nights, operates under

light shed by Dickinson’s Sister-in-Law’s daughter’s 1914 book. That work revealed a long, passionate, loving affair between her mother Susan and Emily. Childhood friends long before they were sisters, the two were lovers for many years. In the film, their affair is represented as both beautiful and also full of comic human foibles. Although the dialogue and frequent voiceovers feel accurate to the period, you can also feel Shannon almost want to address the camera at times, like a character on TV’s The Office.

Playful is word that best describes this unique film, as Dickinson’s story finally ought to be. For only a person possessing such an ecstatic mind and true love of life could’ve written as she did. THE WORD: You’ve heard her gloomy words; now experience her wild nights! COMING TO: Theaters

3!56!'% IN THE OPENING SCENE, A YOUNG MAN GETS A DOCTOR’S EXAM THAT

he appears to badly need. He’s handsome but has visibly been living rough. As the attentive doctor probes his naked body, the exam quickly morphs into a ‘happy-ending’ scenario, followed closely by the revelation that the young man is a prostitute acting out a client’s detailed fetish. Next the young man is standing by a verdant stretch of highway dotted with other men like him, each sporting a suggestive stance and searching stare. Their alert, hungry eyes depict them as animals, not so much base as vibrantly alive, and always searching for a meal. The young man, Leo (Félix Maritaud - BPM), is drawn to reveal how he feels about Ahd (Eric Bernard), a hunky hustler just across the asphalt. However, Ahd rejects Leo’s affections in favor of an older sugar-daddy, and he urges Leo to do the same. Through writer/director Camille Vidal-

Naquet’s potent visual storytelling Leo is shown to be both a true lover and truly incapable of caring for himself. Maritaud embodies a captivating character of mysterious beauty. His palpable need for and generous expressions of human affection are utterly disarming. His choices like failing to see a real doctor for his chronic cough or drinking from a gutter puddle are distressing.

A portrait develops of a creature teetering on the edge, caught between settling and love, between the comfort of possession and the precarious wilds of freedom. THE WORD: The film is as visceral as its title (French for ‘wild’) suggests, capturing with magnetic intensity both the vagaries of human need and the graphic carnal realties of gay sex. Easily an early contender for one of 2019’s best gay films, and a landmark performance for Maritaud. COMING TO: Theaters METROSOURCE.COM APRIL/MAY 2019

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SHARON VAN ETTEN

Remind Me Tomorrow (Jagjaguwar Records) THE NEW YORK-BASED SINGER-SONGWRITER, INDIE DARLING AND

CULTURE

MUSIC

part-time actress returns with the most pop-driven release of her career. As Sharon tells it: “I wrote this record while going to school, pregnant after taking The OA audition. ... This record is about pursuing your passions.” Inspired by the likes of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds; Portishead, art-punk and avant-garde legends Suicide, Sharon Van Etten approaches themes including love and longing with an honest, albeit subtle approach. She also manages to sprinkle new idiosyncrasies into her signature sound. Sharon notably puts down her guitar for the bulk of Remind Me Tomorrow.

She’s replaced it with the sounds of synthesizers, a propulsive organ and a distorted upright piano. The result is glorious. Highlights include the menacing “Comeback Kid”; the wrenching Springsteenesque “Seventeen”; and the uplifting “Memorial Day.” Oh, and the album’s title is a reference to the kinds of update windows that often pop up on computer and phone screens. Sharon says that she found it oddly appropriate to these particular tracks.

INDIE DARLINGS XIU XIU

Girl with Basket of Fruit (Polyvinyl Records) ECCENTRIC, UNNERVING AND DOWNRIGHT MAGICAL, XIU XIU’S

latest release is another gem in their catalog. Fronted by queer prodigy Jamie Stewart (who also goes by Butch Jenny), Xiu Xiu’s experimentalism reaches new heights on their 11th full-length studio album. A response to the political chaos we’ve all witnessed in recent years, Girl with Basket of Fruit tackles tension, agitation, sorrow and anger. Then it transforms all those heavy emotions into something radical and transcendent. The surreal video for the album’s lead single, “Scissssssssors” is equal parts ‘80s horror film and metaphysical mind mangle — leaving viewers in head-scratching wonderment. You truly have to see it to believe it. Elsewhere, tracks including “Ice Cream Truck” and “It Comes Out As a Joke” are harrowing, brazen and otherworldly. For those looking for something slightly more accessible, venture outside of the Basket and seek out their outstanding cover of ZZ Top’s 1983 classic rock hit, “Sharp Dressed Man.”

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Sharon Van Etten trades in her guitar, Xiu Xiu packs quite the Basket, and Coachella boasts a slate that ranges from acts on the rise to superstars. BY MATT GROSS

this page: Janelle Monáe credit JUco • cardi B coUrtesy atlantic records • lizzo coUrtesy nice life recording coMpany / atlantic records

Janelle Monáe

Cardi B

COACHELLA 2019: A PREVIEW A DECADE AGO, COACHELLA WAS WIDELY THOUGHT TO BE AN

Lizzo

alternative dream festival. With top-tier acts outside of the mainstream such as Franz Ferdinand, Morrissey, My Bloody Valentine and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, it called hipsters to the desert in droves. Nowadays, Coachella has embraced hiphop, R&B and straight-up Top 40 pop like never before. Last year’s festival was headlined by Beyoncé and also included a profile-raising set from the inimitable Cardi B. This year, Solange, Ariana Grande and Lizzo have all secured prominent spots on the roster. However, if I were to suggest one must-see Coachella artist, it’d have to be Janelle Mon´ae.

The pansexual performer is truly one of the best live acts around: a vocal range to give you goosebumps, a set design to make your jaw drop, and enough vigor, positivity and zeal to lift you out of the darkest of slumps. Arrive early to check out French singer-songwriter Charlotte Gainsbourg (who has also acted in many Lars Von Trier films and is the daughter of notables Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin), trans electronic act SOPHIE, and 78-year old Caribbean firecracker, Calypso Rose.

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HAVE TECH, WILL TRAVEL Looking for some truly revolutionary tech? The answer may be about to pull up.

BY TERENCE O’BRIEN 2019 IS A BIG YEAR FOR CARS. BECAUSE OF NEW FEDERAL REGULATIONS, EVERY

LANE KEEP ASSIST/ LANE DEPARTURE Using cameras to read the markings on the road, Lane Keep Assist systems alert you with a sound or vibration when you start to drift from your lane without signaling. More advanced systems will gently nudge the steering wheel to get you centered.

Verdict: Great for highway driving where the lines are consistent, but not quite ready for prime time in city or on country roads where the markings can be faded or covered by snow or hard to see in a dust storm.

COLLISION AVOIDANCE/ PEDESTRIAN DETECTION If the car detects an imminent collision, it sounds a warning and in most cases applies the brakes — automatically, if you don’t. Verdict: As a driver, it doesn’t really benefit you, but for pets and pedestrians whose lives might be saved by this, it’s worth it.

ADAPTIVE HEADLIGHTS Do lights need more tech than “on” and “off”? Using ambient sensors, automatic lights will switch between low and high beams to help you see more of the road ahead without blinding other drivers. More advanced systems will pivot when you rotate the wheel. Instead being fixed in a straight ahead position, these types of lights turn into the curve, illuminating the road where you’re actually going. Verdict: This is somewhere between convenience and safety feature, but it’s far more useful than I was expecting.

ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL Instead of setting a fixed speed, Adaptive Cruise Control uses radar and cameras to maintain a preset following distance from the car in front of you. Many also include a “stop and go” feature for city traffic that will bring your car to a full stop then get going again when traffic starts moving. Verdict: Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! For everything from city congestion to long highway road trips, this is a must-have feature.

PARKING ASSIST Using ultrasonic sensors and cameras, today’s Advanced Parking Assistance systems can give you a 360-degree view around your car so you know how close you are to other cars or obstacles around you. Verdict: It won’t save your life, but it will keep you from putting dents and scrapes on your new ride when maneuvering in tight spaces.

RAIN SENSING WIPERS Often leveraging the cameras and sensors from other safety systems, this feature automatically adjusts the wiper speeds to keep your view unobstructed by rain and snow. Verdict: More often than not, I find these systems are too conservative and I end up using the traditional settings.

Chances are your eyes will detect rain before the sensors.

HEADS UP DISPLAY/VIRTUAL DASHBOARD Instead of traditional dials, Digital Dashboards use an LCD screen to cus-

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tomize and display information. Certain heads up displays can even project data like speed and navigation information right on the windshield glass to keep your eyes on the road. Verdict: Once the novelty wears off, they don’t seem to be that much better than traditional dashboard gauges.

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BLIND SPOT MONITORING/CROSS TRAFFIC ALERTS Related to collision avoidance, these features are geared toward situations where someone might be about to hit you. If you signal a lane change into a lane already occupied by someone else, you’ll get a warning. Meanwhile, cross traffic alert looks for cars or pedestrians crossing behind you (outside of the back up camera’s field of vision) when you’re backing out of a parking spot in a shopping center. Verdict: Great for new/nervous drivers, but more experienced drivers might find it annoyingly sensitive while not really all that helpful.

CARPLAY/ANDROID AUTO Rather than be stuck with the car’s infotainment system, Apple’s CarPlay and Google’s Android Auto puts the contents of your phone on the car’s in-dash screen. Though you can’t play YouTube videos, you can get GPS with live traffic and streaming music apps like Spotify and Pandora, as well as voice assistant and calling features. Verdict: If the car you’re looking at doesn’t have this, you’re looking at the wrong car.

LTE/WIFI HOTSPOT Many cars offer built in LTE/WiFi hotspots for connecting tablets, phones and other gadgets to the car itself. Verdict: Hard pass, especially since CarPlay and Android Auto uses your existing data plan. Your phone should provide all the connectivity you need.

■

STOCK PHOTO CREDIT ODOROAGA MONICA

METROSOURCE

TECH

car sold in the United States must come equipped with a backup camera.

The law actually went into effect in May of 2018, but the 2019 model year is the first to include every car made. Many automakers have also used their mandate as on opportunity to bring other high tech safety and infotainment features that were previously reserved for the luxury brands and highest trim models into their more mainstream models.

Since I was coincidentally in the market for a new car, I visited a few local dealerships to test drive cars with the latest tech and see which features should be on your short list.

GAY VOICES

IS OUR ONLINE FORUM FOR SHARING STORIES — FROM THE HEARTBREAKING TO THE HILARIOUS — ABOUT WHAT IT’S LIKE TO LIVE IN THE LGBT SKIN WE’RE IN.

WHY AMERICA NEEDS BLACK PRIDE CELEBRATIONS

THIS PAGE: PHOTO BY SAM BURRISS ON UNSPLASH

ful men dispersed throughout the city, and the parties are so much fun! You have options of going to rooftop parties, all-white affairs, underwear night parties and an array of other events.

As it stands, Black Pride is about learning about Black LGBT culture and enjoying that experience. Some of the biggest party entrepreneurs — including well-known promoters Daryl Wilson and Laurence Pickney — have thrown events and parties specifically to appeal to the Black LGBT community.

Some argue that these celebrations generally cater to partygoers, but Black Pride is so much more than that: As its own separate entity, Black Pride creates spaces where people from all walks of life can meet, laugh, dance, and interact on the issues they face. If you haven’t been to a Black Pride celebration, consider checking it off your bucket list. Gay, straight, black or white — you will have the time of your life during Black Pride. centerforblackequity.org ■

METROSOURCE

RAINBOW FLAGS, BEAUTIFUL TONED BODIES AND EYE-CATCHING costumes: these are some of the sights at Black Gay Pride.

Black Gay Pride — also known simply as Black Pride — is a celebration of LGBTQ Pride among persons of color. Both Black Gay Pride and LGBT Pride formed as a stance against discrimination and violence against LGBTQ persons by mainstream society. The LGBTQ equality movement started in the 1960s after the Stonewall riots, in which a group of LGBTQ persons (a large number of drag queens among them) protested a police raid that occurred at The Stonewall Inn, a popular NYC gay establishment. Since then, Pride has become one of the biggest celebrations in the country. Tens of thousands flock to attend in different cities to celebrate. While both mainstream Pride and Black Pride focus largely on the empowerment and unification of the LGBTQ community, they are (in my opinion) two separate movements.

Black Pride began in 1988 in Los Angeles as a single event called At the Beach. The event was organized by a small group of friends whose shared purpose was to bring together a community of persons of color who identified as queer. And so Black Pride always had a rich cultural component by focusing on various issues affecting LGBTQ Black communities — including safe sex, racial biases, homophobia, healthcare reform and domestic violence.

Since its debut in 1988, Black Pride has transformed from a single LA celebration into a multitude of events as far away [from Los Angeles] as Atlanta and NYC. These events include day parties, concerts, panel discussions focusing on safe sex and health seminars.

As Black Pride rose in popularity, there was a need to organize Black Prides in different communities throughout the nation. In May of 1999, a man of vision named Earl D. Fowlkes Jr. took on the task of turning that possibility into a reality: He formed a national organization known as International Federation of Black Prides (IFBE). As a result of his efforts and the efforts of those who joined him, more than 34 cities now make up the IFBE. In July of 2012, the organization was restructured and is now known as the Center for Black Equity (CBE).

Under the auspices of the center, a wide variety of businesses, individuals, sponsors and media outlets host large scale events for people of color during Black Pride.

The largest Black Pride events are in Atlanta, NYC, and Washington, D.C. Tank, Cardi B, Dream Doll and Milan Christopher are just some of the artists who’ve been featured on the stages of Black Pride.

During these events, streets are flooded with thousands of persons from cities and towns near and far. Of all Black Prides I’ve attended, I can say I enjoyed DC Black Pride the most. You’ll see scores of beauti-

GAY VOICES

BY MARCOS MARTINEZ

DO YOU HAVE A STORY TO SHARE ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE PART OF THE LGBTQ FAMILY? SHARE IT WITH US BY GOING TO

“ GAY

VOICES” AT METROSOURCE.COM.

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Long Island Montauk Lighthouse

Weekenders

NEED TO GET AWAY FROM IT ALL BUT DON’T HAVE A LOT OF TIME? WE’VE GOT EIGHT SHORT-BUT-SWEET RETREATS. BY JEFFREY JAMES KEYES

Atlantic City WHETHER YOU HAVE A THREE-DAY WEEKEND ON THE HORIZON OR YOU’RE

looking to make the most of a few unaccounted for vacation days, you know you deserve a break. But just because you don’t have enough time to wing your way to Angkor Wat or skip off to Stonehenge doesn’t mean you can’t get away. Call in on Friday and (cough, cough) maybe even Monday, then pack a duffel bag and give yourself the gift of a long weekend vacation. There’s plenty of weekend options where you can fly of course, but sometimes it’s more fun to gas up the car and go.

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Beacon

ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK ATLANTIC CITY Barely two hours south of Staten Island, Atlantic City’s flashing lights and bustling boardwalk lures visitors from up and down the Eastern Seaboard and beyond. Gamers flock to big casinos like Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Caesars at Atlantic City, Harrah’s Resort at Atlantic City, Tropicana Casino Resort and the Hard Rock Cafe there . These resorts are

more than just slots and craps, of course. Celebrity chefs like Michael Symon, Gordon Ramsay and Guy Fieri devise high-end meals for visitors and top-notch entertainers raise the roof and bring crowds to their feet. Recent months have found names like Mariah Carey, Fleetwood Mac and Patti Labelle on the marquees around town.

The annual Miss’d America Drag Pageant at the Borgata is a safe bet for a fun weekend trip. Queer Eye For the Straight Guy (the original) breakout star Carson Kressley is often called upon to host this glitzy pageant that has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for LGBT charities since its inception.

Looking for a bit of history on your vacation? The Absecon Lighthouse, first lit in 1857, rises 171 feet from the beach and offers breathtaking views of the Atlantic City skyline. Lucy the Elephant, constructed in 1881, is located in Josephine Harron Park and listed on the National Park Registry of Historical Landmarks. And the Steel Pier, located directly on the boardwalk, has offered laughter and thrills since it was founded in 1898 with rides, games and a variety of special attractions.

Beaconcrest Hotel, Casino and a railway powerhouse station. A series of fires consumed all buildings at the overlook — and eventually the railway itself. The remains of the historic Incline were conserved by Scenic Hudon in 1995. The Mount Beacon Trail is an 8.2 mile trail that passes the casino ruins, features a waterfall and ascends to an elevation of 2,398 feet. A trip to Bannerman’s Castle (bannermancastle.org) on Pollepel (or Bannerman Island) provides an opportunity to step back in time. The castle was originally constructed as an arsenal to store old war weapons, explosives and war relics. After the island was sold to New York State in 1967, the castle burned down in a fire a year later. Storm King Adventure Tours (stormkingadventuretours.com) offer a kayak guide and tour of the island with a Bannerman Castle Trust historian.

FIRE ISLAND

OPPOSITE PAGE: MONTAUK LIGHTHOUSE CREDIT ALISSA ROSENBERG • ATLANTIC CITY CREDIT DO AC • DIA: BEACON PHOTO BY BILL JACOBSON THIS PAGE: FIRE ISLAND CREDIT SEAN MILLS

BEACON Beacon has long been a draw for weekend excursions, but it was the Dia:Beacon museum that put the town on the art world’s must list.

Dia was founded by Philippa de Menil, Heiner Friedrich and Helen Winkler in 1974 with an intent to assist artists working on “visionary projects that might not otherwise be realized because of scale or scope.”

Dia’s site-specific installations and works can now be found in NYC, out west, in Germany and (naturally) here in the extensive galleries of Dia:Beacon.

Founded in May, 2003, Dia:Beacon beckons from a former Nabisco box printing factory on the banks of the Hudson River in Beacon, New York. A trip to the museum is a rare opportunity to marvel at Dia’s extraordinary collection of artwork, ranging from the 1960s to today.

This is an especially exciting year to visit Dia:Beacon due to an expanded presentation of the work of Dorothea Rockburne, an installation of Andy Warhol’s Shadows and the first North American retrospective of Charlotte Posenenske. This summer the venue will reinstall works by Donald Judd and a site-specific display by acclaimed color field painter and lyrical abstractionist artist Sam Gilliam.

But the Beacon’s artistic reach extends beyond the walls of its noteworthy and kitschy former Nabisco factory home. If your weekend adventure falls on the second Saturday of the month, you’re in for a treat as Second Saturday is a city-wide celebration of the arts. Most galleries and shops stay open until 9pm and locals hop from gallery to gallery, stopping at spots like Beacon Fine Art Gallery (innspabbeacon.com), Bannerman Island Gallery (bannermancastle.org), beacon artist union (baugallery.com), Howland Cultural Center (howlandculturalcenter.org), Hudson Beach Glass House (hudsonbeachglass.com), Riverwinds Gallery (riverwindsgallery.com) and more. These galleries and several others are joined by a variety of unique shops, eateries, wine bars and coffee shops on and around Main Street.

Looking to get beyond the galleries and shops and into nature?

Look to Mount Beacon. The coolest part about the hike? There are old casino ruins at the first overlook. (Yes, old casino ruins!) On Memorial Day, 1902, Otis Elevator Company and Mohawk Construction opened the Mount Beacon Incline Railway. The top of the railway included the

Fire Island

What’s the summer gay destination closest to the New York metropolitan area? Fire Island, of course. A storied sandy sanctuary for the LGBTQ+ community, Fire Island extends roughly 31 miles and is an outer barrier island extending along the coast of Long Island. Gay people have enjoyed taking the ferry from Sayville for decades now.

When looking at a weekend trip to Fire Island, it’s essential to choose a home base between Cherry Grove and Fire Island Pines. The Pines (pinesfi.com) offers good fun — like drinks and dancing at the Sip N Twirl or the Pavilion; Low or High Tea mischief and incredible drag performances at the Blue Whale. Don’t have a share on the island? Not a problem! Plan ahead and you can rent a fabulous beach house (or a room in one), or opt for a hotel like the Madison Fire Island Pines (themadisonfi.com), the Grove Hotel (grovehotel.com) or the clothingoptional Belvedere Guest House for Men (belvederefireisland.com).

Across the Meat Rack (we’ll get into that later) there’s Cherry’s on the Bay, The Island Breeze and the Ice Palace — where drag queens like Tina Burner, Honey Davenport, and Yahua Hamasaki have all held court as“Miss Fire Island.”If you’re a fan of Logo TV’s 2017 reality series Fire Island, keep your eyes peeled at the Pines, where cast members Khasan, Jorge, Cheyenne, Justin, Patrick, and Brandon famously shared a beachfront house in the summer of 2016.

Fire Island is not completely gay, of course. There are some seventeen communities on the island. Saltaire, Davis Park, Ocean Beach, and a variety of Island places are not really a draw for the community. But they’re perfectly fine to visit. A day trip to the Sunken Forest is lovely, of course. However, if you’re looking to get down with our community, you METROSOURCE.COM APRIL/MAY 2019

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LONG ISLAND Long Island Oheka Castle

Oyster Bay area with what’s on offer at the Oyster Bay National Refuge and the Waterfront Center.

Further out on the island, Montauk is considered one of Long Island’s crown jewels by locals and visitors alike. Known for beaches like storied Ditch Plains, the quaint village draws surfers, celebrities and sun seekers galore. The Montauk Point Lighthouse, completed in 1796, offers a 360° view of Block Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. Get out and explore the sandy beaches at Hither Hills, Montauk Point State Parks, and the former military base at Camp Hero State Park. Deep Hollow Ranch (deephollowranch.com), the oldest working ranch in the United States, stills thrives on thousands of coastal acres in Montauk. Go for a beach ride along the white sandy beaches and channel your inner cowboy.

Want to explore the greater Hamptons? Get extra bougie at John Steinbeck and Truman Capote’s famed hangout Baron’s Cove in Sag Harbor or head to the National Historic Landmark Pollock-Krasner House for a little culture and abstract expressionism in East Hampton.

Have the munchies? Head to Tate’s Bake Shop in Southampton and get a taste of their scrumptious cakes and an extra fresh green bag of those craveable crisp buttery cookies.

ESCAPE FROM LOS ANGELES BALBOA ISLAND Park the car for the weekend and kick up your feet on the front porch of an adorable vacation rental on Balboa Island. This tiny man-made island has grown from an uninhabited sandbar at the start of the last century to a vacation destination for the Los Angeles community and beyond. Indulge in delicious fresh seafood at a variety of popular island restaurants, pick up the perfect Balboa Island tank top to wear at the gym after your vacation, or simply sit by the water, where you can feel the relaxing ocean breeze and allow yourself to completely unwind.

Balboa Island Boardwalk

Live your Jay Gatsby fantasy on an long weekend to the Gold Coast of Long Island, which F. Scott Fitzgerald described as the East and West Eggs. Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald moved to a modest house in Great Neck, Long Island to avoid big city prices. The lavish “Gatsby-style” parties at the nearby Gold Coast mansions inspired his literary masterpiece.

A weekend stay at the majestic and storied Oheka Castle (oheka.com) will transport you back to the opulence and decadence of the Roaring Twenties. Feel like Daisy Buchanan as you wander the castle halls for a few days! Oheka Castle has appeared in dozens of movies and television shows including the classic Citizen Kane, The Emperors Club, The Americans, Gossip Girl, The Royal Pains and Madam Secretary. Chateau rooms at the castle start at just $395/night.

In Oyster Bay, Sagamore Hill National Historic Site (nps.gov/sahi) was considered “the Summer White House” when Theodore Roosevelt was President. Roosevelt lived at Sagamore Hill from 1885 through 1919 and the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. While you can’t book a room at Sagamore Hill, you can book a guided tour to explore the home, which recently underwent a $10 million restoration. Survey Roosevelt’s private collection of books, taxidermy and curiosities. Nature lovers also have plenty to do and see in the greater

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THIS PAGE: BALBOA ISLAND CREDIT PHOTO COURTESY OF VISIT NEWPORT BEACH

need to head to Cherry Grove or the Pines, period. There’s mayhem to be had at Daniel Nardicio’s Underwear Party (don’t worry, what happens at the Underwear Party stays at the Underwear Party). And “Invasion of the Pines” is a throwback to the summer of 1976 when a Fire Island restaurant wouldn’t let a drag queen stay. As sweet revenge, every Fourth of July hundreds of drag performers storm the Pines — reenacting the “invasion”that the queen and her friends had on the restaurant after the incident. The Fire Island Weekend to end all Fire Island Weekends is the Pines Party, of course. This summer’s Pines Party (pinesparty.com) will be from July 26-28 and feature an epic all-night beach party to remember.

Don’t worry, we didn’t forget the Meat Rack! The trail extending between Cherry Grove and the Fire Island Pines (known officially as the “Judy Garland Memorial Pathway”) got its Meat Rack reputation because of the sheer number of casual ... ahem... encounters that take place on any given night.“Summer lovin’, happened so fast,”indeed.

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Laguna Beach

While you’re basking in the perfect Southern California weather, get out your floaties, surfboard or paddleboard and jump in the water. Then head east of the Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach to get up close and personal with the large, wedge-shaped waves (local surfers’ favorite). Not into surfing? They still make for good eye candy! The area is also a great spot to clock sea lions chilling with the locals. If you have little ones with you, head over to The Balboa Fun Zone, one of Southern California’s oldest and last great coastal amusement areas. Ride the ferris wheel, show off on the bayside bungee jump, play in the arcade & game room or rent a bike from Seaside Bicycles to add some speed to your exploring.

Be sure to enjoy a Balboa Bar and/or a frozen banana before leaving the island. For the uninitiated, the classic frozen banana comes on a stick, dipped in chocolate, and can be topped with chocolate chips, nuts or even colorful sprinkles. Meanwhile, the Balboa Bar is a vanilla ice cream rectangle dipped in chocolate and rolled in toppings like toffee bits, toasted coconut, or literally any sugary treat. Where to go for such a heavenly treat? Dad’s Donut & Bakery Shop or Sugar ‘n Spice will have you covered. Arrested Development fans will immediately recognize these tasty treats from the Bluth family owned-and-operated frozen banana stand on the Balboa Island Oceanside Wharf boardwalk.

area consider the land to be holy ground with many shamen claiming they draw spiritual strength from this 5,800 square foot rock.

The Integratron, designed by George Van Tassel, is a historical desert structure known as a resonant tabernacle and energy machine. Located in Landers, the Integratron is owned by three sisters and offers “The Sound Bath,” a 60-minute sonic healing session that features a half hour of quartz crystal bowls played live, then the balance of the hour to integrate the sound and relax in the sound chamber to recorded music.

The Noah Purifoy Museum is an open field of“Assemblage”art where Purifoy created and worked on ten acres of large-scale desert sculpture during the last 15 years of his life. The Noah Purifoy Foundation offers docent-guided tours with guides who knew and worked with Purifoy.

On the hunt for more nature? Head to the Hidden Valley and the Keys View area for Coachella Valley views, and don’t miss the Jumbo Rocks.

JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK Tucked in the California Desert, Joshua Tree National Park is the closest National Park to both Los Angeles and San Diego. Known for its distinct Joshua trees (native to the Mojave Desert), the park extends across roughly 800,000 acres (that’s a little bigger than the state of Rhode Island).

The Joshua Tree Visitors Guide (joshuatree.guide) is the best local resource for what to see and do while you’re there. Whether you’re looking for lodging, tours, restaurants or an attraction, they’ve got you covered.

Checking out their “Top Ten Tips for Visiting Joshua Tree National Park” is a must for anyone venturing to the area for the first or a repeat visit.

It’s worth noting The Joshua Tree, U2’s fifth studio album (and one of the best-selling records in rock history), was inspired by not only the area but the band’s interest and“great romance”with the United States. Be sure to add this album to your playlist for your visit.

Roughly 2.8 million people flock to the park each year. There are several Visitor Centers in and around the Park: Oasis Visitor Center, Joshua Tree Visitor Center, Cottonwood Visitor Center, and Black Rock Nature Center. It’s important to bring enough water with you when visiting the park (roughly a gallon per day, two if you’re planning on hiking or cycling). Also note that there’s no cell service throughout the park. Putting together a rundown of what you want to see in this gorgeous landscape? High on the list should be Giant Rock, a giant, seven-story, freestanding boulder near Landers. Native Americans in the

Joshua Tree National Park

LAGUNA BEACH Quaint, coastal, cultural Laguna Beach provides a weekend escape from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles. Just a short drive south of LAX, Laguna Beach is an artist colony nestled into Orange County. Boasting seven miles of coves and beaches where visitors can explore sea caves, ocean side bluffs, and natural tide pools. Many know about the area, of course, because of the popular MTV reality show Laguna Beach, The Real Orange County starring Kristin Cavallari. Keep your eyes open when visiting the area, since celebrities have lived in and around Laguna Beach for years. Stars who have called this slice of paradise home include Bette Davis, Diane Keaton, Bette Midler and Rock Hudson.

In 1918 artist Edgar Payne opened an art gallery that eventually became the Laguna Art Museum. Today there are over 70 galleries and 400 working artists and studios in the area. Be sure to check out Wyland’s METROSOURCE.COM APRIL/MAY 2019

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One big incentive to going with Captain Dave’s is Mrs. Captain Dave’s famous Triple Fudge Brownies, served complimentary on every whale watching trip.

Old Mission Santa Barbara Santa Barbara Wine Country

famous“Whaling Wall”right on the Pacific Coast Highway. If you’re planning a trip in the summer, definitely make every effort to go between July 7 and August 31, 2019 when the art (literally) comes to life at the Pageant of the Masters. The 2019 Pageant of the Masters theme, The Time Machine, will transport audiences from the past to the future in search of great art and amazing stories. The best-selling show in Orange County is literally an enchanting 90 minutes of tableaux vivants (“living pictures”), recreations of classical and contemporary works of art in which real people pose to look like original artwork in an outdoor amphitheater. Laguna Playhouse, an historic Equity theatre, located just steps from the Pacific Ocean, has been presenting live performances on the stage there since 1920. Recent productions include Peter Quilter’s End of the Rainbow about Judy Garland’s last years, I Am My Own Wife, A Night With Janis Joplin and Million Dollar Quartet.

Looking to get your nature on? The city features more than 20,000 acres of protected wilderness for you to enjoy. It’s impossible to miss the scenic and delightful Heisler Park, stretching along the bluffs on Cliff Drive from Aster Street to Diver’s Cove. Take in this oceanfront park with its meandering walking trails, lush gardens and marine refuges.

Pack a picnic and enjoy great people (and nature) watching. Another local favorite, Thousand Steps Beach, is nestled in South Laguna just across from 9th Street and South Coast Highway. It’s tricky to find, but once you’re there, be sure to get some selfies inside the large sea cave.

Be careful if you’re heading that way during high tide! Fun fact: the dolphin population off the Laguna Beach coast is significantly greater than Florida, Hawaii and the Caribbean combined. If dolphin/whale watching is on your bucket list, it’s best to head to Dana Point or nearby Newport Beach. Newport Whales offers a $20 Whale Watch & Dolphin Cruise. Captain Dave’s Dolphin & Whale Watching Safari, a slightly more expensive option, offers exclusive underwater glass viewing pods bringing guests“face to face with some of the largest creatures on Earth.”

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Santa Barbara, tucked between the spectacular Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, was once a bustling hub for the film industry.

Flying A Studios, California’s first major movie studio, set up shop in the area and operated between 1912 through 1921 when hundreds of silent films were produced in Santa Barbara. While the industry moved south to Hollywood, celebrities still walk the red carpet at the annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival (sbiff.org), and many live in the area. Considered the “American Riviera,” famous residents living in Santa Barbara include Kevin Costner, Tom Cruise, Jennifer Lopez and Stevie Nicks. Oprah Winfrey purchased a $48 million mansion in nearby Montecito, where Ellen DeGeneres also lives.

Stargazing aside, there’s plenty to see and do on a weekend trip to Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara County’s winemaking history goes back over 200 years when Mission vine cuttings were first planted in 1782.

Pierre Lafond opened the first Santa Barbara Winery in 1962, the first legit winery since Prohibition. California’s wine industry really took off in the second half of the twentieth century. Then Sideways came out in 2002, and the tourists started coming by the busloads. Fan of that movie? Plan a Sideways Wine Tour, featuring a two-day suggested wine trail featuring the wineries on the “Sideways Wine Route.” Some of the best wineries that should be on your list? Foxen Vineyards, Kenneth Volk Vineyards, Firestone Vineyards, Sanford Winery and Vineyards, and Kalyra Winery.

Having a good time? Extend your trip and go beyond the tour’s offerings.

There’s no shortage of great vineyards and local tasting rooms.

Back in town, be sure to hit State Street where you can spend an afternoon at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. From March 3 through October 13, Kehinde Wiley takes over SBMA’s Park Entrance with his monumental painting Equestrian Portrait of Prince Tommaso of SavoyCarignan. If you’re going next year instead, try to plan your 2020 trip around their highly anticipated Van Gogh exhibition, Through Vincent’s Eyes: Van Gogh and His Sources (opening October 11, 2020). Over on Laguna Street, don’t miss the Old Mission Santa Barbara in its original glory. Established in 1786, the Mission continues as the beating heart and soul of Santa Barbara. Tour the glorious 13-acre grounds featuring a nine-room museum of historical artwork and artifacts and featuring the Chumash Room showcasing Native American artifacts, a recreation of a 17th century kitchen, as well as a historic cemetery and mausoleum.

Whale watching in the Santa Barbara Channel is a must. The nutrient-rich waters make the area an ideal location to spot these incredible creatures. The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center (sbnature.org) at Stearns Wharf provides a fun way to discover the wonders of ocean life and have unique encounters with some new favorite marine animals from the Santa Barbara Channel. On a related note, the RitzCarlton Bacara Santa Barbara - nestled in the Gaviota Coast - offers JeanMichel Cousteau’s Ambassadors of the Environment experience which introduces guests to the natural wonders and rich cultural history of the area. Discover Gaviota Coast’s natural wonders of land and sea (a kelp forest, diverse birds, the intertidal zone and traditional Chumash culture) through a wide assortment of related activities.

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THE LADY WITH THE SMILE hour, no one had budged. That’s when we noticed a large tour group (in matching shirts) was refusing to move away from the painting, despite protests to the security guard.

One man stood directly in front of the painting. Other members of his party were passing their phones to him to take picture after picture. Meanwhile, a woman beside him was taking endless selfies of herself with the Mona Lisa. First, she’d flip her hair and show her cleavage with the Mona Lisa.

Then she’d flip her hair and do fish lips with the Mona Lisa.

Finally, she attempted to match the Mona Lisa’s smile. I began to count how many selfies she was taking, and when I got to 50, Gary flipped his beret.

“There are so many other great works of art being ignored,” he said.“This is ridiculous. C’mon!”

But I couldn’t leave. I had waited my whole life to be right here, right now.“Go on,” I said.“I’ll text when I’m done.”

I waited patiently for another half hour but had made no headway. A frustrated woman looked at me and said, “It’s no use.” That’s when I decided to take action.

I got down on the ground and crawled to the front of the line.

There, I stood and said “You’re DONE!” to the picture-taking man and the selfie-taking woman. People actually applauded.

Finally, the other people in the room started getting their turns to look at the Mona Lisa. When I finally reached the front of the line, I was initially disappointed. I knew the painting was small, but in this grand space, it looked even tinier. I took one photo. Then another. But then I stopped, studied her famous face for a bit, and walked away. I could swear her eyes followed me, and her smirk suddenly seemed to say,“You go, girl!”

That’s when I realized the true magic of the painting (like the magic of travel itself) is the element of mystery. In the same way that you can’t really know what the Mona Lisa’s smile means until you’re standing in front of her, you don’t know what memories you’re creating making until you make them.

That night, we made a bit of a memory of our own. In the midst of a stunning fireworks display off the Eiffel Tower as part of Paris’s Nuit Blanche, Gary and I kissed along the banks of the Seine. And when I went to bed that night, I swear I could still see my mom — and the Mona Lisa — smile.

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VIEWS

I’VE DREAMED OF VISITING

Paris ever since I was a little boy. I remember watching An American in Paris with my mom and telling her I wanted to dance in front of the Eiffel Tower.

“One day,” she said with a knowing smile.“One day.”

In college, I read and adored Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast, about his years as a young writer in Paris. My long-distance love affair with Europe continued in art history class, where we studied Leonardo di Vinci and his Mona Lisa. I was not only mesmerized by the painting — What was she thinking? Why was she smiling like that? — but also fascinated by later reading about the painter, including research that indicated he was gay. And as an adult, I heard tale after tale of friends’ magnificent visits to the City of Lights.

I couldn’t afford to travel much as a young man. Then, when I eventually became an author, my travel tended to center around book tours. However, my parents traveled a lot in their golden years and (after a rather arduous trip to Spain) my mom told me,“Don’t wait until you’re my age to do these trips. Enjoy them fully. Young. Like An American in Paris.”

So last year, Gary and I decided we’d finally see Paris. We took the advice of well-traveled and-heeled gay friends and stayed in a boutique hotel in the gay district of Marais. We took private tours to Mont St. Michel, Giverny and Versailles. We climbed the Eiffel Tower and we ate wonderful food at intimate bistros. But I was still most looking forward to visiting the Louvre and seeing the Mona Lisa in person.

To prepare, we made sure we were doing what every expert told us to do when visiting the Louvre. We went on a day when crowds were supposed to be least congested. We arrived early.

We secured express passes to bypass long lines. And when it was our entrance time, we made a bee-line directly to the Mona Lisa (she has her own room).

We were greeted by a crowd only slightly smaller than those attending the Super Bowl. Hordes were waiting for a glimpse into her eyes. Insane tourists knocked one another about as if whomever made it to the front were about to win a performance from Lady Gaga in their very own personal living rooms.

Gary and I got in line and waited. And waited. After a half

DIARY

Wade was close to making his lifelong dream of seeing the Mona Lisa come true until something, quite literally, got in the way. BY WADE ROUSE

Check out Wade’s latest novel under the pen name Viola Shipman, The Summer Cottage, and visit him online at waderouse.com.

HAVE YOU EVER STOOD UP TO RUDE BEHAVIOR ON THE ROAD? SHARE YOUR STORY IN “GAY VOICES” AT METROSOURCE.COM. METROSOURCE.COM APRIL/MAY 2019

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BOOKS CULTURE

BLASTS FROM THE PAST Climb aboard the Concorde, settle down in furniture fit for Mad Men, and kick back with a cocktail that brings1960s kitsch into the twenty-first century. BY SEBASTIAN FORTINO

TIKI: MODERN TROPICAL COCKTAILS

By Shannon Mustipher; Rizzoli Press; $29.95 the Vaseline lens of nostalgia) and a good drink. Perhaps that’s why we’ve seen a decade-long trend of various vintage cocktails becoming popular again. For example, the trend toward Tiki themed bars and restaurants was high in the 1960s. Hawaii had just become a state, and back East a booming economy made trips to the Caribbean much more affordably within reach — though no less exotic.

This dreamily photographed book, featuring images by Noah Fecks, invites a little bit of that Tiki magic into the present. Meanwhile, Shannon Mustipher, a rum expert from Brooklyn, teaches how to capture the whimsy of Tiki in your own home.

Chapters outline everything you need to know — from the classics to a whole chapter devoted to sours, and a section enticingly titled“Fiery, Savory and Bitter.”In sum, this book is a sweet invitation to Tiki in the 21st Century. Cocktails like the caipirinha are updated to include sugar, as opposed to the bartender’s standard simple syrup. Grog, an historical drink which became popular with English sailors given their ration of rum, also makes an appearance. More complicated beverages, like the Halekulani — which calls for seven ingredients — are also included. The writer whets even more appetites by suggesting which kind of rums she recommends for each drink. So whip up a Planter’s Punch, fire up the phonograph with some Hawaiian ‘60s beats, and float away to paradise with your Tiki tipple.

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THIS PAGE: COURTESY RIZZOLI

IN MY EXPERIENCE, TWO THINGS HUMANS LONG FOR ARE THE PAST (AS FILTERED THROUGH

THIS PAGE: COVERS AND INTERIOR IMAGES OF SUPERSONIC AGE MAGAZINE PROMOTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONCORDE SERVICE, 1974. FROM THE COLLECTION OF LAWRENCE AZERRAD. • PAN AM CONCORDE AND US SST ADVERTISEMENT, 1969.

FROM THE COLLECTION OF LAWRENCE AZERRAD. • BRITISH AIRWAYS CONCORDE LUGGAGE TAG IN ORIGINAL GRAPHIC IDENTITY, C. 1970S. FROM THE COLLECTION OF LAWRENCE AZERRAD.

SUPERSONIC: THE DESIGN AND LIFESTYLE OF CONCORDE

By Lawrence Azerrad; Prestel; $35 “CONCORDE WAS THE PROMISE OF TOMORROW DELIVERED IN THE HERE AND NOW,” SAYS LAWRENCE AZERRAD, THE AUTHOR

of Supersonic. In the late 1960s, when Concorde began to fly out of London and Paris, the plane was part of a new era of travel which birthed the term “jet-setter.” If you were lucky enough to fly Concorde, you were not only in an all-first class cabin, but you were also making the trans-Atlantic voyage (a flight which takes about eight hours these days) in a shockingly fast — not to mention glamorous — three to four hours.

Concorde continued to make the trip possible into the new millennium. Unfortunately by then, Air France and British Airways —two of the airlines known for Concorde service — were dealing with a weak global economy. Coupled with less people electing to fly after the September 11th attacks and the fact that its technology was no longer cutting edge, the last Concordes were finally grounded in 2003. In this veritable time machine, Azerrad shares a wide variety of items from his collected Concorde memorabilia, artwork and other objects. According to the book, the full collection actually numbers at least 1,000 items. If you’re a fan of the golden age of air travel, or passionate about mid-century design in all its forms, pop the champagne — because this is an ideal flight for you.

FURNITURE BOOM

By Lars Dybdahl; Strandberg Publishing; $75 THE SLEEK LINES OF DANISH FURNITURE ARE THE BASIS FOR WHAT DESIGNERS (AND SHELTER MAGAZINE ENTHUSIASTS) CALL “MID-CENTURY MODERN.”

Whole websites are dedicated to celebrating all that was stylish from that era — from clothes to clocks. In this beautifully crafted book we see why both the time and the furniture that stems from it still has the devotion of so many followers. Furniture Boom features timeless designs from artists such as Arne Jacobsen, Børge Mogensen, Poul Kjærholm and others. These designers started embracing minimal, yet comfortable lines, easily adapted to the lifestyles of the post-WWII era. Across 13 chapters of insightful text by Lars Dybdahl (accompanied by exemplary photos), we see what was behind such singular designs as Hans J. Wegner’s famous Y Chair. Significantly, we also see how that important piece from 1950, with its clear Asian influence, would go on to heavily influence the work of other designers. The book traces a transition from early more classic wooden pieces to the more colorful objects and materials which appeared during the ‘60s and ‘70s. As the pieces changed with the times, they left the legacy of varied work on display here. Whether you have these pieces in your own home or were tickled to see them while bingeing Mad Men, you can appreciate how Furniture Boom celebrates a masterful craftsmanship that continues to have lasting impact.

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Cadiz

CLIC Cadiz

MAKING LANGUAGE CLIC

Want to learn Spanish faster than in any other classroom, while immersing yourself in a rich and exciting culture? Head to a unique learning experience in southern Spain. BY ROB DAVIS different cultures, visit exotic locales, and speaking to the many people around me whose native language is not necessarily English.

It seems as though nearly everywhere I go, I hear Spanish spoken — and that makes sense. According to the 2016 U.S. Census, Spanish is spoken by more than 40 million people in this country alone. (By comparison, the entire population of Spain was 46 million at the time, according to the World Bank.) By 2060 it is estimated that 120 million Hispanics will live in the States.

So there is no doubt as to the usefulness of being able to speak the language.

But for me, the thrill of speaking another language has always been about both the challenge and the fun of learning, trying to master it so that I can converse fluently and open myself up to different friends, food, and cultures.

A few years ago, I had the chance to spend a month in Spain doing an intensive course at the Spanish language school CLIC, the Center for Language and Cultural Interchange. In 2018, I was fortunate enough to return for another immersion.

One of the great things at CLIC is that you’re able to start your classes throughout the year — for any length of time. So whether you’re looking for a one, two, six or eight week course — you’re tested to ascertain your level of proficiency, and then you join in a class already in session that’s appropriate for you. Even if you’re a complete beginner or just want a refresher course, there are great options.

CLIC is one of the top Spanish schools in Spain. (Rumor has it that Chelsea Clinton also took classes there.) The school has facilities in Cádiz, Málaga and Seville. They also offer adult housing options whereby you can secure accommodations organized by CLIC that can be rented by the week. However if you prefer, they can also place you in a Spanish-speaking home, where you’ll be able to converse daily and casually with your hosts. This is a terrific option, especially if you’re looking for total immersion, which suits my learning style perfectly.

CLIC Málaga

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Catedral de Cádiz

Classes are deliberately kept small — generally with six to 10 students (although private tutors are also available). Mornings are dedicated to Spanish classroom work, which leaves afternoons open for practicing the language while enjoying a full and varied program of leisure and cultural activities.

All three of CLIC’s schools are located in southern Spain. In the port city of Cádiz, you can find CLIC in one of the most desirable neighborhoods of the city: Bahia Blanca; it’s just a few steps from the beach and surrounding shopping areas. Cultural activities include everything from guided tours, workshops and film screenings to language exchanges with locals with a variety of other activities to help strengthen your language skills.

Málaga is the birthplace of both Pablo Picasso and Antonio Banderas (some decades apart). You’ll find CLIC Málaga in the city center, just off the main street and only steps away from Plaza de la Constitución. Here, after morning classes, students engage in an assortment of pastimes, including visits to museums, tapas tastings, and innumerable opportunities to chat with the locals.

CLIC Seville is also centrally located — just behind the Plaza Nueva and right off the city’s shopping hub. In addition to morning classes and a variety of weekday afternoon options, you can take advantage of weekend getaways to nearby cities, each guided by professors, art historians and other experts.

I’ve traveled extensively around the world, but the experience of visiting Southern Spain and steeping myself in their culture is far richer than visiting another city for a week or two of vacation. I found it not only a great way to visit a place I hadn’t explored, but also a sublime way to soak up the local culture while improving my Spanish far faster than if I’d taken a course in the States.

Want to learn more about what CLIC offers? Visit them online at clic.es or e-mail them via info@clic.es. For more information about traveling to Spain, go to spain.info.

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In Class at Clic

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THREE INCREDIBLE PLACES IN AUSTRALIA YOU SHOULD SEE NOW

THE AZURE WATERS OF SYDNEY HARBOUR. THE RUST COLORED MONOLITH OF

IF YOU’VE ALREADY BEEN CHARMED BY AUSTRALIA’S URBAN PLAYGROUNDS, RETURN FOR SOME UNEXPECTED PLEASURES BY THE SEA.

BY ERIC ROSEN

Uluru rising out of the desert. The wave-beaten spires of the 12 Apostles along Victoria’s Great Ocean Road. Australia is not short on unforgettable landscapes. And chances are, if you’ve been, you’ve seen them already.

But what keeps me coming back to Oz time after time is the opportunity to discover new awe-inspiring and utterly unique places on every visit.

For it’s in some of these less-traveled destinations where the “real” Australia can be found. Here are three spectacular settings to consider exploring on your next visit Down Under.

THE KIMBERLEY, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Western River Cove Kangaroo Island

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Roughly the size of California, the Kimberley region in Australia’s remote northwest is home to just 40,000 people. However, this mystical place is anything but empty.

The Kimberley’s seasonal lakes and mangrove-lined tidal rivers teem with wildlife. Enormous jellyfish and stingrays float along with the currents. Scaly saltwater crocodiles emerge at intervals along the shore. The terrain is strewn with craggy rock formations, some of which date back a billion years, while the bottle-silhouetted boab trees that jut out here and there measure time’s passage in centuries — or even millennia.

I spent two weeks visiting this otherworldly land aboard True North (truenorth.com.au), a luxury yacht that plies the Kimberley’s 7,500-mile-long coastline from March through September every year.

In Talbot Bay, my fellow passengers and I climbed aboard tenders to

Sea Lion - South Australia Koala - South Australia

opposite page: Western river Cove Kangaroo island • THIS PAGE: GREAT WHITE PHOTO SOUTH AUSTRALIA COURTESY OF CALYPSO STAR CHARTERS

Great White Shark - South Australia

shoot the tide-fueled rapids of the Horizontal Waterfalls, which David Attenborough called “Australia’s most unusual natural wonder.” Another morning, we moored near Montgomery Reef, a 155-square-mile marvel that emerges from the sea twice each day — towering 13 feet out of the water before submerging completely again at high tide. While navigating its narrow channels, True North’s nature guides pointed out giant sea turtles gliding beneath us, and kept watch for shy, manateelike dugongs nibbling on the sea grass nearby.

Aboard True North’s helicopter, we took scenic flights over Mitchell Falls, which dwindles to a mere trickle during the dry months, but roars into a four-tiered gusher fed by emerald-green ponds after the seasonal rains. Our chopper pilot also ferried us to Eagle Falls for an afternoon picnic. Between plates of barbecued lamb and ice-cold beers, we could swim under some of the smaller waterfalls for a“Kimberley shower” or peek over the edge for a glimpse of the freshwater crocodile who lived below.

The young Aussie crew led us on a hike up to an aquamarine swimming hole with floors of glimmering quartz stones. We floated there, watching rare butterflies flitting overhead.

I learned to fish for feisty barramundi and mangrove jack. I also managed to hook a mud crab and, yes, even a tawny nurse shark (which languidly swam away with my line). Another day, I took a chisel to native rock oysters embedded on the boulders of Winyalkin Island, harvesting a meal’s worth of mollusks the size of my hand.

The crew walked us to cave systems where nomadic peoples left

evidence of their existence in the form of “midden heaps” passed along with some of the oldest art on earth. These include colorful Wandjina rock paintings dating back some 5,000 years and feature spirit-like figures and wildlife including wallabies and turtles. Meanwhile, the elegant stick-like Gwion Gwion figures are thought to be as old as 50,000 years.

For a glimpse of the more recent past, we moored at Careening Bay to see the Mermaid Tree, a boab with a distinctive split trunk that was named after the HMC Mermaid. Aboard that ship, a dashing British naval officer named Philip Parker King surveyed this coast in 1820 and created maps that are still used today.

We spent our final afternoon luxuriating on the iridescent white sands of Silica Beach, which bubbled up like vintage champagne underfoot as we walked into the water. Afterwards, the able-bodied crew lashed five tenders together to create a waterborne cocktail party for a last spectacular sunset and sad but satisfied goodbyes.

Practicalities: True North’s Kimberley cruises leave from either Broome or Wyndham. Virgin Australia flies non-stop to Broome and Wyndham (Kununurra) from Perth. Qantas flies non-stop to Broome from Perth, Melbourne and Sydney, and to Wyndham from Perth and Broome.

THE EYRE PENINSULA, SOUTH AUSTRALIA South Australia has always been just a little bit different from the rest of Australia. Unlike the original colonies on continent’s east coast, it was established as a free state rather than a convict settlement. Its capital, METROSOURCE.COM APRIL/MAY 2019

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Pure Coffin Bay Oysters - South Australia Hamilton Island - Queensland

Practicalities: Port Lincoln is a 50-minute flight west of Adelaide on either Rex or Qantas. Though you can book vacation homes in many of the peninsula’s small towns, the most upscale accommodations in town are at the Port Lincoln Hotel (portlincolnhotel.com.au).

THE WHITSUNDAYS, QUEENSLAND The Great Barrier Reef may well be the most famous natural wonder in the world.

But it is also perhaps the most misunderstood: The reef is actually a network comprised of a system of nearly 3,000 individual reefs and 900 islands, and is the only living organism on the planet that can be spotted from space.

In recent years, the Reef has been under constant threat from tropical cyclones wreaking devastation on its underwater ecosystems and warming ocean waters, stressing coral and other marine life (both the products of unprecedented climate change). It’s not all gloom and doom, though. New studies have found that parts

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Swimming with Sea Lions - South Australia

Adelaide, was thoughtfully laid out on a well-mannered grid drawn up by Colonel William Light in 1837 that still comprises the city’s core today. Many travelers also come here to visit South Australia’s world-class wine regions, including the Barossa and Clare Valleys, and the Instagram-worthy ochre topography of the Flinders in the north. However, some of South Australia’s most magnificent natural treasures are to be found along the Eyre Peninsula to the west.

The main town of Port Lincoln is the hub for a mix of maritime adventures, although you can also go winetasting at boutique cellars like Peter Teakle Wines (peterteaklewines.com) or sample the local brews at Beer Garden Brewing (beergardenbrewing.com). My favorite landmark? The statue of explorer Matthew Flinders plotting his 1801-1803 circumnavigation of Australia — along with his trusty cat, Trim.

It seems that everyone in Australia has a shark story, and if you want one of your own, this is the place to come. I was reluctant to swim with the toothy terrors of the deep, but braver souls can swim with great whites off the nearby Neptune Islands.

In fact, this is one of the only places in the country where people are allowed to cage dive with the fearsome pelagic predators. Catch a day tour year-round with Calypso Star Charters (sharkcagediving.com.au).

Instead, I opted for a more playful pastime: the chance to swim with sea lions, which the crew of Adventure Bay Charters (adventurebaycharters.com.au) described as the “puppies of the sea.” After our two-hour cruise to Boston Bay, the sea lions seemed as excited to see us as we were them. Dozens came bounding off the beach, swimming toward the boat, as if beckoning us to dive in.

I did, and what ensued was one of the most delightful, enchanting, and just plain fun hours of my life. Sea lions swam around me, twisting and flipping, mirroring my movements and waiting patiently as I periodically surfaced for air so we could resume our games. It was with a heavy heart that I finally reboarded the boat for the return journey.

I did not have long to sulk because there were adventures in store on land. A genial guide from Australian Wildlife Adventures (australianwildlifeadventures.com.au) named Hassie was waiting to take us on an oyster-harvesting tour and tasting of briny bivalves with Pure Coffin Bay Oysters (coffinbayoysters.com.au). After a stop to observe koalas in the wild, we finished our day with a sunset hike on the sea cliffs of Lincoln National Park.

The following morning, the guides at Goin’ Off Safaris (goinoffsafaris.com.au) took me on a scenic helicopter flight over the coast. After, we spent an hour casting from the shore, during which I caught the Pacific salmon that we then grilled for our beach picnic lunch later that day.

THIS PAGE: WHITEHAVEN BEACH QUEESNLAND CREDIT TOURISM AND EVENTS QUEENSLAND

of the reef and the animals that live there have bounced back more quickly than expected from bleaching and storm events, and ecoconscious tourism might just be the best way to protect the Reef for future generations. Do your part with an adventure up the Queensland coast.

For an off-the-grid excursion to a rebounding region of the Reef that’s still close enough for a day trip to Brisbane, Lady Elliot Island (ladyelliot.com.au) is a study in considered conservation (and one of the best spots on earth to scuba with manta rays). Up in the tropical north around Cairns and Port Douglas, visitors can split their time between day tours out to little-visited sections of the Reef, and trips to the Daintree Rainforest, thought to be the oldest rainforest in the world and containing plant species that predate the dinosaurs.

However, for a truly Reef-centric retreat, I headed to Hamilton Island and the Whitsundays. The Whitsundays are an archipelago of 74 tropical islands just off the coast, about a 90-minute flight from Brisbane (or three hours from Sydney). Hamilton Island is already a hotbed of hotels and tourist activity, although you can book a sumptuous sequestered sojourn at qualia (qualia.com.au), a luxury lodge nestled into the island’s jungle-covered slopes.

Otherwise your best bet may be one of two soon-to-reopen properties on nearby islands: the Intercontinental Hayman Island (hayman.com.au), or Daydream Island (daydreamisland.com). Daydream is about halfway between Hamilton Island and the mainland resort town of Airlie Beach. The 277-room resort there will reopen this year after an $86 million renovation,

along with an expanded Living Reef outdoor aquarium containing over 100 marine species overseen by on-staff marine biologists.

Among other not-to-missed experiences in the area are a scenic flight over the recognizable Heart Reef with Air Whitsunday Seaplanes (airwhitsunday.com.au), and a charter sail to the four-milelong Whitehaven Beach, which is routinely voted among the most beautiful on Earth. You can do so aboard a vintage yacht called Lady Enid (ladyenid.com.au).

Having recently taken up scuba, I spent a day diving with Explore Group (exploregroup.com.au), which operates kitted-out catamarans from Airlie and Hamilton Island. On our day out at Bait Reef, I dove with sea turtles and reef sharks, and marveled at massive underwater geological formations.

Practicalities: You can fly to Hamilton Island non-stop from Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney on either Qantas or Virgin Australia. Qantas now operates all its flights from Los Angeles to Brisbane – twice on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, once on other days – exclusively with Boeing 787 Dreamliners. The jets feature the airline’s newest suite-style business class seats, as well as its latest premium economy cabins and updated economy seats, as well as serving menus created by celebrity chef Neil Perry. ■

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Tivoli Palacio Seteais

Grape Expectations:

A Long and Wining Road

A GAY MAN MEETS AN IT-GIRL GRAPE IN SPAIN, INHALES A HEADY BOUQUET IN FRANCE, AND ROMPS NEAR MADONNA’S VILLA IN PORTUGAL. BY MARK A. THOMPSON AS A UNIVERSITY STUDENT IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE IN THE YEARS

before the euro, it took me only four francs to buy a bottle of vin de table — and another two from my roommate for a pack of Gauloises, whereupon we became convinced that we were as French as wine.

This was in Languedoc-Roussillon (known to many as Northern Catalonia), one of the oldest wine-producing regions of the world — and one that produces more than one-third of the grapes grown in France. Back then, the wines were less notable for quality than quantity, befitting the region’s role as producer of the daily wine ration for French soldiers. (Please remember

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that this was an era when it seemed the enitre population of France drank wine as a substitute for water.)

Meanwhile in Portugal, viticulture was dominated by massproduced wines from post-War cooperative wineries initiated by the dictatorship of Salazar. This meant that American knowledge of Portuguese wine was restricted to the sweet, sparking Mateus Rosé or Lancers. It’s worth noting that both of these would later come to enjoy retro chic status — that being more for their distinctive bottles rather than for the bottles’ contents.

During those years, the annual consumption of wine per person in France was more than 100 liters; nowadays it hovers

closer to 45 liters a year. What’s changed since then is both the quality of the wine and the passion of the winemakers. This became readily more apparent to me during my return to the region where I once drank vin de table.

As Ernest Hemingway reputedly said, “My only regret in life is that I did not drink more wine.” I was determined not to make the same mistake while traveling through Portugal and Catalonia on a mission to discover the grapes of the region, and specifically those of the multifaceted Garnacha/Grenache varietal. For how better to discover a culture than through the prism of wine — particularly in a region where viticulture’s roots can be traced to the Phoenicians?

Tivoli Palácio de Seteais, Sintra Tivoli Palácio de Seteais, Nobel Hall

OPPOSITE PAGE: PHOTO COURTESY OF TIVOLI HOTELS & RESORTS THIS PAGE: PHOTOS COURTESY OF TIVOLI HOTELS & RESORTS

THERE’S MORE THAN TAWNY PORT IN PORTUGAL For many, Portuguese wine is synonymous with Port, the fortified wines of the country’s northern Douro Valley, which have been globally exported for more than 800 years. There’s no question that a post-prandial port has its charms — including the ritualized protocol of passing to the left, i.e. port to port. However, Portugal cultivates more than 250 indigenous grapes in 31 designated DOCs (Controlled Denomination of Origin).

The country’s varied topography—from verdant plains to cork forests, with maritime influences — provides a diverse terroir for a broad range of wines, from the lightly effervescent green offerings of Vinho Verde to aromatic whites and robust, full-bodied reds.

Fortunately for oenophiles, the years following Portugal’s Carnation Revolution in 1974 and its entrance into the EU in 1986 have served as a boon for Portuguese viticulture. In recent decades, numerous independent wine estates have opened in former quintas. (That’s how the locals refer to large land estates originally earmarked for agricultural purposes.) So today’s Portuguese viticulture is far more than its celebrated aged tawny ports, and modern vintners now regularly showcase wines from lesser-appreciated DOCs such as Bairrada and Dão.

Four of Portugal’s DOCs are located in the Algarve along the region’s sun-kissed southern coast. Here an abundance of fish and seafood pair beautifully with the nearby floral rosés and steely Arinto whites. At Tivoli Carvoeiro Algarve Resort, Executive Chef Bruno Rocha positions Portuguese viticulture as “the centerpiece” of the five-star resort’s oceanfront restaurant. Overlooking the cliffs of the Seven Hanging Valleys, guests dine on such regional cuisine as cataplana, a traditional seafood stew. For those who wish to hike the seven-mile trail along the spectacular limestone cliffs, the hotel prepares a gourmet picnic with local rosé wines to be enjoyed at one of the Algarve’s most picturesque lighthouses.

Another perspective on Portuguese viticulture comes from the Colares DOC. It’s situated along the southwestern Atlantic coast, west of the royal retreat of Sintra where Portugal’s ruling families once escaped Lisbon’s summer heat. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Sintra resembles a mystical kingdom of fanciful castles, pastel palaces, and hilltop villas — one of which was purchased in 2017 by Madonna.

According to locals, Madge and family have enjoyed an after-lunch romp through the private gardens of Tivoli Palácio de Seteais, which includes lemon groves and camellias. Originally built as a summer residence, the 18th-century Seteais Palace has been refashioned into a five-star property with original frescoes, tapestries, and textiles.

Tivoli Palácio de Seteais, Pena Palace Tivoli Palácio de Seteais, MoorishCastle

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The property also boasts a wine room dedicated to the bounty of Colares DOC. Furnished with period antiques, the Seteais Colares Wine Room offers tasting menus paired with wines produced from the region’s signature Malvasia and Ramisco grapes. Renowned for their assertive tannins, Ramisco wines soften with age, revealing a violet aroma with herbal tasting notes underscored by salinity. At the palace’s Anantara Spa located in the former dovecote, local wines are also utilized for various body treatments, including vinotherapy facials.

THE IT GIRL GARNACHA One of the fascinating aspects of wine tourism is the manner in which local grapes can reveal a cultural narrative. During the mid-19thcentury phylloxera epidemic, the vineyards of France were almost completely eradicated by sap-sucking aphids that were thought to have originated in North America and were first identified in France in Languedoc. Throughout the next 30 years as the French wine industry sought a solution, French wine growers migrated across the border into Spain, where the rootstock had not yet been infected.

A vineyard stalwart and one of the most planted wine grapes of the world, Garnacha (also known as Grenache) originated in the hot and dry Mediterranean climate of northeastern Spain and the South of France. In other words, the wines of Garnacha provide a glimpse into the autonomous communities of both Aragón and Catalonia.

“Garnacha is the Aragonese grape, a chameleonic grape that really showcases terroir,” explains Sofia González, a sixth-generation Aragonese. ”You’ll never find two Garnacha wines that are the same.

The soils, the wind, the landscape, the people — everything plays a role in the final juice. And I no longer see bottles — but instead, everything Vineyards of Carinena, Spain

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Viñas Otoño

THIS PAGE: PHOTOS COURTESY OF MRNY AND BSV GROUP CARIÑENA / WINES OF GARNACHA

Garnacha Grapes of Spain

behind it, all the people like my grandpa, reflected in this glass of wine.”

Remarkable for its magnificent 17th-century Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar, Aragon’s capital city of Zaragoza is not much more than a short drive from Cariñena, one of the oldest protected wine-growing regions on the continent. During the annual ten-day Fiestas del Pilar, the population of Zaragoza quadruples. Nearly four million visitors from around the world gather for festivities that include a massive floral pyramid in the middle of the city, as well as a spectacular fireworks display along the banks of the Ebro River.

One of the best vantage points from which to witness the numerous processions and parades is from the four-star Hotel Alfonso, which offers a rooftop pool with vistas overlooking the basilica. Designed by Pemán y Franco, the sleek and stylish hotel bridges the old city with the main shopping district of Zaragoza. Within easy walking distance is the city’s historic central market, which has remained in the same square since the Middle Ages. The current incarnation was built of iron in 1903 in the style of Les Halles in Paris. Nearby are Roman ruins of the original city, which was named for Caesar Augustus (two words that slur into Zaragoza after a couple bottles of Garnacha — hence the derivation).

Originally positioned as a workhorse grape often used for blending, Garnacha has stepped into its own spotlight over the past two decades, thanks to a new generation of winemakers who are producing Garnacha monovarietal wines. According to González, Marketing Manager of Wines of Garnacha, the recent interest in Garnacha has been a consequence of “traditional knowledge combined with recent technology that enabled us to domesticate this beautiful wild horse.”

Sometimes referred to as the Pinot Noir of southern Europe, Garnacha reflects its terroir for a diverse range of aromas and flavors and pairs perfectly with the full range of Mediterranean gastronomy.

Throughout the bucolic Cariñena DO (Designation of Origin) region, viticulture remains the primary industry, with antecedents reaching back to the monasteries of the Middle Ages. At Grandes Vinos, one of the marquee stars is Anayon Cariñena Terracota, a product aged for 12 months in 150-liter earthenware urns. As winemaker Marcelo Morales recalls, “I remembered how our forefathers made wine in … a vessel that has been used since prehistory. I was sure that aging in earthenware would enhance the fruit and mineral character, emphasizing the notes of slate and graphite.” The result is an elegant wine that merits ovation.

In the Terra Alta DO, Garnacha Blanca (or white Grenache) has

become something of an “It girl” grape, the ingénue who’s taken the stage to become a full-fledged star. That’s thanks to the grape’s virtuosity and dynamic performance among the region’s signature Terra Alta Garnacha Blanca wines. As one local attests, “Garnacha arrives with perfect acidity at harvest.”These aromatic white gems are known for their juicy acidity with notes of honeysuckle and citrus, alongside a pleasing creamy texture. In short, Garnacha Blanca is the new name on everyone’s tongue — and certainly knows how to make an entrance.

THIS PAGE: PHOTOS COURTESY OF MRNY AND BSV GROUP CARIÑENA / WINES OF GARNACHA

ON THE ROAD TO ROUSSILLON Just across the border in France, Roussillon is nestled between the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean. The region is blanketed by a patchwork quilt of vineyards that produce more than two dozen grape varieties. All along the Roussillon wine route, the air is redolent with garrigue, the French term for a wine bouquet marked by notes of rosemary, thyme, juniper, lavender and other indigenous wild herbs.

Whether traveling through on foot, by bicycle, or merely pausing to snap a photograph or lay out a picnic, Roussillon is visually arresting in the diversity of its landscape. Olive trees and almond groves flank fruit orchards alongside terraced vineyards overlooking the sea. The medieval Catalan village of Castelnou crowns a foothill beneath a feudal castle.

Nearby ancient dry stone structures dot the hills and valleys. Visitors to the vignerons at Terrassous in the Aspres region often enjoy e-bike tours of the vineyards and the surrounding countryside — complete with a Catalan picnic lunch and wine tasting.

More than 45% of Roussillon’s agriculture is devoted to viticulture, which has flourished in this region for millennia. In the words of one local, the fabled Mediterranean winds known as sirocco and tramontane blow to “clean the sky in southern France.” These strong sustained winds ensure more than 300 days of sunshine annually, in addition to relief from the summer heat, thereby producing optimal conditions for winegrowers and the sharp clarity of light so beloved by artists drawn to the South of France.

At the seaside town of Banyuls-sur-Mer, works by Aristide Maillol line the waterfront promenade and fill his former residence, now home to Musée Maillol. Beloved for his bronze sculptures (three of which grace the grand staircase of New York’s Metropolitan Opera House), Maillol was a native of this serene little village, which is also home to the third-generation Domaine de La Rectorie.

With more than 70 acres of terraced vineyards forming an amphitheater above the azure bay, La Rectorie has been producing Roussillon wines for more than a century, in particular the fortified apéritif or dessert wines known throughout the Banyuls AOC. Similar to the process used to make Port, these old-vine wines mature in oak barrels, and in the process impart intoxicating aromas of mocha, coffee, almonds and caramelized fruits.

One of the joys in sipping such elixirs is the subconscious connection to some of the most ancient corners of the world. At Domaine PuigParahy, they proffered a glass of Cuvée Veuve Parahÿ from 1910. At this point, I slipped into a sort of Proustian reverie, knowing I was sipping wine from my godfather’s era — wine bottled before the wars, wine that connects us all to an ancient legacy. As one Roussillon winemaker poetically put it, “We must understand what is in the land, like a musician; like an artist.”And in so doing, the art of wine lives on.

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Basilica in Zaragoza, Spain

Zaragoza, Spain Banyuls sur Mer, France

Cava

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TIM GUNN’S NEW YORK

Thunder Down Under

CONSUMMATE NEW YORKER TIM GUNN WELCOMES US HOME FROM OUR TRIP AROUND THE WORLD WITH A VIRTUAL TOUR OF HIS BIG APPLE. BY KEVIN PHINNEY FASHION GURU TIM GUNN HAS BECOME NEARLY AS CELEBRATED A PART

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of New York as the landmarks that surround his Manhattan home.

His grace, wisdom and urbane charm helped propel TV’s Project Runway through fifteen successful seasons on two networks; now he and co-host Heidi Klum are striking out on their own with a new series in development at Amazon Prime Video.

With WorldPride approaching, we asked fashion’s most famous mentor to take us on a virtual tour of his adopted hometown. On a brisk afternoon, tucked up on his sofa in jeans and black turtleneck, Gunn guided us from his Upper West Side penthouse apartment to the Hudson River Esplanade — with an assortment of his favorite distractions along the way.

METROSOURCE: I want you to take us through your idea of a perfect Manhattan day, but I know you were born in D.C., so I’m wondering: What do you recall about your first visit here?

TIM GUNN: I’m reaching back, searching... I believe I was in boarding school, and I came to New York with a roommate who lived on Park Avenue to spend the weekend. And here’s what I remember most vividly, because this was a very well-to-do family with a huge apartment. Jim and I were in the kitchen, and they had a cook who ordered out for Kentucky Fried Chicken while pretending that she’d made the whole thing. Truly. I was rather flabbergasted, and Jim said to me, “Oh she does this all the time, but Mom doesn’t know it.” And I said, “I don’t understand. This is her job to cook, and she’s making phone calls?” So I don’t even remember where we went. Ha! I remember that evening with the chicken.

So you’d have been…how old?

Oh, a teen, a young teen, probably. Then when I was an art student I came to New York all the time, because even though I lived in Washington with its own scene, great art was happening here. And we’d go to the galleries; we’d go to MOMA. For me, it was MOMA much more than the Met. MOMA and the Whitney before, when it was [uptown] at the Met Breuer. And I haunted them.You know what else I remember from those days? Something that’s a phenomenon that I’ve experienced only experienced infrequently, and it has to do with climate. It’s the fact that the Hudson would ice over completely.

Since I’ve lived here, I think that’s only happened a couple of times — and I’ve lived here for 35 and a half years now.

How do you like to start your mornings in the city?

Well I am a creature of habit — which is not to say that I feel stuck in a rut, as much as I have a certain routine that I look forward to — and it begins with getting up and getting dressed, getting prepared to go out. And I go out for breakfast to the same place every morning — at my corner, 90th and Broadway: City Diner. It’s a great place, and it’s the same breakfast every morning: two scrambled eggs and two pieces of turkey bacon. No potatoes. No toast.

Carbs are your enemy?

I think they’re everybody’s enemy. And I have to say at this juncture of my life – and you can agree or disagree – I’m constantly fighting back against the bulge. Just constantly fighting. I took up fencing four years ago and I work with a fitness trainer twice a week. But It’s still a battle, METROSOURCE.COM APRIL/MAY 2019

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Once you’re up and about, do you have a preferred way to get around Manhattan? Town cars? Über?

I take the subway. Or I walk. Also just for your information, part of that City Diner routine is that I get The New York Times digitally and I use that breakfast time to catch up on the news. There are also a bunch of us regulars who worry about the possibility that their rent’s going to go up again and that the place will shut down because... Well, I don’t know where you live, but here on the Upper West Side, there are so many shuttered storefronts, and many have been shuttered for years.

It’s this damn rent conundrum, and it’s just awful what it’s done.

I have, and they’re great.

And I will say too on the Upper West Side — not to cast aspersions on Barnes & Noble – but Book Culture at 112th Street and Broadway is phenomenal. Basically it’s Columbia’s Bookstore.

Do you feel the same way about the Strand down off Union Square?

Oh, the Strand’s a phenomenal bookstore, and their second floor rare book section is like going to a museum.

Now you’ve had a bite to eat. Let’s say we’re going to explore the city. Where would you start? What would you want to show someone maybe visiting for the first time?

I would walk east from my apartment; I’d walk east to Central Park and across Central Park to the Metropolitan Museum.

Say you were spending your last day in the city; is that where you’d be, in a bookstore? What would you have to experience one more time?

For me? I’d have to go back to the Met and see Picasso’s portrait of Gertrude Stein.

Ha! You anticipate the question: Are you more a museum person, an art gallery guy, or someone who’d rather shop?

Oh, I’m a museum guy. I’m no longer an art gallery guy. What a bunch of crap. Sorry.

Now I’m picturing you standing before it, and I’m wondering what’s going through your mind as you’re taking it in...

Well for me, it conjures up the incredible history of Paris at that time; what the Steins did for the contemporary art world; my love of Gertrude Stein’s writing, as idiosyncratic as it is — and the phenomenon that the early 20th century brought to culture in so many ways, including writing, music, art and theater. It was an incredible renaissance.

Excuse me? What is your issue sir, with art galleries?

Well, I just am so tired of poorly-executed expensive preening. For me, the contemporary art world is just uninteresting. And I can’t believe that much of it — if any of it — is going to withstand the test of time. I mean, ultimately that’s what it’s all about. A hundred years from now, what’s still going to be relevant?

What’s your favorite thing to find on a jaunt around town: an experience, a trinket, a street musician? What comes to mind?

Well for me, it’s stumbling upon a bookstore I didn’t know about. And, of course, with bookstores in great decline, that’s getting harder and

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harder. But only recently, speaking of Chelsea – well, it’s probably more in the Flatiron – I didn’t know about the Rizzoli store at 24th and Broadway. It’s wonderful. Have you been to that Rizzoli?

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What a bunch of people to be able to hang out with...

And speaking of a last day, I went to the Met to see the Euphronious Krater, a bowl for mixing wine and water that was very prominently displayed, and it was acquired during Thomas Hoving’s tenure as director. So it’s 1970s, but it was discovered that it was stolen from Italy.

So the Met being ever-ethical, they were about to return it, and they did. But its last day of being on display was a Sunday, and I thought,“I have to go and pay my respects to this piece.”And I maintain that only

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because we metabolize slower. So I eat breakfast and I eat dinner. I do not eat lunch. But we can’t have a life that’s only self-deprivation.

in New York would this happen: There were so many people there to see it that they had – what’s the word I’m searching for? – stanchions.

And I probably waited an hour and a half in line to see it again. That’s how many people there were. It brought me to tears; I found it to be so moving that people would care so much.

New Yorkers never cease to amaze. So as twilight approaches, where would we find you? You seem like a rooftop happy hour kind of guy.

A “rooftop happy hour kind of guy?”Ha! It’s just easy to picture Tim Gunn on a Manhattan rooftop with a glass of wine in his hand at dusk.

You’re quite right, though. I have a lovely terrace and when the weather’s nice, that’s where I have my glass of wine. This may or may not surprise you, but I really dislike going out at night. I’m a nester. I like cooking. I like the sanctity of my home. And I only accept invitations that are a must, things that I really have to do. So it’s rare for me to see something like The Cher Show twice. I saw it the first time the first night of the month-long previews, and I went with one of the investors. The second time, I had a friend here from Washington and I thought he’d love the show, so we went.

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What elements go into a great Manhattan dinner for you?

An environment that’s aesthetically enticing, that’s seductive in a way.

Food that’s delicious. But I think the more important component is just having just great conversation.

So having good company...?

You never know. If they’re people who you know of, you’ll have a certain expectation of them. And then you can get to a dinner party with them and you think, “Oh God, this is a colossal disappointment.

Or it can exceed all your expectations. I have to say one of the most thrilling moments I’ve ever had here in New York at a dinner party was discovering that sitting next to me was Nora Ephron. She was fabulous, and basically, I gushed, including quoting her work - what a boor! And

she smiled and nodded. When we were leaving the party, she said that she and her sister Delia and I should have lunch, but it didn’t happen.

I — like most people — didn’t know how ill she was. Within six months of that dinner, she was gone.

If someone’s looking to lure you out, how would they do so?

I would rather it be Broadway. That would be number one on my list.

Are you a musicals guy? Could somebody get you out on the town to see To Kill A Mockingbird, or…?

Oh, no no. They couldn’t. I have to tell you, the other thing about my evolution is that I have become — I think it’s this world we’ve been living in the last two years — I am so prone to tears that for me, it’s got to be a comedy, or it has to be a musical. I cannot do serious drama now. I just fight back the tears the whole time and it’s… Well, actually, it may be good for calorie burning. I hadn’t thought about that aspect.

But it’s awful. Have you seen Colin Quinn in Red State Blue State? It is so worth it; 80 minutes, no intermission. And it is hilarious. It’s at the Minetta Lane.

Can you complete this sentence? I believe no visit to New York City is complete without...

Oh my goodness. There’s so much I love about New York. I’m just thinking… I would say no visit to New York is complete without a walk along the Hudson River Esplanade. You take in much of the scope of the taller aspects of the city, because you’re in Lower Manhattan. You take in the Statue of Liberty. You take in the great expanse of New York Harbor. And there are various stops along the way where you’ll find quotes either carved into stone or made out of metal. There’s a Walt Whitman quote down by the World Financial Center on that walkway that brings me to tears all the time. It’s very uplifting, and it’s very inspiring. I find it rejuvenating, and it always reminds me of why I’m here and why people should visit.

■ WANT MORE TIM GUNN? READ MORE OF OUR CONVERSATION WITH HIM AND SEE HIM ON VIDEO NOW AT METROSOURCE.COM. METROSOURCE.COM APRIL/MAY 2019

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WRITING A GAME CHANGER

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A QUARTER OF A CENTURY

after its release, Philadelphia remains groundbreaking.

When it first arrived, it was rare for a commercial film to present such an unvarnished portrayal of the challenges faced by those confronting AIDS. It garnered numerous accolades and awards, including Tom Hanks’ Oscar for portraying a gay HIV-positive lawyer, Andrew Beckett.

In recognition of its 25-year anniversary, Sony recently released a special digital version of Philadelphia. The package comes with bonus features, including a documentary about the making of the project. A limited series of screenings also took place across the country.

The film may now be etched in cinematic lore as an unprecedented look inside the world of AIDS. However Philadelphia was not an instant hit with critics or the public. Some activists criticized the Jonathan Demme-helmed film for focusing too heavily on straight characters. Larry Kramer argued that it did not present the “AIDS I know” or “the gay world I know.” Others balked at the initial homophobia displayed by Denzel Washington’s character.

Rotten Tomatoes observes that the film“indulges in some unfortunate clichés in its quest to impart a meaningful message.”Nevertheless, the film review site also allows that“its stellar cast and sensitive direction are more than enough to compensate.”

Metrosource spoke to Ron Nyswaner (pictured, above), who earned a screenwriting nomination from the Motion Picture Academy for Philadelphia. Nyswaner brushes his critics aside by pointing out,“Anything that’s a reminder to people that AIDS is a very powerful and dangerous thing is something that has to be reckoned with.”

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says.“That certainly resonates now with walls being built to keep people who aren’t like us out.”

Nyswaner adds that his film was not alone in tackling the topics of AIDS and homosexuality — both considered box office kryptonite at the time. He points to such predecessors as Longtime Companion and Parting Glances. But the scale of Philadelphia’s success helped to awakened America (and beyond) to the magnitude of the epidemic.

“Our goal was to have a movie that would speak outside of a small arthouse,” says the writer. “Smaller arthouse audiences didn’t need to have their minds opened to HIV and LGBT issues. We wanted to see if we could have a movie play in a mall cineplex and people would decide to go see our movie instead of the next installment of Die Hard.” But to create a film that would reach a mass market, did Philadelphia dilute the reality of the epidemic? And did it craft its portrayals of gay relationships such that they would not dissuade audiences from showing up?

Nyswaner also dismisses intimations that the film’s creators sanitized Andrew’s relationship with his partner Miguel (Antonio Banderas).“I would have liked a little more relationship between Andrew and Miguel,” he will concede today, but “no one ever said to me, ‘That’s too gay. That’s making the film too gay’. People had said the film was 10 minutes too long, so let’s cut a scene.”

However, Nyswaner did fight to keep an emotional scene where Andrew breaks down while listening to opera.“We had to defend it,” he says. Even gay executives questioned whether a focus on opera would cement stereotypes. A lot of people didn’t like it.”

While on location, the film also hired dozens of HIV-positive actors and crew members (all but one now deceased) and consulted with healthcare providers during production. A generation later, Nyswaner believes his work remains relevant as a tool to educate those who’ve grown up since, and don’t fully grasp what HIV/AIDS were and how attitudes about them today were forged back then.

“Its legacy is that you can watch the film and you can know something that is truthful about how some people lived in the early 1990s,” he concludes.“It has a place in history — because it is part of the story of gay history.”

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THIS PAGE: IMAGES COURTESY RON NYSWANER AND SONY PICTURES

BODY

METROHIV

In honor of Philadelphia’s 25th anniversary, we talk to its screenwriter about making tough choices behind the scenes — and why the film still resonates today. BY JEFF SIMMONS

LONE STAR LESSONS no-nonsense nun who unwittingly guided me to the end of my years as a Catholic. Previously I’d been an altar boy, taught Catechism and drank deep the Kool-Aid of the Holy Roman Church.

She called me to her office one day to skewer me about beer busts in the dorm. “But sister,” I protested,“they’re allowed to have beer busts in the handbook of regulations.”

“I know they are,” she said, arching an eyebrow. “I want you to make them stop.”

On Sundays, I would twitch in a pew next to my girlfriend as the priest railed against the sins of homosexuality. Then after mass, I’d be hit on by a parade of the Order of Brothers who taught at the school. “What size waist are you ... like a 28? I have some jeans that don’t fit me. You should come over and try them on.” I soon took my diploma and left the dogma behind.

In Austin, I came out, found my first partner and got my first journalism job as an entertainment reporter for The Austin American-Statesman. That gig gave me access to Willie Nelson’s bus, where I declined a toke offered by the man himself. People like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Donna Summer and Lily Tomlin called us to publicize their latest projects. And I learned to write.

Once I came to hate life behind the wheel of a car in LA, I returned to Austin to recharge. I spent valuable time there as one of the hosts of Kevin & Kevin, a weekday morning drive-time radio show. I loved that job because it taught me to reverse engineer everything I’d learned as a journalist. Rather than agonizing over finding the right word, I learned to shoot from the hip, be funny, be fast and as quickly as possible “get to the out” — radiospeak for the commercial break.

I soaked up all Texas could teach me before I felt ready to return to New York. El Paso taught me to respect cultures other than my own and that I should stand up to bullies like my stepfather. Lubbock helped me appreciate how people who lack sophistication might still possess strength of character. And Austin helped me get that the coolest thing I could be is me.

As I write this I find myself on a flight back to Texas — where two weeks ago, a gay couple was attacked after a night out at the same Austin bars I used to haunt. And over the weekend, my Facebook page blew up with reports that St. Ed’s has just barred one of the retired brothers from campus because of what they judged ‘inappropriate contact” with a then-17-year old student.

It makes wonder: Has the Trump era pushed Texas to provide aid and comfort to the same bullies and hypocrites who defined the worst of my time there? Will the Lone Star State ever live up to all its potential? That’s a lesson I’d love to learn.

■

VIEWS

EVERY YEAR, I TRY TO GET BACK to Texas, and my New York friends never understand why. And so I explain again: my politics are strictly North Eastern liberal.

But my manners, tastes in music, food and friends? Those were all forged in the Southwest.

It’s hard to leave Texas behind — at least in terms of distance. When I left Austin to take a job at The Hollywood Reporter in LA, our map reported that at the halfway point between Central Texas and California, you’re still in Texas — El Paso to be exact.

Several of my sisters still live in El Paso, where we were transplanted from New York by my Mother’s third of six husbands.

Mom had a unique gift for drifting into a bar, finding a man to get bombed with and waking up sporting a hangover, a wedding ring and someone new that we were all supposed to call “Daddy.”

“El Paso Daddy” was a piece of work — a large, boorish drunken Army lifer who adopted us for our Social Security benefits and treated us like he was our drill sergeant. From him, I learned to answer to “Mister.” As in, “Mister, that patio needs policing” and “You don’t have brains God gave a pissant, Mister” and “Mister, you’ll never amount to a Goddamned thing.”

What did I love about El Paso? Not much. I did discover Mexican food there and will swear on a stack of tortillias that I had better enchiladas in my high school cafeteria than most restaurants serve outside Texas.

After graduating high school, I did half my degree work at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. There, when the wind turns in just the right direction, you can smell the stench of the slaughterhouses barely outside town. “Oh, that?” a local once said to me with a shrug. “That’s the smell of money, son.” In Lubbock, I also witnessed something truly Biblical: In mere moments, a clear blue sky could be overcome by an approaching brown curtain, and when the dust collided with the rain, we’d find ourselves in— I kid you not — a downpour of mud. I learned to drink there and two-step there. Deeply closeted, I also learned to cruise with secret agent-level stealth. My last semester in Lubbock, I sat in front of a boy in magazine writing class. Quiet kid. His name was John W. Hinckley Jr. and soon after, he’d leave Lubbock, too — to shoot Ronald Reagan.

I moved to Austin and finished my degree at St. Edward’s University, the poor Catholic cousin of Norte Dame. I also got a job there as head resident of the men’s dorms. My boss was a butch,

POV

Through a childhood in El Paso, college years in Lubbock and coming into his own in Austin, one gay man learned the best and the worst that Texas had to offer. BY KEVIN PHINNEY

HAVE YOU LEARNED ANY LIFE LESSONS ON THE DANCE FLOOR? SHARE YOUR STORY IN “GAY VOICES” AT METROSOURCE.COM. METROSOURCE.COM APRIL/MAY 2019

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HEALTH BODY

THINK APPY THOUGHTS These popular mobile apps deliver the powerful health benefits of meditation for people on the go. BY MEGAN VENZIN

out an hour of quiet time in your bedroom seems impossible, you’re not alone. The breakneck American lifestyle is relentless and under that pressure, sometimes nothing sounds harder than confronting your own thoughts. Lucky for you (and whatever precious heirlooms you might inadvertently destroy in a rage fit), intrepid developers are delivering some of today’s best meditation practices via a platform we all know and love: mobile apps.

A clearer mind may be closer than you think, thanks to practices that incorporate deep breathing, inviting narrations, chanting and other calming techniques to get you grounded — regardless of whether you have an hour or mere minutes to spare. The key to developing a mindful practice is understanding precisely what that means for you. These five highly-rated applications are designed to help you do just that.

HEADSPACE If the very thought of adopting a meditation practice spurs anxiety, then this is the app for you. Headspace is the perfect app for absolute beginners who desire a clear and placid mind, but don’t know where to begin. The free trial includes 10 sessions

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which provide a simple way for users to “reframe stress,” complete with guided meditations, eye-catching animations and a reward system for repeat users. With sessions clocking in as short as three minutes to start, Headspace is a great option for anyone who simply seeks a midday break or wants to explore the many health-related benefits of meditation. Premium plans with advanced features are available starting at only $12.99 per month. headspace.com

CALM When was the last time you had a restful night’s sleep? Start using Calm, an app that focuses on restfulness and relaxation, and your mornings are sure to get a whole lot sweeter. Wake up feeling refreshed and ready to take on your day with the help of Calm’s more than 100 guided meditations, which focus on problem areas like anxiety, sleep, relationships and more. In addition, Calm’s premium upgrade includes access to soothing sounds, a series of gentle stretching techniques and other features all intended to make you feel great. In the meantime, the free trial will have you have you sleeping faster than you can say Rip Van Winkle. calm.com

THIS PAGE: INDIAN YOGI YOGI MADHAV ON UNSPLASH

IF THE IDEA OF ATTENDING A GROUP MEDITATION CLASS OR CARVING

THE MINDFULNESS APP Considered the “gold standard” of meditation mobile applications, the Mindfulness App goes beyond basics to help experienced and neophyte meditation practitioners develop a tailored routine based on their existing meditation habits — be they daily or non-existent. Whether you prefer silent or guided meditations, the Mindfulness app has you covered with practices ranging from three to 30 minutes in length. Plus its integration function allows you to flow statistics into the Apple Health app to promote total wellness by integrating body and mind. themindfulnessapp.com

BUDDHIFY Are you traveling? With a friend? On a work break? Buddhify asks these questions straight away, then recommends the perfect practice to accommodate your busy schedule. Its colorful interface, inviting format and ability to weave mindfulness into everyday activities have made it an international sensation, and at only $30 a year for a membership, it also tops out as one of the most affordable meditation apps on the market. buddhify.com ■

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INSIGHT TIMER With more than 4,500 free guided meditations in the palm of your hand, Insight Timer will help you reach your highest self. Experienced practitioners will appreciate the hundreds of meditation music tracks which can also be used for personal sessions. For easy offline listening, frequent travelers and instructors may wish to spring for Insight Timer’s paid subscription service. It’s currently the top-rated free meditation app for iPhone and Android, with more than 6,100,000 users calling it “om.” insighttimer.com

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53

Dolores Park, Downtown San Francisco

DESTINATION HEALTH IN 2011 RESEARCHER JENS PRUESSNER RELEASED A STUDY CALLED “STRESS IN

the City: Brain Activity and Biology Behind Disorders of Urbanites.” The study showed“being born and raised in a major urban area [is] associated with greater lifetime risk for anxiety and mood disorders.”Until now the biology for these associations had not been explored in much detail. Now a study shows that “two distinct brain regions that regulate emotion and stress are affected by city living.”

Does this mean we should all move to a commune? Not necessarily.

There are still plenty of healthy cities in the U.S. In 2018 Wallethub released a report of America’s healthiest and least healthy cities.

The findings compared more than 170 of our most populated cities while factoring in “40 key indicators of good health.” These indicators came from four key dimensions: health care, food, fitness and green space. For health care, some indicators included premature death rates, mental health and counselors, physical health and dentists and the cost of a medical visit. Indicators for food included fruit and vegetable consumption, farmer’s markets, healthy restaurants, dieticians and nutritionists and number of obese residents. Fitness indicators took into account health clubs (and their average cost), weight-loss centers, fitness trainers and aerobics instructors. The calculus for green spaces included local parkland acres; park quality; hiking, running and walking trails, and access to recreation, physical activity and “greenness.” Data to establish Wallethub’s ranking came from the U.S. Census Bureau, Council for Community and Economic Research, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, County Health Rankings, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Trust for Public Land and Under Armour.

The top ten healthiest cities (in order) are San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; Portland, OR; San Diego, CA; Washington, DC; Burlington, VT; Scottsdale, AZ; Honolulu, HI; Irvine, CA and Denver, CO. Conversely, they conclude our least healthy cities are Brownsville, TX; Laredo, TX; Augusta, GA; Shreveport, LA; Gulfport, MS; Fort Smith, AR; Detroit, MI; Jackson, MS; Corpus Cristi, TX and Memphis, TN.

GETTING AROUND BY THE BAY Wildfire smoke may blow into the area, but San Francisco has been a

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health and wellness pioneer. Consider their expansive parks and green areas, wellness centers, healthy restaurant options, beaches, markets and more. Looking to get a closer look at this City by the Bay? Meander through Golden Gate Park or Dolores Park and take in some of the most beautiful landscaping — not to mention the strolling eye candy — in the country. It’s reputed to have the nation’s most walking trails per capita, followed by Washington, DC. Here, you can get a little closer to Nirvana by walking in the footsteps of the late cult hero Alan Watts, the Buddhist philosopher whose writings influenced the hippies and the beat generations. There’s said to be over 100 spots to get your asana on in San Francisco. Some of the more popular yoga studios include Laughing Lotus Yoga Center, Yoga Garden SF, Yoga to the People and Yoga Mayu.

Once you work up an appetite, San Francisco also boasts the fifthhighest number of healthy restaurants per capita. Consider checking out Asian Box, where everything is gluten-free; Dabba, a popular Caribbean, Indian, Mexican and Cajun spot in the Marina; Mendocino Farms, where you can indulge in“the healthiest side salad ever;”and Kitava, the super-healthy paleo diet-friendly hotspot ironically doing business out of a former McDonald’s location on Mission Street.

CAPITAL WAYS TO EAT CLEAN The abundance of scenic landscaping in and around Washington, DC, is undoubtedly part of the reason it lands as the fifth healthiest city in the lineup. Pierre L’Enfant, DC’s first urban planner, designed the nation’s capital to be beautified by public gardens and spaces. Some of DC’s incredible gardens include the U.S. National Arboretum, which boasts one of North America’s largest collections of bonsai trees; the 1,700-acre Rock Creek Park, established in 1890; the Hirshhorn Museum’s 1.5-acre Sculpture Garden in the middle of the National Mall; Merdian Hill Park; Lincoln Park on Capitol Hill; Kenilworth Park & Acquatic Gardens; the U.S. Botanic Garden, and Georgetown’s Tudor Place Historic House & Garden. “Eating Clean”has also taken off all over DC with an expansive selection of vegetarian, vegan and ultra healthy restaurant options like HipCityVeg, NuVegan Cafe, the DC homegrown Sweetgreen chain, swank Blagden Alley farm-to-table favorite The Dabney, and the EatWell

STOCK PHOTO COPYRIGHT: JEJIM

BODY

HEALTH

We look at a study ranking the nation’s healthiest cities, then take a look at how LGBTQ citizens and visitors alike can make the most of them. BY JEFFREY JAMES KEYES

Scottsdale

Seattle’s Downtown Skyline and Mt. Rainier, Washington

DC collection of seven distinct restaurants in the area: Grillfish, Logan Tavern, Commissary, The Pig, The Shaw, The Charles and Frenchy’s Naturel. Every DC resident (yes, that’s 100 percent) lives within two miles of a recreation center and there are over 70 miles of bike lanes in the city with more than 1,100 bikes available in their expanding bike sharing system.

STOCK PHOTO COPYRIGHT: SORINCOLAC

VALLEY OF THE SPAS Scottsdale is part of the “Valley of the Sun” in the Sonoran Desert.

The term is a nod to the area’s roughly 330 days of total or at least partially sunny days. Wellness is a way of life Scottsdale, which boasts the highest number of spas per capita in the U.S. Unique treatments available include the cannabidiol (CBD) remedies offered at the Agave, and the Arizona Spa at the The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa. After your treatment, be sure to visit the spa’s Tea Leaf Reader/Astrologer and Intuitive Consultant to forecast your next wellness experience.

The Four Seasons at Troon North features a number of signature treatments, including The Pinnacle Facial with anti-inflammatory properties of gold and gold-infused sugar scrub and shimmer oil and a Jojoba and Prickly Pear Polish treatment to heal your body and leave it smooth and moisturized. Joya Spa at the Omni Montelucia (inspired by the Moroccan desert and Andalusia) provides a wide range of healing experiences, taking guests through Hamam-inspired spa rituals. The journey begins with an escorted walk up a grand staircase to the “Joy of Intention Room” where guests choose a healing stone to set the tone for the day (Tiger Eye, Blue Lace Agate, Rhodonite, Rose Quartz, or Hematite). Guests then move to the room of purification where sits a 55-pound quartz crystal radiating light before transporting to the authentic Hamam in the Sonoran.

Spagoers looking for Native American-inspired treatments should head to The Boulders Spa, to take in the “Journey of the Sacred Circle.”

Created using Native American belief systems as a guide, this is a series of spa services that follows a “medicine wheel” of human experiences which emulate the natural cycle of Earth, its moon phases and the four seasons. You might opt for the Sun Suite Celebration, which is a full day experience where you can soak up the sweeping views of the Boulders while taking in three 50-minute services: one 50-minute nail service, a

spa lunch and amenities like a private outdoor whirlpool, fireplace and steam shower.

Looking for something more physical? Some of the best hiking trails in the country are right in Scottsdale’s backyard. There’s the Pinnacle Peak Summit Trail, a 3.5-mile hike. Or try the strenuous 4-mile Tom’s Thumb Trail, with an elevation gain of 1,236 feet. Out in Scottsdale’s McDowell Sonoran Preserve, you can explore the peaceful Gateway Loop Trail, a 4.5-mile trail with a manageable 655-foot elevation. If you’re looking to beat the heat, Salt River Rafting is definitely an option. Salt River Rafting offers a full day 10-mile adventure featuring 14 Class III rapids and a riverside lunch for $129. Their longer excursions include a threeday wilderness trip that provides Indian ruins and a unique opportunity to explore the Salt River Canyon Wilderness. Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain offers Standup Paddleboard Yoga, which combines a variety of yoga poses — encouraging you to be mindful about your breathing with an incredible backdrop. WOGA (Water Yoga) is also offered at the spa/ resort/sanctuary CIVANA Carefree. Cool off in their unique 50-minute yoga class; just don’t be afraid to get wet.

AND AS FOR THE LEAST HEALTHY CITIES...

Our advice to those living in the least healthy cities? Get outside and move your body! The ACSM American Fitness Index’s 2018 rankings states“regular physical activity is one of the most important ways people can improve and maintain their health. ... While a significant proportion of Americans are physically active, less than 25 percent of adults meet national physical activity guidelines. With obesity rates climbing to 40 percent of adults and obesity-related medical costs exceeding $147 billion yearly, increasing physical activity has never been more important to the nation’s health and economic outcomes.”

Make sure you’re drinking plenty of water and eating fruits and vegetables rich in water and nutrients. Make healthy food choices by eating seasonally and planning your meals so that they’re continually well-rounded. Lastly, get plenty of sleep. Consistently getting a good night’s sleep is just as important as eating well and exercising.

You might not be able to change your physical surroundings to give you maximum access to parks and fitness instructors and haute vegan cuisine. But you can certainly take a few steps in the right direction. ■ METROSOURCE.COM APRIL/MAY 2019

55

COULD HE BE THE FIRST GAY PRESIDENT?

VIEWS

LAST CALL

PETE BUTTIGIEG COMES FROM A VERY DIFFERENT WORLD THAN THE CURRENT

Oval Office occupant. Not only is Buttigieg from the Midwest and the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, he’s also a Harvard graduate, a Rhodes scholar, and a veteran of the war in Afghanistan. At 37, he’s barely old enough to run for the office (the required age is 35). And if elected, he’d be the youngest ever to serve. He also just happens to be gay.

METROSOURCE: When you talked to people in the armed services, how did they feel about working alongside gay and trans Americans?

Pete Buttigieg: Most people I served with couldn’t care less. They wanted to know if you were prepared to do your job, and if they could trust you to handle a weapon or read an intelligence brief or whatever else was expected of you. The military, if I’m not mistaken, is the largest employer of transgender Americans, and these are Americans who just want a chance to do a good job and serve their country like everybody else. I do not understand what motivates this president to attack people who are willing to serve — fellow Americans — especially given that he was somebody who got out of his obligation to serve when it was his turn.

Like Mike Pence, you’re a Hoosier: What do you think about the way he practices the politics of division?

I think what really matters is whether our leadership pulls Americans apart or brings them together. In an odd way, Mike Pence helped unify Indiana around LGBT issues in the sense that Republicans and Democrats, mayors from both parties, business leaders — even organizations like NASCAR and the NCAA — all stood up to him on the so-called“religious freedom” bill and said, “That’s not who we are.” So while it was divisive in one sense, it actually brought out the best in many of us. We responded and stood up to say that we believe our state is better when its inclusive and when everybody is made to feel welcome.

How do you plan to cope with the insults that are bound to come your way from Donald Trump in a presidential contest?

I’ve had a fair amount of batting practice over the course of my life when it comes to dealing with bullies. And I’m not that worried about it. I think the more the conversation is about him, the less it’s about us — the less it’s about people going through everyday life in places like South Bend and across America. One of the unfortunate attributes of this presidency is that it’s a bit like a computer virus. It ties up all of our processing power and makes it hard for us to think or do anything else. But at the end of the day, it’s not about him. I think he’s a symptom more than a cause of a political

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and economic system that’s let a lot of Americans down, and really does need to be changed in a number of deep ways in order to serve us well for the years ahead.

How will being gay influence the kind of president you’d be?

My marriage happens to be same-sex. That’s also probably the most normal thing about my life. It holds me down to Earth, and it widens my perspective, and it’s something I have in common with people who are married who are not gay. I’ll also say that, as someone whose marriage exists by the grace of a single vote on the Supreme Court, I have a deep understanding of how political choices affect everyday life. And that’s an understanding I carry with me not only when thinking about LGBTQ issues, but just more generally when thinking about what’s at stake in American politics and policy. I tell this story at length in my book, Shortest Way Home, so if anybody wants to get a deeper sense of what that was like, that would be the place to look. But to make a long story short: We met on a dating app called Hinge. And I’m really glad that I clicked the right button because as soon as I met him, I knew that I’d met somebody special. Our first date was a pint at an Irish pub followed by a baseball game in South Bend. It didn’t take long to realize that something really special had happened.

Some will see your run as a symbolic quest to shatter a glass ceiling for LGBTQ people. But the way you’re talking, it seems like you have some expectation you could win.

I understand that this is an underdog project, but I think it’s a good season for underdog projects. … PeteforAmerica.com is our website, and we’re very eager for people to add their names so that we can ask people to volunteer when we need it and also [help] in fundraising. We don’t have the sort of gilded fundraising base that a senator from one of America’s biggest cities might have. So we’re really counting on grassroots support from people who, for whatever number of reasons, believe it makes sense for us to be part of this conversation. And it wouldn’t hurt if somebody who wants to be supportive got a copy of the book, too. You’re going to hear us talking a lot about freedom. … It means freedom to marry the person you love. It means freedom to be who you are. It means freedom to organize for better working conditions. And I think it’s high time that people on my side of the aisle got comfortable once again talking about freedom.

■ THIS IS JUST A TASTE OF OUR CONVERSATION WITH PETE BUTTIGIEG. VISIT METROSOURCE.COM FOR OUR FULL, UNABRIDGED TRANSCRIPT, AND FIND OUT MORE ABOUT WHAT HE STANDS FOR.

THIS PAGE: COURTESY PETE FOR AMERICA

We talk to gay presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg about trans military issues, dealing with Trump and Pence — and whether he might actually win. BY KEVIN PHINNEY

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