• Issue 29.19 DAYTONA BEACH • ORLANDO • TAMPA • ST. PETERSBURG • CLEARWATER • SARASOTA ComuniComuniCelebrandoNuestradaddad Celebrating LGBTQ Latinx activists for National Hispanic Heritage Month Pride on the River returns to Tampa CFL Softball League kicks off 25th season
ComuniCelebrandoNuestradad • Issue 29.19 ComuniNuestradad DAYTONA BEACH • ORLANDO • TAMPA • ST. PETERSBURG • CLEARWATER • SARASOTA Celebrating LGBTQ Latinx activists for National Hispanic Heritage Month Pride on the River returns to Tampa CFL Softball League kicks off 25th season
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To step on stage, night after night, in a center spotlight, downstage … taking up that space as a mixed-race Asian-American woman … there is nothing that makes me feel more powerful. And I recognize that I’m standing on the shoulders of giants. There are so many people that it took for me to be a leading lady today. And I never take it for granted.
voicing “The Little
WATERMARK ISSUE 29.19 // SEPTEMBER 15 - 28, 2022 PLAY BALL Central Florida Softball League kicks off year 25. SETTING SAIL Tampa Pride holds second annual Pride on the River. HEADING SOUTH Experience the adventure and warmth of Colombia. YAAAS, QUEEN! Jasmine Forsberg is part of the “SIX” Queendom. PAGE 41 PAGE 12 PAGE 33 PAGE 09 7 // EDITOR’S DESK 9 // CENTRAL FL NEWS 12 // TAMPA BAY NEWS 14 // STATE NEWS 15 // NATION & WORLD NEWS 21 // TALKING POINTS 45 // TAMPA BAY OUT + ABOUT 47 // CENTRAL FL OUT + ABOUT 48 // TAMPA BAY MARKETPLACE 50 // CENTRAL FL MARKETPLACE 54 // EVENT PLANNER FOLLOW US ON TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM AT @WATERMARKONLINE AND LIKE US ON FACEBOOK.
Jodi
TREASURES UNTOLD: Benson on Mermaid,”
the film’s LGBTQ legacy and her new book. DEPARTMENTSONTHECOVER COMUNIDAD:NUESTRACELEBRANDO Celebrating LGBTQ Latinx activists for National Hispanic Heritage Month COVER PHOTOS BY DYLAN TODD
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Gov” released an ad in the vein of “Top Gun,” in which DeSantis – who served in the Navy as a military lawyer – bills himself as Tom Cruise’s Maverick from the classic film and its recent sequel. It opens on Headquarters,”“Freedomallegedly Florida, as DeSantis likens an aerial battle between fighter jets to “fighting the corporate media.” He completes his cosplay by zipping himself into a flight suit, strolling through a tarmac and sitting in the cockpit of a jet, helmet and all. Clips of him proudly berating journalists play throughout. The ad is disturbing on a number of levels, but I think the Democratic National Committee summarized why best.
He’s also adopted other moves from Donald Trump’s playbook, including a high-profile attack on the press last month. It seems clearer than ever that DeSantis wants to follow in his idol’s footsteps, and like the Republican Party is waiting with open arms with eyes on the White House.
BRIAN BECNEL, NICK CARDELLO, BRUCE HARDIN, JAMARQUS MOSLEY, CHRIS STEPHENSON, LEE LVNLIF2PHOTOGRAPHYVANDERGRIFTDISTRIBUTING,KENCARRAWAY,RAYLENEHUNT,ZACHARYWELCHDISTRIBUTION
T
Of Pinellas County’s 690,520 registered voters, only 219,390 ballots were cast for a turnout of 31.77%. 229,064 ballots were counted from Hillsborough County, or 25.2% of its 908,954 registered voters.
This issue’s arts and entertainment coverage includes a personal and professional highlight for me, an interview with Disney Legend Jodi Benson. Among other roles, she voiced Ariel in 1989’s “The Little Mermaid,” the first film I remember seeing as a child and undoubtedly the first to have an impact on my life.
ORTIZEUNIC is an adjunct professor and activist.longtimeBorn
In Tampa Bay news, we preview the second annual Pride on the River, Tampa Pride’s kickoff to the organization’s 2023 season. In Central Florida, we detail the return of the Orlando Strong Symposium.
Like so many people in and outside of the LGBTQ community, “The Little Mermaid” helped
The governor’s attack on the press drew national attention, in part for its absurdity. The “Top
I know I do, so please make sure you and everyone else you know is registered and ready to vote at Vote.org. Members of the LGBTQ community and our allies can make a tremendous difference Nov. 8, but only if we show up.
EDITOR’S
Ariel yourreallysometimesprovedherselfthatyoushouldmeetidols.
That’s more important than ever, especially here in Florida. With one foot in the governor’s mansion and the other on “Fox & Friends,” Ron DeSantis has used his first term to wage war on almost every minority in the state – especially the LGBTQ community – for political points.
CONTRIBUTORS ORLANDO OFFICE 1300 N. Semoran Blvd. Ste 250 Orlando, FL 32807 TEL: 407-481-2243 TAMPA BAY OFFICE 401 33rd Street N. St. Petersburg, FL 33713 TEL: 813-655-9890 WATERMARK STAFF Owner & Publisher: Rick Todd • Ext. Rick@WatermarkOnline.com110 JeremyEditor-in-Chief:Williams•Ext. Jeremy@WatermarkOnline.com106 Managing Editor: Ryan Williams-Jent • Ext. Ryan@WatermarkOnline.com302 Creative Designer: Dylan Todd • Ext. Dylan@WatermarkOnline.com107 Creative Designer: Kyler Mills • Ext. Kyler@WatermarkOnline.com301 Administrative Assistant: Alina Alvarez • Ext. Alina@WatermarkOnline.com100 Sales Director: Danny Garcia • Ext. Danny@WatermarkOnline.com108 Senior Orlando Account Manager: Sam Callahan • Ext. Sam@WatermarkOnline.com103 Founder and Guiding Light: Tom Dyer National Ad Representative: Rivendell Media Inc. • 212-242-6863 CONTENTS of WATERMARK are protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced in whole or part without the permission of the publisher. Unsolicited article submissions will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Although WATERMARK is supported by many fine advertisers, we cannot accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers. Publication of the name or photograph of any person or organization in articles, advertising, or listing in WATERMARK is not to be construed as any indication of the sexual orientation of such persons or members of such organizations. WATERMARK is published every second Thursday. Subscription rate is $55 (1st class) and $26 (standard mail). The official views of WATERMARK are expressed only in editorials. Opinions offered in signed columns, letters and articles are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the newspaper’s owner or management. We reserve the right to edit or reject any material submitted for publication. WATERMARK is not responsible for damages due to typographical errors, except for the cost of replacing ads created by WATERMARK that have such errors. Watermark Publishing Group Inc.
“While Floridians struggle with sky-high housing prices and unaffordable health care costs, GOP Governor Ron DeSantis is putting out cringey ads about his grievances with the media instead of addressing the needs of his constituents,” they responded. “DeSantis is no ‘Top Gov’ –he’s Top “DeSantisDud.has failed to meet his constituents’ needs,” the DNC continued. “This political stunt is just the latest example of his inability to govern. The people of Florida deserve better from theirWeleaders.”do,and it’s worth noting that the only way to get better leadership in this state is to vote. DeSantis knows that, which is why he released the ad on the eve of Aug. 23 – Florida’s primary –when not enough people did.
Tampa Bay and Florida at large will need to do better in the general election if we want better.
in Florida and raised in Pinellas County, she could become the first openly gay woman elected to the Florida State Senate this November. Learn more at EunicForFlorida.com. Page 19
I was given the opportunity to tell Benson that directly, something I’ll never forget or take for granted. She was everything I wanted her to be; Ariel herself proved that sometimes you really should meet your idols.
SABRINA AMBRA, NATHAN BRUEMMER, SCOTTIE CAMPBELL, MIGUEL FULLER, DIVINE GRACE, HOLLY KAPHERR ALEJOS, JASON LECLERC, MELODY MAIA MONET, JERICK MEDIAVILLA, GREG STEMM, DR. STEVE YACOVELLI, MICHAEL WANZIE
We detail other ways members of our community are making a difference for National Hispanic Heritage Month this issue. LGBTQ Latinx activists share how they’re making a difference throughout Tampa Bay and Central Florida.
Equality Florida’s political action committee also endorses Charlie Crist for governor in State News, calling him “a proven champion of LGBTQ equality” and clear contrast to DeSantis.
Benson discusses the film, its numerous ties to the LGBTQ community and her new book in our interview. We also preview the hit musical “SIX” this issue, which plays in Orlando next month and visits Tampa in November.Watermark strives to bring you a variety of stories, your stories. Please stay safe, stay informed and enjoy this latest issue.
shape who I am today. As a little gay boy growing up in poverty, the movie gave me the courage to find my voice, showing me that I could reach for more in life and get it. Just like Ariel.
MANAGING EDITOR Ryan@WatermarkOnline.com
BRYANA SALDANA is a bornAfro-Latina25-year-old,poetandraised in Orlando. Saldana had her first published poem through “Women Who Roar.” Saldana’s pronouns are She/Her They. Page 17
watermark Your LGBTQ News Source. SEPTEMBER 15 - 28, 2022 // ISSUE 29.19 WATERMARKONLINE.COM 7
HERE ARE SO MANY THINGS I love about working at Watermark, first and foremost connecting with our community. Our stories are valid, they matter and an independent LGBTQ press ensures they’re told.
Williams-JentRyan DESK
In news, the Central Florida Softball League kicks off its 25th season, the Orlando Strong Symposium gets underway and Tampa prepares for its second annual Pride on the River later this month.
As I have said many times in this space over the last several years, I love award shows.
S I HAVE SAID MANY TIMES IN this space over the last several years, I love award shows.
Speaking of recommendations, in this issue we have a feature story that was pitched to me by Hope CommUnity Center’s Felipe
EDITOR’S
Over the years I also have the Emmys to thank for turning me on to shows like “Fleabag,” “Veep,” “Fargo” and “Modern Family,” to name a few. And this year’s
SABRINA AMBRA, NATHAN BRUEMMER, SCOTTIE CAMPBELL, MIGUEL FULLER, DIVINE GRACE, HOLLY KAPHERR ALEJOS, JASON LECLERC, MELODY MAIA MONET, JERICK MEDIAVILLA, GREG STEMM, DR. STEVE YACOVELLI, MICHAEL WANZIE
BRIAN BECNEL, NICK CARDELLO, BRUCE HARDIN, JAMARQUS MOSLEY, CHRIS STEPHENSON, LEE LVNLIF2PHOTOGRAPHYVANDERGRIFTDISTRIBUTING,KENCARRAWAY,RAYLENEHUNT,ZACHARYWELCHDISTRIBUTION
DESK
Jeremy Williams EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jeremy@WatermarkOnline.com
watermark Your LGBTQ News Source. SEPTEMBER 15 - 28, 2022 // ISSUE 29.19 WATERMARKONLINE.COM 7
Loving award shows is a difficult passion to defend. Many people groan and complain about them, taking to social media to grumble that they are just a bunch of rich elitists fawning over
I love ALL award shows; from the big ones presented on a world stage, like the Oscars and the Grammys, down to the local recognitions like the awards presented by The Pride Chamber in Orlando and the Tampa Bay Diversity Chamber. Hell, I even watch the ESPY Awards and I don’t know jack about sports. Is it their competitive nature or the fact that they are filled with glitz and glamour? Who can say. I have been watching them since the 1990s when my award shows of choice were the Oscars, The MTV Video Music Awards and the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards.
ORTIZEUNIC is an adjunct professor and activist.longtimeBorn
other rich elitists, which in some ways is true, but they are also a great way to open audiences up to smaller films they may not have otherwise heard of, music from artists they never listened to before or introduce you to artists that are new to their craft.
show has made me add “Abbott Elementary,” “The White Lotus,” “Dopesick” and “The Dropout” to my watchlist. And shoutout to the Hulu series “Only Murders in the Building,” which was nominated for a bunch of Emmys and only won a few in the technical categories. The show is one of the best things on television today.
One of my favorite award shows for this reason is the Emmy Awards, which just recently happened. The Emmys are responsible for opening me up to so many TV shows that I would have otherwise never given a second look to. Shows like “Succession” and “Ted Lasso,” both of which won Outstanding Series Awards this year.
If you have read this far then allow me to give you a few more recommendations for shows that I have found myself obsessing over lately and that I am sure you will hear about this time next year during the Emmys.
A
I am someone who was really late to the party for “Game of Thrones,” like really late. The show wrapped up its final season more than two years ago and I just watched it last month. Someone really should have told me how amazing this show was. I didn’t want to deal with the FOMO this time so I started watching the “Game of Thrones” prequel “House of the Dragons” immediately and have to say it is fantastic so far.
in Florida and raised in Pinellas County, she could become the first openly gay woman elected to the Florida State Senate this November. Learn more at EunicForFlorida.com. Page 19
If you check any of them out, let me know what you thought.
CONTRIBUTORS ORLANDO OFFICE 1300 N. Semoran Blvd. Ste 250 Orlando, FL 32807 TEL: 407-481-2243 TAMPA BAY OFFICE 401 33rd Street N. St. Petersburg, FL 33713 TEL: 813-655-9890 WATERMARK STAFF Owner & Publisher: Rick Todd • Ext. Rick@WatermarkOnline.com110 JeremyEditor-in-Chief:Williams•Ext. Jeremy@WatermarkOnline.com106 Managing Editor: Ryan Williams-Jent • Ext. Ryan@WatermarkOnline.com302 Creative Designer: Dylan Todd • Ext. Dylan@WatermarkOnline.com107 Creative Designer: Kyler Mills • Ext. Kyler@WatermarkOnline.com301 Administrative Assistant: Alina Alvarez • Ext. Alina@WatermarkOnline.com100 Sales Director: Danny Garcia • Ext. Danny@WatermarkOnline.com108 Senior Orlando Account Manager: Sam Callahan • Ext. Sam@WatermarkOnline.com103 Founder and Guiding Light: Tom Dyer National Ad Representative: Rivendell Media Inc. • 212-242-6863 CONTENTS of WATERMARK are protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced in whole or part without the permission of the publisher. Unsolicited article submissions will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Although WATERMARK is supported by many fine advertisers, we cannot accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers. Publication of the name or photograph of any person or organization in articles, advertising, or listing in WATERMARK is not to be construed as any indication of the sexual orientation of such persons or members of such organizations. WATERMARK is published every second Thursday. Subscription rate is $55 (1st class) and $26 (standard mail). The official views of WATERMARK are expressed only in editorials. Opinions offered in signed columns, letters and articles are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the newspaper’s owner or management. We reserve the right to edit or reject any material submitted for publication. WATERMARK is not responsible for damages due to typographical errors, except for the cost of replacing ads created by WATERMARK that have such errors. Watermark Publishing Group Inc.
SALDANABRYANA is a bornAfro-Latina25-year-old,poetandraised in Orlando. Saldana had her first published poem through “Women Who Roar.” Saldana’s pronouns are She/Her They. Page 17
Sousa-Lazaballet and Andrea Montanez and I can’t tell you how happy I am they did. They wanted to spotlight community activists who sit at the intersectionality of being queer, Latinx and who are immigrants to the U.S. They organized the names and put us in contact with them so that we could share a part of their stories. So I want to say a big thank you to both of you for helping to make this story possible.
So as we celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, we spotlight a few of the many activists and advocates who represent their communities with great passion and leadership with beautiful photos by Watermark
A show that was so good I binged the entire first season in one sitting was “The Sandman” on Netflix. The series is based on the Neil Gaiman comic book series and is one of the most visually stunning shows I have seen in a long time. Something else you should check out is the FX miniseries “Under the Banner of Heaven.” It is based on the true crime story involving brutal murders tied around Mormonism and it is some compelling television. It stars the fantastic Andrew Garfield and is written by “Milk” and “When We Rise” scribe Dustin Lance Black.
photographer Dylan Todd. Also in this issue, we feature a special travel section that explores the beauty of the South American country Columbia. In Arts & Entertainment, we chat with the voice of “The Little Mermaid” herself, Jodi Benson, about her new book “Part of My World” as well as stage actress and Orlando native Jasmine Forsberg, who returns to Florida as a part of the cast for “SIX,” the Henry VIII musical.
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“I’m running for Congress because we deserve better,” Frost said to the crowd before throwing out the pitch. “Politics, law, medicine; that stuff is about making life sustainable but art, culture, sports, being together, that’s what makes life worth it.”
“A lot of us grew up in sports but because we were closeted there was always this shame or discomfort that we couldn’t like sports or couldn’t be good at sports or participate in sports,” Agagnina says. “Here we are all together, we are all the same. We are all LGBTQ people, and our allies, who love sports and we have connected and built a family around that. That’s what we are celebrating this season.”
Emerging from the 2016 tragedy of the Pulse shooting, Contigo Fund honors the lives who were lost at Pulse by providing financial support to organizations that plan to educate and assist the LGTBQ, Latinx, immigrants and people of color communities while empowering said communities to fight against bigotry within Central Florida.
For more information, visit CFSLeague.org.
ORLANDO SYMPOSIUMSTRONGTOKICK OFF HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH
Jeremy Williams
“Ultimately our goal is to create a backbone for the LGTBQ community here in Central Florida,” says Andres Acosta, Contigo Fund’s community relations manager, “and create a sustainable movement by bringing resources to communities of color, with the intersection of the LGTBQ and so with the idea of building a sustainable movement, one of the most important things about the symposium is that it’s kinda like a check in we do annually. Where we can see where our movement is at, we see the progress we’ve made in Central Florida since Pulse and we get to talk about what we need to do to move forward.”
There will be 12 workshops along with seven main plenaries at this year’s symposium. The workshops will feature various topics including sexual violence, microaggressions, fundraising, voting rights, HIV, harm reduction, advocacy through art and much more. The plenaries will focus on Pulse, immigration rights, LGBTQ education, HIV justice, transgender health care, advancing equity, diversity and inclusion, and reproductive freedom/abortion access.
Each symposium has featured a different theme. This year the theme will take aim at the slate of conservative legislation that has been coming out of Tallahassee, most of which negatively impacts Florida’s marginalized communities.
| The Orlando Strong Symposium: For Our Collective Rights & Freedom will be held for the first time during Hispanic Heritage Month, running Sept. 15-16, at UCF Downtown in Orlando. The symposium will be a hybrid of in-person workshops and online integration.
The Orlando Strong Symposium, which is hosted by Contigo Fund, is an annual event that gathers together leaders in local and state government with the LGBTQ nonprofit, public and private sectors of Central Florida.
ORLANDO
“We are very excited. It is the kickoff to our 25th season and it is something that has been in the works for quite a while now,” says CFSL commissioner Bobby Agagnina. “Today, we’ve been playing since 8:30 [a.m.] and we will be playing until about 2:30 [p.m.]. And we will be out here everyAgagnina,Sunday.”who became commissioner last December, has been with CFSL since 2016.
“I started just keeping book and being a fan, and now here I am as commissioner,” he says. “So it’s kind of surreal for me to be put into this position but earning the trust of everyone it is overwhelming.”Theleague’s 25th season began with a moment of silence for the lives lost Sept. 11, 2001 on the 21-year mark of the terrorist attack, followed by the National Anthem sung by the Orlando Gay
Play Ball
Madison Pollock
| The Central Florida Softball League kicked off its fall season at the Lake Fairview Softball Complex in Orlando Sept. 11.
Chorus. Then Maxwell Alejandro Frost, the Democratic candidate for U.S. House District 10, threw out the ceremonial first pitch to start the season.
Frost spoke with Watermark afterwards, joking that he was a bit nervous but felt better when he heard he could throw it out underhand. Frost will be taking on Republican Calvin Wimbish in the Nov. 8 election and, if he wins the District 10 race, will become the first member of Gen Z to serve in Congress.“Thisyear has been one of the hardest years on our state for every marginalized community,” Frost said. “Our governor has been saying ‘every problem you have it is the fault of queer folks, Black folks, all the immigrants, Latinos, poor people,’ so any moments that we get together in spite of that and have this kind of joyful resistance of just about having a good time,
ORLANDO
CFL Softball kicks off 25th season
not even talking about politics, we’re playing sports and I think it is really important because these are really radical acts in the state we are living in right now. So I’m going to do everything I can to support them.”
PITCHER’S MOUND: Maxwell Alejandro Frost throws out the first pitch to kick off the 25th season of the CFSL. PHOTO BY JEREMY WILLIAMS
This year’s season will feature 39 teams with about 630 players in the“Weleague.are running a nine-week season this year, every team gets 14 games and then we do have playoffs depending on standings,” Agagnina says. “We have a spring season and a fall season, so this fall season is exactly our 25 years of ourThroughoutleague.” the season, CFSL will have several opportunities for participants and fans to celebrate the league’s silver anniversary including a huge closing party at the season’s end in November as well as ways for the members to mingle with mixers at various host bars and CFSL sponsors.
The first symposium was held in 2017, a year after the Pulse tragedy, during LGBTQ Pride Month. Contigo Fund’s foundation manager, Joél Junior Morales, says the event was changed this year due to so much activity from the LGTBQ community in June this year. He says they also felt it was a good idea to move the event to another familiar time, in this case the first week of Hispanic Heritage Month, to help bring more attention to the Latinx and people of color within the LGTBQ community as they were the communities most impacted by the Pulse shooting.
central florida news
watermark Your LGBTQ News Source. SEPTEMBER 15 - 28, 2022 // ISSUE 29.19 WATERMARKONLINE.COM 9
BIKTARVY is a complete, 1-pill, once-a-day prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in adults and children who weigh at least 55 pounds. 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.
BEFORE TAKING BIKTARVY
BIKTARVY may cause serious side e ects, including: Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. Your healthcare provider will test you for HBV. 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, and may give you HBV medicine
Tell your healthcare provider if you:
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.
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.
POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF BIKTARVY
Do NOT take BIKTARVY if you also take a medicine that contains: dofetilide rifampin any other medicines to treat HIV-1
The most common side e ects of BIKTARVY in clinical studies were diarrhea (6%), nausea (6%), and headache (5%).
Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. HIV-1 can be passed to the baby in breast milk.
These are not all the possible side e ects of BIKTARVY. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking BIKTARVY.
HOW TO TAKE BIKTARVY
BIKTARVY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. HIV-1 is the virus that causes AIDS.
ABOUT BIKTARVY
(bik-TAR-vee)
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.
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.
Have any other health 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.
You are encouraged to report negative side e ects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.FDA.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take:
Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with BIKTARVY.
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.
MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT BIKTARVY
Changes in your immune system. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections that may have been hidden in your body. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any new symptoms after you start taking BIKTARVY.
BIKTARVY may cause serious side e ects, including: Those in the “Most Important Information About BIKTARVY” section.
Take BIKTARVY 1 time each day with or without food. 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, GILEAD, the GILEAD Logo, KEEP CREATING, and LOVE WHAT’S INSIDE are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. Version date: February 2021 © 2021 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. BVYC0369 04/21 BVYC0369_BIKTARVY_B_9-25X10-1_Watermark_Chad_r1v1jl.indd All Pages watermark Your LGBTQ News Source. SEPTEMBER 15 - 28, 2022 // ISSUE 29.19 WATERMARKONLINE.COM10
Have or have had any kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis infection.
BIKTARVY and other medicines may a ect 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.
(bik-TAR-vee) Please see Important Facts about BIKTARVY, including important warnings, on the previous page and visit BIKTARVY.com. www.FDA.gov/medwatchheartbeat.healthcaresystemmaystarttheywhichisdeath.unusualstomachfeet,death.yellow,appetitestudies your BIKTARVY.compharmacistabout 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. Because HIV doesn’t change who you are. Featured patient compensated by Gilead. related See Chad’s story at BIKTARVY.com. KEEP CREATING. CHAD LIVING WITH HIV SINCE 2018 REAL BIKTARVY PATIENT 4/7/21 9:52 AM watermark Your LGBTQ News Source. SEPTEMBER 15 - 28, 2022 // ISSUE 29.19 WATERMARKONLINE.COM 11
Before then, recording artist and LGBTQ advocate Deborah Cox will headline the venue’s grand opening Oct. 29 from 6 p.m.-12 a.m.
Setting Sail
Pride on the River will be held Sept. 24 from 1-9 p.m. The drag brunch is located at the Sheraton Tampa Riverwalk Hotel at 200 N. Ashley Dr. in and the riverside celebration takes place at Armature Works, located at 1910 N. Ola Ave. Learn more at PrideOnTheRiver.org.
Celebrated LGBTQ rapper Cazwell and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alum Aiden Zhane, who appeared on the reality competition’s 12th season, will headline. They will be joined by other special guests and local talent.
Entries are $50-75 and will be accepted until Sept. 23. Tampa Pride also announced Sept. 7 that an anonymous benefactor had donated the cost of entry for all Tampa nonprofits; interested parties need only contact Tampa Pride Vice President of Operations Paul Sparks to obtain a code for purchase on their website.
The riverside celebration at Armature Works, where Pridegoers can watch the boats come in, is free and open to the public 3-9 p.m. It will once again feature an afternoon of music, performances and family fun on the space’s pier. Live music, drag queens, stilt walkers, bands, aerialists and others will feature.
For more information about The Wet Spot, its grand opening and to purchase tickets, visit Facebook.com/TheWetSpotStPete. To learn more about the second annual Halloween on Central, visit HalloweenOnCentral2.com.
| The second annual Pride on the River will be held Sept. 24 from 1-9 p.m. along the Tampa Riverwalk, launching Tampa Pride’s 2023Organizersseason. estimate several thousand people attended 2021’s inaugural event, which paved the way for the eighth annual Tampa Pride in March. They hope to build on the momentum of each celebration with Pride on the River’s“Thisreturn.isanother huge event we’re bringing to Tampa,” Tampa Pride Vice President Emeritus Mark Eary says. He’s served as a co-director of Tampa Pride’s Diversity Parade since its inception and this year became Pride on the River’s co-director.
The gathering is St. Petersburg’s largest open-air event and is presented by SunRunner, which will begin offering bus service from the beach to St. Petersburg Oct. 21. Halloween on Central is a partnership between the GCD, The Edge District, City of St. Petersburg, Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority and the city’s two largest LGBTQ celebrations.
WAVES:MAKING
THE WET SPOT TO OPEN HALLOWEEN WEEKEND
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The Wet Spot noted that “this year we’re combining the celebration with the official grand opening.” The Cock’d-N-Loaded stage, which it maintained last year via Cocktail, will be located in The Wet Spot “on Sunday, Oct. 30 from 12 p.m.-9 p.m.”
Tampa’s Pride on the River returns
The venue announced Sept. 1 that its grand opening party will coincide with COCK-O-Ween, a part of Halloween on Central. The second annual, LGBTQ-inclusive spooktacular will shut down 22 blocks of St. Petersburg’s Central Ave. for entertainment and more Oct. 30.
“After a very successful event last year, with nearly 75,000 people attending, we are excited to further enhance accessibility to this year’s event with the opening of the SunRunner,” GCD Association Executive Director David Foote announced its return last month. “We hope visitors and residents from all over the county are able to experience St. Pete’s biggest Halloween celebration.”
“COCK-O-Ween weekend is going to be one amazing weekend,” the venue promises. Tickets are available now and VIP experiences are available for each day. General admission is $20 and VIP begins at $100.
PHOTO BY DYLAN TODD
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Angelique Young-Cavalier, former Miss Tampa Pride Jade Embers and Sadie T. ReservationsElise. are strongly encouraged. The buffet will be open from 1-3 p.m. and a Diversity Boat Parade viewing party will follow until 4:30 p.m.
T. PETERSBURG | The Wet Spot Pool Bar and Day Club has announced new details about its grand opening, currently scheduled to coincide with Halloween on Central Oct. 29-30.
St Pete Pride and Come OUT St. Pete will each maintain portions of the event, which will allow participants to bike, walk and take public transport throughout the car-free Central Ave. It will contain trick-or-treat and other themed Halloween festivities throughout the route, like St Pete Pride’s popular FrankenPride from 2021.
Participants in the inaugural Pride on the River’s boat parade.
“We don’t do too many things over here except for our main event in March,” Eary explains. “This is our way of doing something else in Tampa, and it’s really a big Festivitiesdeal.”begin at 1 p.m. with a Drag Brunch at Sheraton Tampa Riverwalk Hotel. Entertainer Brianna Summers hosts, joined by
The LGBTQ space first opened in June, located at the forthcoming Mari Jean Hotel which houses Cocktail, The Saint and other hotspots. It began selling memberships in July ahead of the completion of its pool.
The boat parade will kick off in the Hillsborough River’s Garrison Channel, located between Tampa Marriott Water Street and Harbour Island. It ends at Armature Works in what Tampa Pride bills as “a ride filled with love, pride and fun.”
tampa bay news
TAMPA
This year’s entertainment includes DJs RYZN, Marisol Musick and Maestro H.B., the Tampa Bay Pride Band, The Actual Bank Robbers and Pepper MaShay. The newly crowned Miss Tampa Pride 2023 Hazel E. Genevieve will also perform, joined by Te Monet and Kahtya Tehnsion who placed in Tampa Pride’s Sept. 3 pageant. Additional drag entertainment will be provided by Imani Valentino, Cortez Blu, Brianna Summers, Sadie T. Elise, Angelique Young-Cavalier, Sky Lemay, Kimberly Embers and Diana Summers Ransome. Former “RuPaul’s Drag Race” contestants Jiggly Caliente and Ra’Jah O’HaraAccessheadline.toPride on the River’s Diamond Lounge – which raises funds for future endeavors – will be available for $60 per person. Tickets include a coveted view of the main stage, meet and greets and a photo with each “Drag Race” alum, a cooling area, cash bar and a front row to the fireworks. They close the festivities beginning at 8:15“Thisp.m.allgoes toward Tampa Pride in March,” Eary says. “This is a fundraiser and there’s going to be something for everyone to love.”
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Crist represented Florida’s 13th congressional district from 2017 until his resignation Aug. 31. He won the Democratic nomination for governor Aug. 23, setting him up to challenge Gov. Ron DeSantis Nov. 8.
Equality Florida Senior Political Director Joe Saunders said. “We are shocked and alarmed to see this reversal from the Miami Dade School Board. This is a horrible signal to send to the thousands of LGBTQ youth in Miami-Dade County public schools.”
T. PETERSBURG | Equality
In a statement, Equality Florida Action PAC Chair Stratton Pollitzer said that’s why “the
“The Don’t Say LGBTQ law is rooted in the same dangerous tropes about LGBTQ people and baseless attacks on teachers that were on full display in public comments at last night’s hearing,”
MIAMI
“What it showed is that I was not in lockstep with the governor. I did not obey the governor, and that is unforgivable,” said Perez, who is 71.
“I’m honored to have earned the support of Equality Florida in our campaign’s fight against Ron DeSantis,” Crist responded to the PAC’s
“Makeendorsement.nomistake, our LGBTQ+ community and its allies are under attack by this governor,” he continued. “That ends this November. The people deserve a champion back in Tallahassee. Someone who will listen to them, respect them, and fight for them –I vow to be that governor.”
More than almost any other national figure, DeSantis has led the charge in turning culture war fights over anti-racism policies, LGBTQ policies and COVID-19 restrictions in schools into national issues. More recently, he has inserted himself into school board races as he seeks to expand his sphere of influence and animate conservatives while running for reelection and considering a 2024 presidential bid.
Throughout the year, other months are recognized to teach students about history, including Hispanic Heritage, Black history and women’s history. October is National LGBTQ History Month.
misinformation,” Baez Geller said. “This is just plain disinformation.”
“Polling shows the race tight, with a clear path to victory for the Crist Campaign,” Equality Florida Action PAC also noted. “In the first polling conducted following last week’s primary, DeSantis leads Charlie Crist by only 5 points, within the margin of error for the poll … These results are the latest reminder that Florida remains the nation’s largest swing state and a serious test of the governor’s destructive brand of politics.”
MIAMI
If the primary results are any indication, DeSantis’ education measures seem to be resonating with Florida voters.
The race for the school board seat in Miami-Dade between Perez and DeSantis’ candidate, Monica Colucci, was one of the most contested, totaling about $400,000 in campaign contributions and more tied to political committees. Similar two-candidate school board races in Miami had drawn about half the money in recent elections.
School board races are nonpartisan, but the governor’s involvement helped flip at least three Florida school boards from a liberal majority to a conservative majority. Five of his picks defeated incumbents affiliated with the Democratic Party, while others ran for open seats and at least two beat Republicans, including Perez, according to results posted by counties.
The PAC is dedicated to electing pro-equality candidates in Florida. They raised $70,000 of their $100,000 goal within 24 hours to help elect Crist and Karla Hernandez, his pick for lieutenant governor.
state news
| The Miami-Dade School overwhelmingBoard decided against recognizing October as LGBTQ History Month Sept. 7.
DESANTIS IMPACTS FLORIDA RACES
“There is an election year and the anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric is a tool used by some to spread
EQUALITY FLORIDA ACTION PAC ENDORSES CRIST
As a member of Congress, Crist served as a vice chair of the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus while championing LGBTQ legislation and causes. On the campaign trail, he’s vocally opposed the DeSantis administration’s actions against LGBTQ Floridians.
Ahead of Crist’s victory in the primary, he released his plan to protect LGBTQ Floridians. The campaign advised it was formed in response to DeSantis’ “ongoing attacks on Florida’s LGBTQ+ community with the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law attacking LGBTQ+ youth, his administration’s attack on trans health care and his devil-may-care attitude toward the
“We got involved to help candidates who were fighting the machine, fighting the lock-downers, fighting the forced-maskers, fighting the people that want to indoctrinate our kids,” DeSantis said in a victory speech on election night as the crowd cheered and clapped. “Parents are sick of the nonsense when it comes to education. We want the schools to educate kids.”
Among those who opposed the measure, some said it went against their religious beliefs while others said the board was abiding in the indoctrination and sexual abuse of children. Some falsely claimed the measure would adopt new curriculum for students to learn about LGBTQ+ issues without parentalEqualityconsent.Florida responded to the school board, calling the vote “one more proof point of the sweeping chilling effect of Florida’s discriminatory Don’t Say LGBTQ law and the toxic anti-LGBTQ
Monkeypox and meningococcal disease outbreaks.”
Wire & Staff Report
The final vote came around 9:45 p.m. Sept. 7, after the board took a one-hour break to hear discussion about the district’s budget. Some still in the audience cheered as others sat silently.
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environment being fostered by Governor DeSantis.”
| In her 24 years as a school board member in Florida, Marta Perez proposed a Bible study class for students, opposed a measure to boost anti-racism curricula after the killing of George Floyd and spoke out against adopting a textbook that included pictures of contraceptive methods that she considered inappropriate for her 13-year-old granddaughter.
FLORIDA SCHOOL REJECTS LGBTQ HISTORY MONTH
The general election will be held Nov. 8. Check your registration and more at Vote.org. For more information about Charlie Crist’s campaign or Equality Florida Action PAC, visit CharlieCrist.com and EQFLPAC.org.
Parents, teachers and students spoke for more than three hours. The board then voted 8-1 against the measure, which was proffered by board member Lucia BaezOutsideGeller.the school board’s headquarters, where people waited to speak during the meeting, a group of Proud Boys got into a loud argument with someone hoisting a trans flag, the Miami Herald reported.
“Charlie Crist is a proven champion of LGBTQ equality and exactly the person we need right now to make our state a place where everyone is treated with fairness and respect – at school, at their doctor’s office, at work and in their community,” he added.
The Miami-Dade public school system is the nation’s fourth largest, with 331,500 students.
Wire Report
Florida Action PAC endorsed Charlie Crist for governor Sept. 1, citing his longtime support of the LGBTQ community.
LGBTQ community is all in” for the“Charliecandidate.Crist’s resounding primary victory has given him tremendous momentum with polls much closer than many people realize. We are going to do all we can to stop Ron DeSantis’ extremist policies,” he said in a statement. “Pro-equality Floridians are energized to elect Charlie Crist and end DeSantis’ all-out war on public education, his government mandated intrusion into our medical decisions and his efforts to whitewash history.
Her long record of supporting conservative causes, however, wasn’t enough to save her job after she wound up as a target of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. Perez lost her school board seat in Miami-Dade to a former teacher who was among a slate of candidates endorsed by DeSantis.Perezbelieves she drew DeSantis’ ire by voting for a school mask mandate a year into the pandemic, when Florida was in the grip of its deadliest wave of COVID-19. DeSantis opposes such policies.
Of the 30 candidates endorsed by DeSantis in the Aug. 23 elections, 19 won, five lost and six are headed to runoffs.
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The impact of the ruling beyond the plaintiffs was not immediately clear. However, patient advocates and Democrats criticized the decision as a threat that reverberates beyond Texas. The Human Rights Campaign called it “an intentional attack on LGBTQ+ people.”
A
nation+world news
CHILEANS OVERWHELMINGLY REJECT NEW CONSTITUTION
The Biden administration is likely to appeal. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
TWO CANDIDATES COULD BECOME FIRST OUT LESBIANS TO WIN GUBERNATORIAL RACES
The challenge was brought by a company owned by Steven Hotze, a conservative activist in Texas who helped defeat proposed nondiscrimination protections for gay and transgender people in Houston and pushed Republicans for a law mandating that public school students use only the bathroom of the sex listed on their birth certificate. He is described in the lawsuit as operating Braidwood Management “according to Christian principles and teaching.”
Healey, currently the Massachusetts attorney general, joined Kotek as a fellow Democratic gubernatorial nominee after winning in the Sept. 6 primary in Massachusetts, becoming the overwhelming victor by securing 85.5% of the vote against State Sen. Sonia Rosa FollowingChang-Díaz.herprimary victory, Healey issued a statement seeking to capitalize on the win and envisioned the way forward into
Other firsts include Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, who’s the first openly gay men to win election as governor. The distinction of the first openly LGBTQ person to serve as governor belongs to former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevy, who came out as gay amid scandal before he resigned. In 2018, Christine Hallquist of Vermont became the openly transgender to obtain a major party nomination to run for governor, although she came up short in the general election.
USTIN, TEXAS | A federal judge ruled Sept. 7 that required coverage of an HIV prevention drug under the Affordable Care Act violates a Texas employer’s religious beliefs and undercut the broader system that determines which preventive drugs are covered in the U.S.
support from Maryland Gov. LarryAlthoughHogan.Healey and Kotek could achieve firsts as out lesbian candidates, other members of LGBTQ community have significantly broken barriers in gubernatorial races. For example, Brown became the first openly LGBTQ person elected governor in the United States Oregon upon winning election in 2016 as an openly bisexual candidate.
wo candidates who came out on top in the primary season in two gubernatorial elections — Maura Healey in Massachusetts and Tina Kotek in Oregon — could be on track to make history and become the first openly lesbian women elected as governor in the United States.
Chris Johnson of the Washington Blade, courtesy of the National LGBT Media Association
Chileans overwhelmingly rejected a new constitution Sept. 4 that would have, among other things, enshrined LGBTQ rights in an unprecedented way. Upwards of 80% of Chileans in October 2020 voted in favor of changing the constitution. More than 60% of them rejected the new constitution in Sunday’s referendum. Slightly more than 38% of Chileans voted to approve it. The need to change the current constitution, which is a legacy of Gen. Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship, arose after social unrest in 2019 that exposed long-standing inequalities in the South American country.
T
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Iran has sentenced Zahra Sedighi and Elham Chobdar to death on charges of human trafficking, a penalty that sparked widespread condemnation online. Authorities accused the women of “corruption on earth,” saying they exploited young women. However, foreign-based rights groups described the two women as local LGBTQ rights activists. IRNA made no reference to the women’s activism, reporting that they “misused” women and girls. A revolutionary court in the country’s northwestern city of Urmia handed down the death sentences. The women have the right to appeal.
SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS GAY SEX LAW FOUND UNCONSTITUTIONAL
appointed by President George W. Bush,O’Connorwrote. also ruled that a federal task force that recommends coverage of preventive treatments, which is made up of volunteer members, violates the appointment clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Wire Report
JUDGE RULES AGAINST REQUIRED PREP COVERAGE
The attorney who filed the suit was an architect of the Texas abortion law that was the nation’s strictest before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June and allowed states to ban the“Defendantsprocedure. do not show a compelling interest in forcing private, religious corporations to cover PrEP drugs with no cost-sharing and no religious exemptions,” O’Connor, who was
IRAN SENTENCES 2 FEMALE LGBTQ ACTIVISTS TO DEATH
LAWSUIT CHALLENGES OKLAHOMA ANTI-TRANS BATHROOM LAW
Employers’ religious objections have been a sticking point in past challenges to the federal health care law, including over contraception.
The ruling was handed down by U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor, whose courtroom in Fort Worth is a favored venue for conservative opponents of the federal health care law that’s also known as “Obamacare.” He ruled in 2018 that the entire law is invalid but was later overturned by the U.S. SupremeO’Connor’sCourt.latest ruling targets a requirement that employer-provided insurance cover the HIV prevention treatment known as PrEP, which is a pill taken daily to prevent infection.
The top court for nine eastern Caribbean nations and territories has struck down a colonial-era law against homosexual conduct in Saint Kitts and Nevis, ruling that sexual orientation is covered by the right to privacy. LGBTQ activists celebrated the ruling issued Aug. 30 by the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. The nonprofit Saint Kitts & Nevis Alliance for Equality and Jamal Jeffers, a gay man, had sued the small country’s attorney general, arguing that the right to liberty allows people to choose an intimate partner and have consensual sex with whomever and however they want.
Kotek, on the other hand, faces a more difficult path and is running in a state where outgoing Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, is deeply unpopular. Kotek faces a potential three-way race between unaffiliated candidate Betsy Johnson and Republican Christine Drazan, who has recently obtained
the general election in November, pledging to “run a campaign for “Ieveryone.”gotintothis race because I believe in Massachusetts,” Healey said. “We have the best people, innovation and know-how in the world. As governor, I want to harness that potential, bring people together and build a state where every person and every business canWhetherthrive.” or not both Healey and Kotek win in November remains to be seen. Healey, who’s running against Geoff Diehl, a former state lawmaker endorsed by former President Donald Trump, is heavily favored to win in November.
The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Oklahoma Foundation and Lambda Legal filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of three transgender Oklahoma schoolchildren, arguing the state’s new law requiring students use only the bathroom of the sex listed on their birth certificate is unconstitutional. The lawsuit filed Sept. 6 lists the State Department of Education and its board members, Superintendent Joy Hofmeister, Attorney General John O’Connor and three school districts as defendants. The suit argues the new law violates both the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Title IX civil rights law enacted as part of the Education Amendments of 1972.
IN OTHER NEWS
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DIARY
Jo in y ou r l oc al LG BT C ha mber , as w e ar e the pr em i er a dv oc a te s fo r the Ta mp a B ay Are a’ s LGBT bus i ness commun ity.
Coming out is freedom, love and beauty. We are all at the whim of wind but we all will fly with wings made of love
I remember the first time I was asked by a family friend, a little girl, she asked are you a boy or a girl?
Bryana Saldana is a 25-year-old, Afro-Latina poet born and raised in Orlando. Saldana had her first published poem through “Women Who Roar.” Saldana’s pronouns are She/Her/They.
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I came out as a lesbian at the age of 14. Around that time, 2009, I did not understand who I was. I knew I liked women, having a fondness for them was biological.Growing up, the world around me was not openly queer. I did not have any queer family members. It was difficult to reconcile with being “other.” I would often times sit in my closet alone, smoking weed, just to escape this feeling of being other. It was nauseating. I sought attention from people I should not have and ended up on the wrong roads.
beautiful, colorful journey. At the core of it all is love. Your wings are love. Your body is love. Your freedom is love. Your identity is love. Your queerness is love. You are love. We are love.
that walks this earth, young or old, is breathtaking. They are living in the confines of true freedom. Coming out is freedom, love and beauty. We are all at the whim of wind but we all will fly with wings made of love. No matter how we look we’re made to unfold in front of
I learned to make myself small in any way. Not speaking up for myself when I felt hurt, sad or angry. This led to punching holes in walls, and screaming battles with my mother because her love didn’t feel safe enough for me to unfold in. In private I was a tyrant to my siblings because they didn’t and would never experience the struggles of being queer in a straight space and trying to fit in it. They would never get the looks or the questions about what gender this heterosexual world places you in because I’m a masculine presenting lesbian. This is a daily occurrence for me. That is my reality.
Bryana
It feels like my truth is not something worthy of greatness. I am beautiful and every single queer person
land to in my time of need and to love fearlessly in every space. It’s been a privilege to be able to live my truth and not have to sit in a closet waiting for the other shoe to drop. I have so many wishes and dreams for the queer community to be supported endlessly I hope will come true. We all deserve a space for our wings to grow wide and
I wanted to cry because I am a girl, a woman. I love being a woman that loves women. I wear clothes that are comfortable for me and a low-maintenance haircut. I am not conventional looking, but I am a woman. They know if I am not a man, then she must be a lesbian. I am battling this silent struggle each time I step outside. I worry that what I represent could cause me significant harm. My body and my identity are dangerous to live among straight, heterosexual people, ideals and“Whoperspectives.istheman and who is the woman?” A question I’ve been asked so often when out with a girlfriend. My answer was juvenile for many years. I stuck to the hetero-normative script and toughed it out with a “Well, I technically am.” The follow-up response was always, “Oh, yeah I figured.”
treated poorly. As an adult, I’ve learned to sometimes not correct people about my gender because it’s sometimes not worth the trouble. I make myself small less often, but still find myself doing so to avoid danger, honestly. I have found a beautiful being to
is still being written. In some ways, it’s a prayer to the void when you decide to live authentically. You are at whim to whatever the world will throw at you, but you hope deep down it doesn’t tear you apart or break your heart.
www.tampabaylgbtchamber.org
We are love OF A POET Saldana
My lover and I are both women that are sensitive, caring, loving, hard, soft, obnoxious, quiet and the list can go on. We are people in love with our bodies, no matter the shape or texture. There is no man in our world. There is no man between us, in us or among us. We are man-free and blossom as so. We are women who love other women, no matter the clothing. In this question lives another path of coming out, having to assert who we are for it to make sense to a society that is honestly not equipped to do so. Being queer out loud is a vulnerable existence. You hear the word “brave” tossed around being queer because some people could not fathom living authentically despite the world around you telling you it’s wrong. To that, I ask what is “right”?
people that couldn’t imagine being authentic against the grain of a society set out to harmOver“others.”theyears I have found myself seeking a safe place to land with these beautiful wings made of love. I have apologized profusely to my siblings for behaving in such a poor abusive manner because no one deserves to be
full. We all deserve endless love starting with ourselves. To begin living free it all must start with ourselves because I can tell you from experience if you are visibly queer, coming out is a lifetime of choosing whether you want to be seen but not heard by everyone. It’s a
M Y COMING-OUT STORY
viewpoint
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continue to work against us should know that their time in office is short-lived.
In the years that followed, voter turnout dipped and murmurs began: extremists in office were coming for our lives. In Florida, the attack on LGBTQ+ people, specifically children, reached its tipping point this
N 2015, I WAS WORKING
In the months that followed, we quickly saw the appointment of anti-LGBTQ+ Supreme Court justices, rights stripped from LGBTQ+ students, the erasure of LGBTQ+ history and more. I was moved to join our fight for justice back home.
We were overjoyed to the point of tears at the reality of this decision: we could finally marry the person we loved. We knew this was the first step towards full equity for our community.
Eunic Ortiz is an adjunct professor and longtime activist. She could become the first openly gay woman elected to the Florida State Senate this November. Learn more at EunicForFlorida.com.
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past legislative session in Tallahassee.Thisyear, amidst a housing crisis, small businesses reeling from the effects of the pandemic, poorly paid educators leaving our public schools, and other issues, Ron DeSantis and the
Every year we say that this election is the most critical – and we are on the precipice. Depending on how we vote this November, our country – our state – will determine the direction of our momentum towards equity.
It was also clear many local elected leaders were actively working to make our cities even more inclusive. There was hope. Yet, it was readily apparent that our fight was far from over.
Eunic Ortiz, Florida Senate District 18 candidate
In the months that followed, we witnessed greater achievements for our community. The momentum of change was building – and then it was abruptly halted and reversed by the election of Donald Trump and an anti-LGBTQ+ Republican House and Senate majority.
We deserve leaders that will be bold enough to do the work to continue our road to full equity. I am that leader. It is not lost on me the significance of what my election to the Florida State Senate could mean; especially in this moment. My Puerto Rican heritage and lesbian identity represent Thoseeverydeservewerace,notpeopleaandandtoextremistseverythingareattemptingerasefromourhistorylives.Myrunforofficemyelectionwillsendclearmessage:LGBTQ+arehereandwewillbeerased.Allofus,regardlessofourgenderidentity,wholove,orourzipcode,representationatlevelofgovernment.inelectedofficethat
If you are an LGBTQ+ person or ally, you remember where you were the day marriage was decided by the Supreme Court. You remember the elation. The desperately needed recognition from our nation’s highest court that we were seen as equals under the law.
In early 2017, I returned to Tampa Bay. Despite all odds, the LGBTQ+ community here was alive, thriving and growing. St. Petersburg has held the title as one of the largest Pride celebrations in the country. Several additional cities in the area also had perfect scores for equality from the Human Rights Campaign.
for a labor union and as an LGBTQ+ rights advocate in New York City. On June 26 of that year, I celebrated with friends and colleagues in front of the historic Stonewall Inn as the Supreme Court’s marriage decision was announced.
I
and Gulfport. We don’t need more elected leaders who will waste time on politicking for their party for national coverage and rubber-stamping legislation for the ultra-wealthy few. We need advocates for our whole community, not just select parts. Leaders who care more about your rising homeowner’s insurance than fighting with Disney. I care that your streets flood after a summer rainstorm; I care that your public school has a staffing shortage; I care about local governments being allowed to make critical decisions for our local communities instead of an authoritarian government taking away that power.
viewpoint
This election is about our personal freedoms. This November, our lives are on the ballot. Let’s vote like it.
If our vote didn’t matter, then Republican leadership wouldn’t be working so hard to take our vote away.
LGBTQ+ RIGHTS ARE ON THE BALLOT
toCountycoversSenate,runningofficethestatetomorrowtowouldn’tRepublicanvotebutlittleandourcollectivevote,to10oneveryWhomlivesNovember,willingtheyfight,canconservativegroundhaselectedplanofhealthcareerasureonTrans”ourinThey’vethosecriticalourLatino,legislationthediscriminatedpassingmorelegislatureRepublican-leddecideditwastimelytofocusonlegislationthatagainstLGBTQ+community,thaterasedBlack,andAPIhistoryinschools,andbanninghealthcareforwhoarepregnant.doneeverythingtheirpowertobreakmomentum.The“Don’tSayGayorbill,theattackstransyouthandtheoflifesavingtransaretheresultaslow,butdeliberatebyanti-equalityofficials.FloridalongbeenthetestingforhowfarextremeRepublicanstaketheiranti-equalityandinthispastsessionshowedustheyaretogotoanylengths.Everyyear,includingthisLGBTQ+people’sareontheballot.weelecttoofficeatlevelhasadirecteffectourdailylives.Ifwetakeminutesfromourdayturnoutenmasseandwewillseewhatourpowercandoforcommunity.Itiseasytofeeldejectedlikeourvotehasdonetoaffectchange,rememberthis.Ifourdidn’tmatter,thenleadershipbeworkingsohardtakeourvoteaway.ThehopeofabetterformyhomeandmycommunityisreasonIamrunningforinmyhometown.IamforFloridaStateDistrict18,whichamajorityofPinellas–fromClearwatermostofSt.Petersburg
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Despite fi ve decades of progress, equality is not within reach, and often not even within sight, for all persons impacted by violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the United States.
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SHANGELA JOINS ‘DANCING WITH THE STARS’
WAYNE BRADY and more fan favorites are joining the “Dancing with the Stars” as the series makes its way to Disney+ for its 31st season, Disney announced Sept. 8. “DWTS” will become the first live series to debut on the company’s streaming service Disney+ Sept. 19. “The series, hosted by Tyra Banks and Alfonso Ribeiro, returns to the ballroom with a lineup of celebrities including a platinum recording artist, a Real Housewife, a Bachelorette and a drag queen superstar, to name a few,” Disney shared. Shangela will become the first drag entertainer to compete on the American version of the series.
“RUPAUL’S
DRAG RACE” ALUM SHANGELA, ORLANDO-RAISEDTHE
‘THE WHALE’ MARKS FRASER’S COMEBACK
“BETTER CALL SAUL” AIRED ITS SERIES FINALE LAST MONTH, IT WAS THE END OF AN ERA. The celebrated prequel to “Breaking Bad” had amassed a loyal following for its six seasons while elevating a significant LGBTQ storyline. It becomes clear that Giancarlo Esposito’s villainous Gustavo “Gus” Fring, who first appeared in “Breaking Bad,” is gay. It is revealed that his motivation in building a drug empire is to get revenge against the family responsible for his lover’s brutal death in a reveal that showrunner Peter Gould officially confirmed. Thanks to Esposito’s impeccable performance and the excellent work of the writers, the character is proven to be a villain but also deeply human.
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ILLY EICHNER WAS A HOLLYWOOD COMMENTER FOR FIVE SEASONS OF “BILLY ON THE STREET,” sharing his tastes with exaggerated disdain for those who disagreed with him. His new movie “Bros” is a far clearer picture of who Eichner is as an openly gay entertainer as well as a landmark comedy. Eichner stars in and wrote the Universal Pictures film with director Nicholas Stoller, which depicts an uncommonly honest and insightful portrait of life as a single gay man. The R-rated rom-com is frequently laugh-out-loud funny and packed with keen observations about Hollywood – where, until now, a film like “Bros” was essentially an impossibility. “Bros” is the first gay rom-com from a major studio, and the first studio film of any genre both written by and starring an openly gay man. The cast is also almost entirely LGBTQ. “It really is a monumental moment,” Eichner says. “Bros” releases Sept. 30.
talking points
RENDAN FRASER IS CHARTING WHAT COULD BE A MAJOR COMEBACK STARTING WITH HIS TRANSFORMATIVE ROLE IN DARREN ARONOFSKY’S “THE WHALE,” which premiered Sept. 4 at the Venice International Film Festival. Fraser plays Charlie, a gay English teacher with a kind soul who weighs 600 pounds. “By far and away I think Charlie is the most heroic man I have ever played,” Fraser has shared. “His superpower is to see the good in others and bring that out of them.” The film is already garnering Oscar buzz and at its premiere, the audience gave the film a standing ovation while Fraser, on the balcony alongside his director and co-stars, wiped tears away.
‘SAUL’ FINALE ELEVATES ESPOSITO
EICHNER REMAKES THE ROM-COM MORE1/3RDTHAN OF AMERICANSLGBTQ ESTIMATEDARETO LIVE IN THE SOUTH. IN 13 STATES, INCLUDING FLORIDA, THEY ARE LIKELY TO FACE MORE ANTI-LGBTQ POLICIES THAN THEIR PEERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. – Southern Equality’s Coming of Age as an LGBTQ Southerner, Aug. 2022 watermark Your LGBTQ News Source. SEPTEMBER 15 - 28, 2022 // ISSUE 29.19 WATERMARKONLINE.COM 21
WHEN
– UNITED NATIONS INDEPENDENT EXPERT ON PROTECTION VICTOR MADRIGAL-BORLOZ, AUG. 30
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“I want the community to know where I came from, a little indigenous town from Mexico,” she says. “My journey was not easy, was full of hate and they thought I was a sinner. Now I feel privileged because I can be the real me, a proud indigenous trans woman.”
“Our nation is represented by Hispanic diplomats who share our values in countries all over the world and strengthened by military members and their families who serve and sacrifice
“I walked in the desert for three days from the border,” she says. “I came as a minor, alone. My father came a couple of years later.”Vargas, who is a transgender woman, says that comingsincetotheU.S.shehasdealt
ATIONAL HISPANIC HERITAGE
Perla Pascual Vargas (she/her/ella)
ERLA PASCUAL VARGAS HAS lived in Tampa Bay for more than 20 years, coming to the U.S. from Mexico.
To kick off this year’s National Hispanic Heritage Month, we highlight a few LGBTQ leaders and activists who are not always in the spotlight but who are still doing amazing work in the community with a beautiful photo series from Watermark photographer Dylan Todd.
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“We recognize that Hispanic heritage is American heritage,” said President Joe Biden last year as he issued a presidential
Month is celebrated in the United States Sept. 15-Oct. 15 and recognizes the many contributions, diverse cultures and extensive histories of the American Latinx community.
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The local LGBTQ community is filled with Hispanic and Latinx leaders and activists who have championed for change and made Central Florida and Tampa Bay a more caring, accepting and diverse place to live, working and
Jeremy Williams
proclamation for National Hispanic Heritage Month. “We see it in every aspect of our national life: on our television and movie screens, in the music that moves our feet, and in the foods we enjoy. We benefit from the many contributions of Hispanic scientists working in labs across the country to help us fight COVID-19 and the doctors and the nurses on the front lines caring for people’s health.
with discrimination both for being an immigrant and for being trans, especially within the health care system, but has seen support grow throughout her years in Florida.
PHOTO BY DYLAN TODD
leading organizations such as Tatiana Quiroga at Come Out With Pride, Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet and Andrea Montanez at Hope CommUnity Center, Marco Antonio Quiroga with Contigo Fund and many, many more.
The celebration first began in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week and expanded to a full month in 1988. Along with recognizing the important contributions of the Hispanic and Latin American communities, National Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the independence days of several
Celebrating LGBTQ Latinx activists for National Hispanic Heritage Month
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42, Clearwater | Originally from: Mexico
Latin American countries including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua on Sept. 15, Mexico on Sept. 16 and Chile on Sept. 18.
Vargas is working with Hope CommUnity Center’s advocacy manager Andrea Montanez on a program called Queer Trans Immigrants, or QTIs (pronounced cuties), which creates safe spaces for individuals at the intersection of the LGBTQ and immigrant communities, empowering them to advocate for change.
Vargas says the greatest gift that she can give to the community is sharing her story.
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for the United States,” he continued. “Our communities are represented by Hispanic elected officials and our children are taught by Hispanic teachers. Our future will be shaped by Hispanic engineers who are working to develop new technology that will help us grasp our clean energy future and by the skilled union workers who are going to build it.”
NuestrCelebrandoaComunidadNuestraComunidad
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ANIEL FERNANDEZ DE CASTRO
PHOTO BY DYLAN TODD
25, Winter Park | Originally from: Peru
After the 2016 Pulse tragedy, Lara began working with Contigo Fund and came out as transgender.
“I arrived in West Palm Beach three weeks before the pandemic started,” Fernandez de Castro says. “I was working for Marriott and then three weeks after the pandemic started my job was closed.”
“I have been a part of the Hope CommUnity Center since I was 17,” she says. “It is like a second home to me. Hope was my introduction to being an activist.”
“It has been difficult but I have found a lot of joy and acceptance in advocacy work,” he says. “I have found that being an activist for the community means being able to speak for those who aren’t able to speak for themselves and love that I’m able to be out here helping people. There is a lot of support in this community.”
Fernandez de Castro moved to Orlando to stay with family friends and began looking into ways he could meet other LGBTQ people.
Over the next seven years, Lara learned English, graduated from high school and discovered an organization that has been lifechanging for her.
“I left everything behind, first in Peru and then in South Florida, and was finding it hard to meet people and was feeling depressed,” he says. “So I thought it would be a great idea to start volunteering at an LGBTQFernandezorganization.”deCastro found the LGBT+ Center in August
Lara is also working with Andrea Montanez on QTIs, expanding her ever-growing work as an activist.
AZI MEL CHABLE LARA WAS 10 years old when she and her family spent three days and four nights crossing the Mexican desert to come to the U.S.
PHOTO BY DYLAN TODD
27, Apopka | Originally from: Mexico
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“My parents wanted to bring me here to get a better life and for a better education,” Lara says. “It was cold and rainy. I remember the mud was up to my knees.”
“Being a advocate helps show you how important your family is,” Chable Lara says, “and not just your blood family but your chosen family. Working within the immigration community and the LGBTQ community, you realize you have so much chosen family who support you and believe in you.”
2021, helping with HIV outreach. He now facilitates The Center’s HIV support group HI-fiVe! and will soon take over as the HIV Coordinator for The CenterWhileOrlando.heisnot sure where the future will take him, Fernandez de Castro says for now he is enjoying exploring activism within the community.
came to Florida from Lima, Peru at a precarious time.
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Razi Mel Chable Lara (she/her/hers)
Daniel Fernandez de Castro (he/him/el)
“When I came here I didn’t know the language, I was in a place where I didn’t know anyone and it was hard,” she says.
Lara worked with helping immigrants get their paperwork organized and walking them through the U.S. immigration process.
Lara settled in Apopka with her family and began going to school.
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“The idea of decolonization is super relevant for LGBTQ individuals, for our community,” she says. “We have been told how to feel about ourselves, what to think about ourselves. We have so much internal hate toward ourselves and our community and you can see that in many places. You can see it in the way the trans community is treated within the LGBTQ community. Decolonization is at the core of what we need for healing. That’s also the group that I have, the team that I have. They are at that intersectionality and for us it is important to work within that intersection and to be able to find these spaces for decolonization and to provide spaces for healing, for connection, for community around the work that we’re doing.”
Garzón, who is originally from Colombia, says she experienced quite a shock when she came to the U.S. in 1999.
This raised Garzón’s interest in stories of immigrants which led to her briefly working for an immigration attorney.
was valued, so I built my career fromGarzónthere.”says becoming an immigrant in the U.S. opened her up firsthand to an oppression that she did not experience in
That was the early beginnings of Garzón’s merging performance art and activism.
“I came to the U.S. on an airplane and was waiting on my paperwork while I worked there and I met immigrants who had come across the dessert,” she says. “It was mind blowing what they had to go through to get here, and that was something that led me to look for a way, through my art, to address some of these issues.”
“I mean it was like nobody cared if we had theatre in Spanish or not, or if we had space for Latinx people to express themselves or not,” Garzón says. “Then around 2017, I was invited by Seminole State College to direct their first full-length play in Spanish, which they also did in English, so I directed both versions. I realized that something had changed. At that moment, I thought something has changed because we suddenly had a lot of support and spaces were starting to talk about diversity.”
performing arts for more than two decades. She is a director, writer, actor, voice over artist and more.
“I have even worked with puppets,” she says laughing. “Anything that has to do with theatre, I am involved in it.”
“We launched in 2019 with this idea that I have had for a long time of providing a platform for us to tell our own stories,” Garzón says. “So I gathered a group of people from the community that I had worked with, people who I admired, people who I knew would support my idea, and told them what I wanted to create. We chose the name Descolonizarte, which is the word for
Garzón, who identifies as queer (“I love the word queer,” she says. “To me that word means loving people and that is where I feel the most comfortable.”), says that as the years passed she has become more and more aware of her intersectionality as someone who is LGBTQ, Latinx and an immigrant.
PHOTO BY DYLAN TODD
“WhenColombia.I’m in Colombia I pretty much have privilege,” she says. “I’m the ‘white person,’ I have the privilege of having lighter skin tone. When I came to the United States, I instantly became a person of color. That is quite a shocking experience. Suddenly I am a minority, I’m the one being discriminated against.”
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“During that time I had a much thicker accent so people were not interested in having me on stage,” she says. “It wasn’t like I could go on auditions for a Shakespearean play because they would never take me. There just wasn’t a lot of need for Latinx actresses, in particular immigrants, so it was hard for me. Eventually I was able to find my niche. The real places where I could actually fit, where I felt welcome, where my work
decolonizing you or decolonizing self, and it comes from this desire of reframing and retelling the stories about ourselves, our history and our knowledge.”
ADIA GARZÓN HAS BEEN IN THE
Garzón is the founder and executive director for Descolonizarte Teatro, a theatre organization focused on performances about the Latin American experience.
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42, Orlando | Originally from: Colombia
“I started working with an organization called Theatre of the Oppressed,” she says. “It is the idea that we can make change through theatre but also create change within the person in these spaces. I started to combine in nonviolent communication and began to realize I could facilitate spaces of connection. Theatre wasn’t just for show, it could be powerful and do so many things for people: healing, connection, decolonization.”Buildingthat space for marginalized groups to share their stories was slow at first.
Nadia Garzón (she/ella)
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Working for JP Morgan Chase is what Tomanguilla calls her day job. Her other job is as a public speaker.
that I started doing it as a second job. I am invited by Fortune 500 companies and nonprofits organizations to speak about my experiences as a Latinx trans woman in corporate America.”
Additionally, Tomanguilla donates her time to Metro Inclusive Health, working career fairs, helping write resumes and improve interview skills.
“A lot of what I do involves connecting LGBTQ folks, especially gender diverse folks, to the right hiring managers,” she says.
“I’ve met so many trans people through my work from all over the world; from Brazil, from England, from the Philippines, that lets me not only meet trans people from all over the world but people who are gender diverse with different
“In Peru, we were very family orientated, which was great because I love my family, but here my brother and I just had more freedom and there was a different dynamic,” she Tomanguillasays.began going to school in the Tampa Bay area, switching her studies from architecture to business. Something else she found here was a more active LGBTQ community.
She came to visit her mother, who had moved to the U.S. after falling in love, and found that when she and her brother got here there was an independence that they did not have back home.
has evolved to where we have a great relationship now but, growing up in Peru, I didn’t even know the term transgender. I met my first trans person when I first moved here and it really opened my eyes to what it means to transition.”Tomanguilla began her transition in her late 20’s and says that the conversation even just a decade ago was very different then it is now.
“It’s something I’ve started in the last few years,” she says. “I’ve always participated in conversations and dialogues and panels but it wasn’t until 2020
“I grew up in a primarily Catholic environment so any discussion of LGBTQ was a sin,” she says. “My parents’ position
37, Tampa | Originally from: Peru
LIZABETH TOMANGUILLA advocates for the community differently than many other activists.
“I started volunteering before the pandemic as a youth mentor,” she says. “I would go twice a week and hang out with kids 13-17 providing guidance, talk to them about my experiences.
Tomanguilla says she is able to be a public speaker who speaks on a variety of topics because she sits at the intersection of many different communities. She also credits the larger platform that working at JP Morgan Chase affords her.
I’ve always been driven toward mentorship because maybe I felt like I didn’t have that when I was a kid. Both of my parents are medical doctors and worked a lot, so we were raised mostly by our grandparents.”Asitdidwith most things, the pandemic drove the program online.
“I’m not necessarily marching in the streets but I am helping by bringing equality into the corporate world,” she says.
PHOTO BY DYLAN TODD
“It all went to Zoom mentorships and as you can guess kids 13-17 are not as engaged during a Zoom meeting so we paused the program,” Tomanguilla says, and while it started back up at the beginning of this year, her schedule has not allowed her to go back yet.
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Tomanguilla has worked for JP Morgan Chase for the last 10 years, and for the last five has been involved in recruitment for the Fortune 500 company.
Elizabeth Tomanguilla (she/her/hers)
“If I did not work for JP Morgan Chase I would not have access to these opportunities to advocate for all the communities I am a part of,” she says. “I just want to be able to use my resources to help as many people as I can.”
lived experiences with different perspectives.”Tomanguilla came to the U.S. with her brother in 2004 when she was 20 years old.
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“I grew up in Lima and went to an all-boys Catholic school in Peru,” Tomanguilla recalls. “Then I went to college for a few years in Peru studying to be an architect.”
“Back then when I transitioned in many cases I was the only trans person among my colleagues and my friends so it put a weight on my shoulders, having to be the educator, having to always explain who I am,” she says. “Now we can be found in politics and in the media. There is a lot more discussion and empathy for the most part Somethingtoday.”else Tomanguilla is passionate about is mentoring today’s youth.
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C
according to Colombian and the United States government websites.
June 2021 for her first trip outside of the U.S. since March 2020.
Experience the adventure and warmth of Colombia
Heather Cassell heather@girlsthatroam.com
ANDTRAVELLEISURE
this when I traveled to Colombia as a guest of award-winning sustainable LGBTQ travel company, Out in Colombia, the country’s tourism bureau, right before the pandemic shut down the world and tourism.
Colombia is a year-round destination, but the best months to experience the South American country are December to March and June to September.Jilchristina Vest, founder of the Mini Black Panther Museum and Women of the Black Panther Party Mural in Oakland vacationed in Colombia a month after the museum’s opening in
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Responding to the Bay Area Reporter’s questions, Vest wrote in an email interview that Colombians were responding to pandemic life by wearing masks and socially distancing without a Vacationingproblem.ona beach in a small town outside of Cartagena with a group of friends, Vest was enjoying playing in the water and soaking up the sun outside of their vacation rental. She boasted about “views to die for,” the fresh seafood, and how “high-end, yet very affordable” Colombia is for a “Itvacation.isavery friendly and chill vibe here,” Vest wrote. She hadn’t interacted with the local LGBTQ community during her trip like I did, but she had
Heading South
OLOMBIA IS AN AMAZING COUNTRY RICH with art and culture, food, history, outdoor adventures, beautiful sandy beaches and warm
people.Ilearned
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Colombia opened for tourism on Sept. 1, 2020. As of May 1, travelers ages 18 and older need to provide proof of “complete vaccination” or a negative COVID-19 test 48 hours in advance of travel for an antigen test or 72 hours in advance of travel for a PCR test,
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The South American country offers a lot to travelers. Colombia is home to more than
My journey
COOKOUT: Mixing drinks and laughs at CookingOUT with gay Chef Esteban, one of Out in Colombia’s experiences in Medellin, Colombia. PHOTO BY HEATHER CASSELL
Colombia was discovered in 1499 and the Spanish started colonizing Colombia in 1525. Nearly 300 years later, a major trading hub for gold and African slaves, Colombia was founded in 1810. The South American country remained under Spanish rule until the South American country won its independence in 1819.
My journey through the South American country with Out in Colombia began in Cartagena and took me to Barranquilla, Medellin, and Bogotá, four of Colombia’s largest cities. I was taken by the country and people. Colombia’s dark and violent past has given way to a vibrant and welcoming country with a spirited culture, warm people and natural beauty, particularly in Cartagena, Medellin and Bogotá.
It was Colombia’s beauty, people and progress with LGBTQ rights that made gay American expatriate Sam Castañeda Holdren, 41, fall in love during his first visit in 2013. He traveled to Colombia on a three-month career break to learn how to speak Spanish fluently.
Out in Colombia
I was a guest of Esestelar hotels in Bogota, Cartagena, and Medellin.
Colombians were starting to embrace café life, odd as it may seem since Colombian coffee is known around the world. At Café San Alberto, our group enjoyed a coffee and rum tasting, that made Irish coffee look boring. The coffee energized us and the rum gave us liquid courage for our salsa
Heather Cassell ( girlsthatroam.com)heather@isthepublisher and editor of Girls That Roam, an online women’s travel magazine
Cartageneras lesbian tour guide Belkin Chico of La Mesa, which works with Out in Colombia, guided our group from Castillo San Felipe de Barajas to the walled city telling us the city’s history. In the walled city around the memorial honoring Colombia’s beauty queens where she explained what the crowned beauties mean to Colombians.
It’s challenging to be LGBTQ in the community, Gutierrez said. Homophobia remains, but two weeks before our visit a stairway was painted in rainbow colors in C13. Gutierrez said no one had defaced the steps. Instead, the community was enjoying it.
In 2016, he founded Out in Colombia to continue sharing his love of the country and promote its queer culture and businesses. Out in Colombia offers custom and packaged tours in English andInSpanish.2021,he set up a foundation, Cocora Alliance, where a portion of the proceeds from traveler’s trips are donated to the local communities.
Today,Escobar.artists have taken over the hilltop neighborhood and have transformed it. Cata Gutierrez, our tour guide, grew
Bogota
In Cartagena, “palenqueras,” the community’s women, stand out in the crowds with their traditional colorful dresses and head wraps balancing bowls of fruit on their heads. They can easily be found in the squares, like San Pedro Claver Square, in Cartagena’s historic walled city. Our group enjoyed tasting the “palenqueras” traditional fruit snacks sold from one of the women’s stands. They also pose with tourists for pictures for pay.
25 national parks. It is also the only country in South America to boast of beautiful beaches on the Caribbean and Pacific coasts. World-renowned artists call Colombia home. Its coffee is famous. The country is a gastronomic hub. Its LGBTQ community is energetic with creative and culinary endeavors. The country boasts of having South America’s destination LGBTQ nightclub in Bogotá.
up during Escobar’s reign of terror in the neighborhood. A gang murdered her family in front of her 8-year-old eyes as they were taking her to school. Her uncles took her in. She started earning money rapping on the subway while going to school. She later joined Casa Kolacho, an artist collective where she found community and thrived.
Today, Colombia is home to the third largest population of Black people outside of Africa,
Colombia enslaved more than 1 million African slaves until it abolished slavery in 1821.
Medellin
Where to stay
Brazil and the U.S., according to Travel Noire. Colombia’s 11 million Afro-Colombians make up four Black communities “mulattoes,” “raizales,” “palenque” and “zambos.”
Gay travelers visiting Colombia found Castañeda Holdren online and asked for help for them to get to know where to go to find Colombia’s LGBTQ community. He started putting together itineraries.
South America’s fourth largest city, Bogotá is bustling with a thriving LGBTQ community our LGBTQ history tour guide Juan Camilo, an ally, told us.
similar observations about LGBTQ Colombians’ openness and showing “public affection with no Colombia’sissue.”LGBTQ movement has made great strides in gaining rights since 1999, according to the Astraea Foundation’s 2021 report. The South American country’s capital, Bogota, became one of the first cities in the world to establish a government office focused on LGBTQ issues, the Sexual Diversity Department, in 2013. Same-sex marriage was legalized in 2016. This year Colombia’s constitutional court advanced gender diversity reported Human Rights Watch.
“I reflected on my time back in Colombia and realized, man, I really loved it there,” he said. “There’s just a lot that makes the quality of life pretty amazing.”
Cartagena was dazzling and sophisticated. Medellin was gritty, bursting with creativity in the mountain city. Our group enjoyed shopping at a local market and cooking and making cocktails with gay Chef Esteban in the morning. In the afternoon we went to the notorious Comuna 13, locally just C13, that was once under the control of drug cartel
Onlessons.ourlast night in Colombia, our group enjoyed an elegant evening dining at B.O.G. Hotel and more dancing at Theatron.
LOCAL EATS: A “palenqueras” preparing the fruit for our group in San Pedro Claver Square in Cartagena’s historic walled city. PHOTO BY HEATHER CASSELL
Cartagena
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Colombia is famous for its beauty queens, coffee, beaches, tropical jungles (35% of the Amazon rainforest is within the country’s borders) and its darker side with its drug lords. The country’s drug lords have been pushed deep into the Amazon on the Brazilian and Colombian border with the U.S.’s help, Sebastian Fernandez Leal, a representative with ProColombia who formerly worked at the United Nations in New York, told me in the car from Cartagena’s airport to our host hotel, Estelar Cartagena de Indias.
he loved sharing what he was learning about Colombia and the country’s LGBTQ life with queer people on his blog and with friends in the states.
Mega LGBTQ nightclub, Theatron, features 16 separate but interconnected dance clubs, including a concert hall, all in one building that takes up an entire city block in Bogotá.
Why Colombia?
BE OUR GUEST: Tour guide Cata Gutierrez. PHOTO BY HEATHER CASSELL
In 2014, the Fresno native packed up and moved to Medellin, once the center of Colombia’s drug trafficking run by the infamous drug cartel Pablo Escobar. It didn’t take long before Castañeda Holdren discovered
HELLO@CREWHEALTH.ORG407-605-2252COMMODITY CIRCLE, ORLANDO, FL 32819 A NEW EXHIBITION THAT REALLY ROCKS Discover the story of how Orlando concert promoter Figurehead invigorated the area’s musical landscape between 1985 and 2001. Explore what made this time in Orlando’s music scene so memorable – the bands and the clubs, the community and the TheHistoryCenter.orgchaos. 65 E. Central Boulevard | Orlando, FL 32801LeathermanJimofcourtesyHatebombsThe Totally Eighties Pop TriviaCultureHappy Hour Thursday, Oct. 20 The Hip Hop Scene in Central Florida Sunday, Sept. 18 watermark Your LGBTQ News Source. SEPTEMBER 15 - 28, 2022 // ISSUE 29.19 WATERMARKONLINE.COM36
ENTERTAINMENT
Jodi Benson on ‘The Little Mermaid,’ its LGBTQ legacy and her new book
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“Smile” closed after 48 performances, but the musical has endured.
The entertainer reflected on the enduring LGBTQ legacy of “The Little Mermaid” and more with Watermark ahead of the book’s release.
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Howard Ashman. The late, LGBTQ lyricist wrote its book and lyrics, receiving a Tony nomination in the process, but the show wasn’t considered a commercial success.
Benson discusses all that and more in “Part of My World: What I Learned from ‘The Little Mermaid’ about Love, Faith and Finding my Voice,” her new book published Sept. 13 by Tyndale House Publishers, a Christian company. She hopes it tells an inclusive tale that honors those who’ve impacted her life, Ashman chief among them.
Ryan Williams-Jent
It’s a testament to both Ashman’s lyrics and Benson’s vocals.
EFORE JODI BENSON BECAME A Disney Legend for her contributions to the Walt Disney Company in 2011 – among them voicing Ariel in 1989’s “The Little Mermaid” – she stole the spotlight with
B
The Tony nominated actress has voiced Ariel in multiple sequels and spinoffs in the decades since, cultivating the character while creating others in animation and live action. She’s also a regular celebrity narrator for Walt Disney World’s annual Candlelight Processional.
The pairing would go on to change the trajectory of animation when Ashman invited the cast of “Smile” to audition for his next venture, Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.” He’d begun work on the film with his cherished collaborator AlanAward-winningTheMenken.AcademyfeaturewouldgoontousherinDisney’sRenaissance,innosmallpartbecause
Treasures untold
“Disneyland.”Theperformeroriginatedthesongin“Smile,”the1986Broadwaymusicaldirected by
Benson was cast as its lead. Ashman served as her personal director, perfecting Disney staples like “Part of Your World.”
NOWTHRUSEPTEMBER25 NOWTHRUSEPTEMBER25 OrlandoShakes.org|407-447-1700 OrlandoShakes.org|407-447-1700 'Thefunniestfarceeverwritten!' 'Thefunniestfarceeverwritten!' --NewYorkPost --NewYorkPost Experience Orlando's Cultural watermark Your LGBTQ News Source. SEPTEMBER 15 - 28, 2022 // ISSUE 29.19 WATERMARKONLINE.COM38
Whenverbally.Isawthe first rough draft I still said, “No, I’m done. Thank
Yeah, I’m gonna say I do too. (Laughs.) I have a complicated relationship with organized religion, too. It’s interesting – first of all, let’s just be really honest, I did not want to write this book. You’ll see that on the very first page, never in a million years did I want to write a book. Tyndale came to me and I said, “No, absolutely not ... and I’m definitely not going with a publishing company who publishes Bibles. I’m not doing that. This is not a Christian book.”
Jodi Benson: I grew up in a town outside of Chicago and I had never seen a Broadway show. We had a little community theater, but I just started singing when I was probably four. Then I started singing with my sister at church when I was nine and came up with this idea of, “I’d like to see if I could do that. I don’t want to be famous and I don’t want to be rich, I just want to pay my bills.”
WHAT WAS IT LIKE WORKING WITH THE CAST AND CREW?
WATERMARK: WHAT DREW YOU TO PERFORMANCE AND BROADWAY?
He was very loving, very empathetic, very compassionate … We just had a great relationship. We did “Smile” together, then the show closed in the beginning of ’87 and I started working on “Mermaid” that same year. I got to go from one Howard adventure to the next.
I acted everything out physically in the studio, as if I were on stage, and so I had that knowledge and background as a theater kid. I just brought what I knew about that way to express myself into the studio.
Sam and I did a Broadway show together while we were doing “Mermaid,” the feature film, and then while I was on Broadway with “Crazy for You” for four years, we did all of our episodes of [“The Little Mermaid”] TV series in the studio together. We spent a lot of time together. He was an amazing guy. So loving, empathetic, compassionate, kind, creative. Just a joy to work with – big losses for us in our “Mermaid” family for sure.
WHY DO YOU THINK “THE LITTLE MERMAID” HAS ENDURED FOR OVER 30 YEARS?
I don’t really know where I came up with that idea because I’d never seen a show at that point, and I wasn’t a part of anything on a stage until I was in high school. I was doing some community stuff in our town and it was a lot of fun. I thought, “I wonder what the next step looks like for me.”
The film is really special, the character is special and the company is special. I’m just thrilled that I get to be a little bitty part of all of it. It’s Howard’s giftedness and his love and his empathy. His inclusion, his thinking outside of the box in how to connect with all people, with everyone, he just did it so beautifully in the midst of his own personal struggles and suffering. That’s mind blowing, it really is. [After also writing the lyrics for “Beauty and the Beast” and many for “Aladdin,” Ashman died of an AIDS-related illness at 40 in 1991.]
Amazing. Incredible. The first couple days, we did a readthrough like we do in New York and recorded together with plexiglass between us, and then I think it was like the third day that I started recording by myself. From then on, I was always recording by myself, but we established all those relationships between each other. It was really wonderful.
Absolutely. There’s not a convention, there’s not a meet and greet, there’s not an audio or video podcast or interview that goes by where someone doesn’t share their story. Everyone shares their story with me and I love that. There’s not a day of work that goes by without someone telling me, “I found my voice, I found my identity.”
They said, “How about we try a different way to approach this?” So we did. This is not a book that’s pen to paper. This is me talking into a microphone and then it’s just transcribed. That’s why when it reads like I’m talking to you, it’s because I am. I am sharing the stories
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE?
YOU EVENTUALLY MET HOWARD ASHMAN THROUGH “SMILE.” WHAT WAS HE LIKE?
WHAT ARE YOUR HOPES FOR IT?
Those were really big, important issues to me. So it’s kind of crazy, because you’ve got me and my faith, which is my foundation that comes out in various ways as I’m talking, but it’s not a Christian book. So here we have this Bible-publishing company, coming to me to share my stories, but my friends are [“RuPaul’s Drag Race” entertainer] Nina West. My friends are in the LGBTQ+ community. They’re drag queens. My friends are Jewish, my friends are New Age Buddhists, you know? (Laughs.) I think it’s been, for Tyndale and for my team, quite an interesting adventure. I just want people to feel included and to not have anyone’s feelings get hurt. That’s my hope and prayer for my little bitty book.
Jodi Benson’s “Part of My World” is available wherever books are sold. Learn more at PartOfMyWorldBook.com and read our extended interview at WatermarkOnline.com.
I think everyone thought he was just light-years ahead. He was absolutely brilliant, probably 20 years ahead of his time, coming up with all of his genius ideas; his lyrics as a director and as an executive producer. He was my personal director for “Mermaid,” which was amazing.
Ariel was part of a world where she just really wanted something more and reaching for that somewhat unobtainable seemed to be next to impossible. So I admire how Ariel was a big dreamer, and I’m very thrilled to hear that she is encouraging to people all over the world.
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HAVE YOU LONG BEEN AWARE OF THOSE CONNECTIONS AND THE FILM’S LGBTQ FAN BASE?
As life would have it, that was just part of the journey from “Disneyland” to Disney Legend. It’s pretty crazy to look back at that whole season of time.
The reason why I think our film has lasted this long is really because of Howard. He brought and blended this world together between the Broadway musical and the animated feature film that was
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?
I want this book to be inclusive. I don’t want anyone to pick it up and go, “Oh, it’s Christian. I’m not a Christian. I guess I shouldn’t read it.” Or “oh, I hate Disney. Should I pick this book up?” My plan was to share stories where everyone would feel included, where no one would pick it up and have their feelings hurt.
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Because of Howard, we approached it like a Broadway musical. I had no experience in voiceover, I’d never been behind a microphone like that before, so I didn’t know what I was doing. But Howard did and everything about it was basically the same process.
YOUR FAITH IS A PART OF YOUR LIFE AND BOOK. DO YOU HAVE A MESSAGE FOR LGBTQ FANS WHO MAY HAVE A COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIP WITH ORGANIZED RELIGION?
HER COLLECTION: Jodi Benson’s “Part of My World” is out now. PHOTO COURTESY TYNDALE
just so far beyond and ahead of its time and it changed the course of animation forever.
THE FILM HAS OTHER LGBTQ TIES, FROM THE FAIRYTALE’S WRITER HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN’S RELATIONSHIPS TO URSULA’S DESIGN BEING BASED ON DIVINE, THE DRAG QUEEN. Yep, absolutely.
IN HARMONY: Jodi Benson became a Disney Legend in 2011. PERSONAL PHOTO COURTESY JODI BENSON, USED WITH PERMISSION
It was Disney’s second Golden Age of animation, but even all of the animation studios – I’m honestly boldly, I’m going to say it’s all because of Howard, and Howard brought Alan; that was a package deal. That was nonnegotiable. He brought his writing partner and friend, and they changed it, they changed it all and still are to thisRemember,day. back in the day, animation was not in a good place. It was not necessarily thought highly of in the 80s. It’s what people participated in when their career was tanking in the end. Now when you look at it, every celebrity wants to be part of an animated project, and I believe that’s because of Howard. That’s because of his brilliance and the way that he blew animation out of the box and just went beyond what we could all imagine.
I just want to say thank you to all of your readers and to the wonderful community down there in Florida – near my favorite place on Earth, near Orlando. I just really appreciate your support of our film, of Howard and Alan and of the character. I’m just so happy that people can connect to her and feel like they belong. That they feel like they can figure out that wonderful journey of, “who am I? What makes me me and what’s my next step?”
you so much, but no … This is just not my comfort zone at all.” Then the publisher said, “What if you collect 24 little stories – it’s not an autobiography, it’s not a memoir, it’s not in chronological order – and you shine the light on other people to say thank you? Especially your private stories about Howard, that will be lost forever if you don’t share them.” That’s what got me.
HOW DID YOUR BACKGROUND PREPARE YOU FOR THE ROLE?
WITHIN THE LAST TWO YEARS, WE LOST [SEBASTIAN THE CRAB ACTOR] SAMUEL E. WRIGHT AND [URSULA THE SEA WITCH ACTRESS] PAT CARROLL. WHAT CAN YOU SHARE ABOUT THEM?
Pat was hysterical and a joy to be around. She was constantly laughing, constantly smiling, very encouraging, very loving, very kind. Just an amazing woman that had an incredible career that spanned more than 70 years. Just brilliant.
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Kirk Hartlage
(ABOVE)
The show’s book, music and lyrics were written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, winning them the 2022 Tony for Best Original Score. “SIX” also boasts three cast recordings: one featuring the original U.K. cast, a second sing-along version and a third recorded live on the original Broadway production’s opening night. Earlier this summer the original West End cast reunited to record a yet-to-be-released filmed version of theNow,show.appropriately enough, “SIX” has six land-based casts across the globe plus two more out at sea on Norwegian Cruise Lines. The U.S. Aragon Tour opens Orlando’s 2022-23 Broadway season Oct. 4-9 at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. After stops in Fort Lauderdale and Miami, the tour then opens the 2022-23 Broadway season at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa from Nov. 1-6. A second U.S. tour – the Boleyn Tour – launches in Las Vegas later this month.
“Peoplethat.growing up in the theater community tend to learn about things at a younger age than probably some other people do,” Forsberg says.
“Telling jokes that were clearly not child-friendly, saying words that were not family-friendly, in a place that I considered to be the home for young audiences … it was so much fun and a hysterical opportunity.”
“Yeah, it’s a little ancient,” she says of the venue’s no-middle-aisle continental seating. “It’s the most inconvenient way of seating, but when you’re on stage looking at it, it’s like, wow! That’s a sea of people!” Which, of course, she’ll have performing in Tampa’s Carol Morsani Hall.
Show creator Marlow, who is gay and identifies as nonbinary, has previously said, “It’s a queer thing to take something that oppresses you and say, I’m going to turn it into something that fuels me.” That theme resonates throughout the
became Broadway’s first new show to open after the lockdown, quickly earning rave reviews from U.S. critics and fans alike.
“SIX” turns King Henry VIII’s queens into modern day pop princesses; a history-mix, if you will, of the six ex-wives’ lives. Here, the half-dozen women are alive and mostly well and they’re forming a pop singing girl group à la The Pussycat Dolls. They need the audience’s help in choosing who should be the one to lead the band by deciding which gal had it the worst with good ‘ole Hank.
Orlando theater veteran Jasmine Forsberg comes home to Florida as part of the Queendom
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SINGINGQUEEN: AmericanJaneForsbergJasmineasSeymourintheNorth“SIX”Aragontour.
ITH ITS THEMES OF QUEERNESS and female empowerment wrapped in a pop-concert style score performed by an all-female cast, “SIX” has become one of theatre’s most popular and most influential productions in years. And for American theatre-loving gays specifically, “SIX” is the most important and most influential stateside appearance of British queens since The Vivienne first entered the “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Werk Room.
For Jasmine Forsberg, who portrays Jane Seymour in the Aragon cast and sings the show’s lone power ballad, “Heart of Stone,” the tour’s Orlando run is also a homecoming. The performer grew up in Waterford Lakes and graduated from Timbercreek High School.
“Orlando is my theatrical origin story,” Forsberg says. Starting dance lessons at the age of two and piano lessons at three, the performing arts became not just a hobby, but a way-of-life passion. Playing the title role – well, one of them anyway – in a youth theater production of “101 Dalmatians” provided an introduction to acting. Forsberg says learning about theatre and its nature of storytelling is what sold her on the art.
Still, it’s the Orlando stop she’s anticipating most. She sees performing at the Dr. Phillips Center as a “full-circle moment, especially since it’s my first big job out of school. I know we’re gonna have some hyped crowds in Orlando. I mean, Orlando; c’mon now! Theater culture, arts culture, gay culture: let’s go! It’ll be really special for sure.”
PHOTO BY MARCUSJOAN
“My first impression was, ‘Wow! This kid is a star!’” Eads recalls, adding that they had initially heard about Forsberg from a friend before meeting her and that she “totally lived up to those expectations.”
YAAAS, QUEEN!
Forsberg’s resume includes performances with the Winter Park Playhouse, the Orlando Repertory Theatre and the 2016 Orlando Fringe Festival Patron’s Pick production of “Dora and Diega Explore Middle Class America.” Watermark, in its review of the show at the time, wrote “Among the show’s major highlights was Forsberg’s incredible singing voice.” The show’s venue was the Rep’s Black Box Theater, a space where Forsberg had previously performed only family-friendly youth-theater productions; “Dora and Diega” was not
W
What started as a university theatre project for the 2017 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, “SIX” soon landed in London’s West End. Mere hours before the show was to have its Broadway debut in March 2020, Broadway’s theaters were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A year and a half later, and already enough of a global sensation to have a fan base nicknamed The Queendom, “SIX”
That theatrical upbringing also introduced her to the LGBTQ community. One of her early mentors was Joshua Eads, aka “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alum and star of stage and screen Ginger Minj.
‘SIX’
“There is an honesty about her when she is on stage that is so rare,” Eads says. “She’s beautiful, she’s talented, and that voice is unreal!”
She’s enough of an Orlando theatre veteran that she’s already performed on the Dr. Phillips’ Walt Disney Theater stage — thanks to winning a 2017 Applause Award for high school musical theater productions — and even at downtown’s Bob Carr Theatre.
Drop in and get your FREE PASS today. Includes a full week of unlimited classes and a one-hour personal training session. NO CONTRACTS • NO HIGH-PRESSURE SALES • EVERYONE WELCOME DROP IN OR CALL • OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 407-802-4631 • 820 Lake Baldwin ROCKHARDFITNESSORLANDO.comLaneFive-StarRatingonFacebook,GoogleandYelp watermark Your LGBTQ News Source. SEPTEMBER 15 - 28, 2022 // ISSUE 29.19 WATERMARKONLINE.COM42
makes me feel more powerful. And I recognize that I’m standing on the shoulders of giants. There are so many people that it took for me to be a leading lady today. And I never take it for granted.”
“Does ‘Heart of Stone’ have a dance club remix?” Forsberg asks incredulously when first presented with the idea of the track’s mere existence. “You are blowing my mind right now. I knew I’d been living under a rock; well, a stone, in thisAftercase.”hearing the Francepowerembracelistenpre-showplaylistplaylistsongjam,”warm-upherBroadwaythehandlingFranceDickinsonemallad-turned-dance-floor-anthpower-b–recordedbyproducerJoelwithdiscolegendJoli(“ComeToMe”)thevocalsandreleasedsameweekas“SIX’s”2021debut—Forsbergsaysworldhasbeenrocked.“AddingthistoourcommunalplaylistSTAT;whatashetextsafterhearingtheforthefirsttime.“CommunalbeingtheQueens’sharedthatweuseforourgroupwarmups.Weliketotostrongfemaleartiststoandharnessallthatgirlbeforeourshow.C’mon,Joli!”
intersection between being
possible is brilliant,” Forsberg says of learning the historical context of each line of the script and its songs. That educational process started with watching a BBC documentary series and reading a lengthy historical account about what these women were like.
about
who
| uu | Yaaas, Queen!
Consider Forsberg a lady in waiting no more.
I think the a something to be said that. judge you are that.
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Becoming Jane: The Remix With “SIX,” each cast of six principals and four alternates
lesson was missing from the “SIX” producer’s pre-show curriculum.
because of
“What is so special about this company, the six onstage queens that you see, we are all women of color,” Forsberg says. “I’m the first Asian principal actress to
THE QUEENS: King Henry VIII’s half dozen queens are modern day pop princesses in the smash Broadway musical “SIX.” PHOTOS BY JOAN MARCUS
In both instances people
truly accepted by the LGBTQ community once one of its songs has been remixed into a dance club hit. (See: Dreamgirls’ “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going”; Evita’s “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina”; Rent’s “Seasons of Love”; Aida’s “Easy As Life”; Dear Evan Hansen’s “Waving Through A Window”; et al.) Apparently, this
show as each queen takes a turn in the spotlight to tell her side of theAlsostory.present: the theme of strength in diversity, which appears not only in the story being told, but also in the performers telling“Weit.have cast members in our particular company who are lesbian, bisexual, pan; we identify all across the board,” Forsberg says. “I think the intersection between being a woman and being queer, there’s something to be said about that. In both instances people judge who you are because of that. ‘SIX’ is a perfect opportunity to flip that switch and say, ‘No, no, no. I’m taking up my space, I’m taking my power. You can’t tell me what to do. I’m going to live my life and I’m going to ownAlsoit.’”making “SIX” stand out: its color-blind casting.
The herstory classes included individual goofballtheirperformedpresentationsinthevoiceofcharacter.“Jane,beingthecompletederpthatsheis,she did a rap,” Forsberg says. “Was it a ‘mom rap’?TheatreAbsolutely.”history shows that a Broadway musical has been
“The way Toby and Lucy have intertwined key details about the six wives in the wittiest way
play Jane Seymour and I don’t take that lightly.” She’s already received messages from fellow Filipinos who’ve found inspiration in her performance.“Tostepon stage, night after night, in a center spotlight, downstage … taking up that space as a mixed-race Asian-American woman … there is nothing that
don’t just learn the production’s songs and choreography before the curtain rises. As the show is rooted in history, the company undergoes intense research into the backgrounds of each of Henry’s ex-wives.
“She was a chunky book, like thiccc, with three c’s,” Forsberg says.
“SIX” opens at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts Oct. 6-9, with tickets available at DrPhillipsCenter.org, and at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts Nov. 1-6, tickets are available at StrazCenter.org.
FROM PG.41 HOLDING COURT: The musical “SIX” opens Orlando’s Broadway season Oct. 4-9 at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts and Tampa’s season at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts Nov. 1-6. PHOTO BY JOAN MARCUS
woman and being queer, there’s
4:30P LGBTQ+ WWW.FABAF.ORG OUTDOORLAWNBRINGYOUROWNBLANKETOR CHAIRSTIXONLINEORDOOR SEPTEMBER23-OCTOBER1,2022 SARASOTA|MANATEE 9/23 9/30 2:30P BURNSCOURTCINEMA 10/1 7:30P NOV-JAN 12/2-12/10 DRAGCULTUREFEST DRAGCULTUREHISTORY DRAGCULTUREHISTORY DRAGCULTUREHISTORY @THERINGLING @THERINGLING DRAGCULTUREFEST DRAGCULTUREFEST @SARASOTAOPERAHOUSE @SARASOTAOPERAHOUSE &MORE. &MORE. FIFFONTHEBAY@NEWCOLLEGE watermark Your LGBTQ News Source. SEPTEMBER 15 - 28, 2022 // ISSUE 29.19 WATERMARKONLINE.COM44
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LOCAL BIRTHDAYS
ON THE TRAIL: (L-R) State Rep. Michele Rayner, Largo Commissioner Michael Smith and State Senate candidate Eunic Ortiz attend the Pinellas Democratic Labor Day Unity Picnic Sept. 3. PHOTO COURTESY MICHAEL SMITH’S FACEBOOK PAGE
9NATION: CrossFit 9’s Amy Joy Couch (L) and Joseph Michael-Kenneth (R) present Metro Inclusive Health’s Brian Bailey (C) with $2,000 Sept. 1. PHOTO COURTESY METRO’S FACEBOOK
AS THEY ARE: (L-R) Come OUT St. Pete Ambassador Caezia Giovanni Kreshe, Christopher Lawrence, Miss COSP Rockell Blu, Chris Jones and Mr. COSP Adam Cole strike a pose at the Royal Court Talent Competition Sept. 11 at Inclusivitea. PHOTO COURTESY COSP’S FACEBOOK
RemedyOne Executive Vice President Mark Francen, Pinellas County School Board ally Caprice Edmond, St. Petersburg artist Barry Rothstein (Sept. 17); CAN Community Health Senior Vice President Rogelio Capote, Owner of David Vargas-State Farm Insurance David Vargas (Sept. 18); Keller Williams St. Pete realtor Mauricio Moreno, St. Petersburg comedian Jeff Klein (Sept. 19); Cosplay captain Leif Thomas (Sept. 20); The Meadows Country Club’s John Pozo-George, Tampa socialite Neil Parker (Sept. 21); Parri Law Firm owner Dan Parri, Lead Pastor of The Edge Community Church Ricc Rollins (Sept. 22); Tampa Bay chef Darlene Herrick (Sept. 23); Tampa Bay fashion designer Ivanka Ska, Quench twin Nick Caraccia, Bay Area Pool Authority manager Mark CelayaRenaud, Office manager Keith Frey, Pasco Pride’s Charlie Russo (Sept. 24); Tampa Bay caregiver R.J. Walker, Florida State Rep. Michele Rayner (Sept. 25); Accuracy Painting’s Kelly Bachman (Sept. 27); Tampa realtor Cody Limberger (Sept. 28).
The Straz Center for the Performing Arts announced Sept. 7 that the remaining performances of “Avenue Q” been rescheduled due to COVID-19. The production opened Aug. 31 and was slated to run through Sept. 25. Performances resumed the week of Sept. 12 with additional performances added the week of Sept. 26. Read more at WatermarkOnline.com and at StrazCenter.org.
HER TIME: (L-R) Equality Florida’s Jennie O’Leary, Nathan Bruemmer, Nadine Smith and Todd Richardson celebrate Smiths’ TIME honor at Hawthorne Bottle Shoppe Sept. 10.
announcements TAMPA
CAN Community Health’s CANDance returned Sept. 10, honoring the organization’s 30 years of providing specialized medical care. Read more and view photos at WatermarkOnline.com.
RESCHEDULING
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GRAND RETURN: CAN Community Health President and CEO Dr. Rishi Patel welcomes attendees back to CANDance Sept. 10.
WALK THIS WAY: Saumitra Chandratreya welcomes art enthusiasts to Second Saturday ArtWalk Sept. 10. PHOTO COURTESY ST. PETE ARTS ALLIANCE’S FACEBOOK
PHOTO BY MARK BIAS WEST OUT+ABOUTBAY -
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Tampa Bay author Rob Sanders’ “The Mother of a Movement: Jeanne Manford – Ally, Activist and CoFounder of PFLAG” was released Sept. 6. Learn more at RobSandersWrites.com.
QUEEN ME: Hazel E. Genevieve is crowned Miss Tampa Pride 2023 Southern Nights Tampa Sept. 3. PHOTO BY BLACK ROSE PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY TAMPA PRIDE’S FACEBOOK
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Tampa Pride held the annual Miss Tampa Pride pageant Sept. 3, crowning its next queen. Hazel E. Genevieve was named Miss Tampa Pride 2023 and both Nicole Taylor Monet and Kahtya Tehnsion placed in the competition.
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GaYbor District Coalition celebrates 15 years in Tampa’s historic Ybor City this month. Hamburger Mary’s Clearwater celebrates nine years this month.
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RIVER READY: Michael Womack (L) and Bradlie Nabours showcase the Pride on the River flag at Bradley’s on 7th Sept. 2.
PHOTO BY RYAN WILLIAMS-JENT
CONGRATULATIONS
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Come OUT St. Pete held the organization’s annual “Come Out As You Are” Royal Court Talent Competition Sept. 11, naming three 2023 representatives. Winners included Miss Come Out St. Pete Rockell Blu, Mr. Come Out St. Pete Adam Cole and Ambassador Caezia Giovanni Kreshe Veronica Vixen also won COSP’s Community Service Award. Learn more at ComeOUTStPete.org.
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All Hallows’ Masquerade Ball organizers announced Sept. 3 that the 45th celebration’s theme will be “Carnivale: Celebrating the Peculiar,” confirming invitations had been mailed. For more information about the Oct. 22 party, visit AllHallowsBall.org.
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SURVEYS
LOCAL BIRTHDAYS
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SPACE NEWS: Jheff Mathis (L) gets a photo with NASA astronaut Douglas H. Wheelock while at Kennedy Space Center for the Artemis 1 moon mission launch in Merritt Island Sept. 3. PHOTO COURTESY JHEFF MATHIS’ FACEBOOK
MEXICAN CASTLE: Brandon Bracale-Llewellyn (L) and Alan Bracamonte check out Castillo de Chapultepec in Mexico City Sept. 9. PHOTO COURTESY BRACALE-LLEWELLYN’SBRANDONFACEBOOK
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READY TO PARTY: The Contigo Fund team check out the Winter Park Events Center Sept. 8. The space is the location for this year’s City Beautiful Reception. PHOTO COURTESY CONTIGO FUND’S FACEBOOK
WINNING TEAM: Tom Dyer (L) and Ed Blaisdell watch Orlando City Soccer win at Exploria Stadium in Orlando Sept. 10. PHOTO COURTESY TOM DYER’S FACEBOOK
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Orlando Derby girl Jill Powers (Sept. 15); Central Florida’s DJ JB Burgos (Sept. 16); Hamburger Mary’s Orlando Broadway Brunch Bunch founder Jimmi Rossi (Sept. 17); Glamorous socialite Bill Jansen, Favorite ally Justice Mitchell, Priority One Financial’s Steven C. Lewis Jr. (Sept. 18); Flight of Ideas’ Bob Kodzis (Sept. 19); Disney manager of corporate alliances Jason Dobbins, Dr. David Rice at Eola Eyes, “DJ Trypsin” Gabe Medina (Sept. 20); Old Town Kissimmee general manager Thearon Scurlock, Hogwarts student Heather Murphy, Walt Disney Port Orleans Resort lobby concierge Gerry D. Evans, Animal advocate Ziggy Shockley, Central Florida teacher and LGBTQ activist James Rode, Orlando artist and comedian Angela Ramos, JLD Communications founder Jose Luis Dieppa (Sept. 21); Orlando sister “Isadora Knocking” Morris Beverly (Sept. 22); Former board president of The Pride Chamber Lu Mueller-Kaul, former Watermark art director Charlie Carballo (Sept. 23); Former President at Florida Theatrical Association Ron Legler, Orlando photographer Angie Folks (Sept. 24); Southern Nights Orlando’s Christopher Bishop, Orlando chef Nathan Shif ett, Project Manager at Disney Kevin Thornton (Sept. 25); Orlando performer Eddie Cooper, Orlando performer Janine Klein, Keep Orlando Beautiful coordinator Jody Goostree, graphic artist Jarrod Pope, Watermark’s former director of digital media Jamie Hyman (Sept. 26); Central Florida State of Gratitude grant recipient Kevin Voeltz, Darden Restaurants’ social media strategist Jeff Alexander Giordano, Dapper Duck owner Chuck Zell (Sept. 28).
GIVEAWAYS
5
The Central Florida Softball League kicked off its 25th season at the Lake Fairview Softball Complex in Orlando Sept. 11. Read more on pg. 9.
3
announcements CENTRAL
2
NIGHT OUT: Florida Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith (L) and Jerick Mediavilla attend a performance by the National Ballet of Ukraine at the Dr. Phillips Center in Orlando Aug. 28. PHOTO COURTESY CARLOS GUILLERMO SMITH’S FACEBOOK
OPENING DAY: CFSL commissioner Bobby Agagnina (L) and candidate for Congress Maxwell Alejandro Frost after the first pitch for the league’s 25th season at Lake Fairview Park in Orlando Sept. 11. PHOTO BY JEREMY WILLIAMS
CONGRATULATIONS
The One Orlando Alliance has launched the “We Belong Here” survey — an LGBTQ-focused, first-ofits-kind survey — to gather comprehensive data on Central Florida’s queer community that will assist its coalition of service organizations in their advocacy efforts. Those interested in participating in the One Orlando Alliance’s “We Belong Here” survey can visit OneOrlandoAlliance.org/Survey.
ARTISTIC EXPRESSION: Artist Jeff Jones with his latest piece memorializing Sam Singhaus as Miss Sammy during his art show at the LGBT+ Center Orlando Sept. 8. PHOTO BY JEREMY WILLIAMs
watermark Your LGBTQ News Source. SEPTEMBER 15 - 28, 2022 // ISSUE 29.19 WATERMARKONLINE.COM 47
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Tony Award-winning actor-singer Ben Platt is bringing The Reverie Tour, with special guest Aly & AJ, to the Amway Center in Orlando Oct. 6 and Watermark wants to send you to the concert for free. From now until the end of September, we are giving away a pair of tickets to the show every week. Once you enter you are entered for the entire run of the contest, although once you win then you cannot have your name drawn for another pair of tickets. To enter the ticket giveaway, go to WatermarkOnline.com/ BenPlatt.
SEA DRAG: Joel Swanson is Serpentina Moráy for SeaWorld’s Howl-O-Scream drag cabaret in Orlando Sept. 12. Check SeaWorld.com for showtimes. PHOTO COURTESY JOEL SWANSON’S FACEBOOK OUT+ABOUTFLORIDA
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CENTRAL FLORIDA MARKETPLACE ACCOUNTING + BOOKKEEPING 407.478.4513 • ContactUs@geckoCPA.com L eah G. James, CPA, MSTax Judy L. Hines, CQA, CPB, CPS, CAP MARRIAGE & DOMESTIC PARTNER PLANNING PERSONAL/BUSINESS TAX PREPARATION, e-file QUICKBOOKS ADVANCED PROADVISOR ACCOUNTING + BOOKKEEPING PersonalReturnsfrom and Partnership Confidentiality Guaranteed. Taxes prepared while you wait! $89 Call for an Stephen407.923.4000appointmentE.Roberts Professional Accounting and Tax Services 2180 N. Park Ave. Suite 220 Winter Park, FL 32789 AIR CONDITIONING 4seasonsair.net 407-295-9231 FL License#: CAC056308The A/C Company you wish you called rst. Up to $1700 in Rebates plus additional utility company incentives on quali ed units. We have the perfect deal on PERFECT AIR for your home COUNSELING ary arylie er annl s o 1307 Portland Ave. Orlando, 32803 Individuals & Couples - Anxiety - Depression Codependency - Gay & Lesbian - ACCOA FINANCIAL ADVISOR DICTOR FINANCIAL, LLC Wayne S. Dictor, President Office: 407-942-3366 Mobile: Wayne@DictorFinancial.com941-320-4797 2727 N Atlantic Ave - Box 900 Daytona Beach, FL 32118 Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services Inc. Member SIPC AIDS ORGANIZATION ATTORNEYS COUNSELORS + THERAPISTS COUNSELORS + THERAPISTS COUNSELORS + THERAPISTS watermark Your LGBTQ News Source. SEPTEMBER 15 - 28, 2022 // ISSUE 29.19 WATERMARKONLINE.COM50
CENTRAL FLORIDA MARKETPLACE GARDEN + NURSERY Your Downtown Garden Shop 407-898-8101 1214 N. Mills Ave. Orlando Mention Watermark and Save! CITY OASIS Exotic Orchids, Bonsai,FullTropicalOrnamentals,PlantsServiceInteriorDesignandMaintenanceFreeEstimates,Pricesstartaslowas$99/mo MEDICAL 3317 W. Gandy Blvd., Tampa 813.902.8600 5224 E. Fowler Ave., Temple Terrace 813.902.8600 5979 Vineland Rd., Suite 208, Orlando 407.745.1171 1685 Lee Rd., Suite 110, Winter Park 407.745.1171 • HIV/STI Care • Hepatitis C Care • PrEP MidwayCare.org The Experts in HIV Care Are Here For You FUNERAL SERVICES HEALTH + FITNESS . Vi tam ins . Herb s . Die ta ry . Sport s Come see Dave, Ed & Staff for a Free Consultation! 407-207-0067M-F10-7,Sat10-6 www. NMFbody .com Crystal Lake Plaza 3074 Curry Ford Rd. Between Conway Rd. & Bumby Ave. We will match or beat local prices! Discount Nutrition Center Serving Orlando for 24 years HEALTH + WELLNESS INSURANCE Plans are insured through UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company or one of its affiliated companies, a Medicare Advantage organization with a Medicare contract. Enrollment in the plan depends on the plan’s contract renewal with Medicare. Y0066_160721_094120SPRJ27925A Accepted 0027FAF6 Are you eligible to switch your Medicare Kathleencoverage?Donnelly Licensed Sales Representative 407-414-6133, TTY 711 Plans are insured through UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company or one of its affiliated companies, a Medicare Advantage organization with a Medicare contract. Enrollment in the plan depends on the plan’s contract renewal with Y0066_160721_094120SPRJ27925AMedicare. Accepted 0027FAF6 Are you eligible to switch your Medicare coverage? HOME IMPROVEMENT LGBT MEDICAL /company/Watermarkonline/@WatermarkOnline/WatermarkFL/WatermarkOnline FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA watermark Your LGBTQ News Source. SEPTEMBER 15 - 28, 2022 // ISSUE 29.19 WATERMARKONLINE.COM 51
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watermark Your LGBTQ News Source. SEPTEMBER 15 - 28, 2022 // ISSUE 29.19 WATERMARKONLINE.COM 53
LGBTQ+ Kickball League, Sept. 24-Nov. 19, Dr. James R. Smith Center, OutSportsLeague.comOrlando.
Kameron Michaels, Sept. 16, Southern Nights, Orlando. 407-412-5039;SouthernNightsOrlandoFacebook.com/
Prince Royce, Sept. 17, Hard Rock Live, Orlando. HardRockLive.com/Orlando407-351-5483;
6th Annual Rainbow Over Conway, Sept. 17, Lake Conway Chain of Lakes, Orlando.Conway-Chain-Of-LakesFacebook.com/Lake-
Alicia Keys, Sept. 18, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Tampa.
submit your upcoming event, concert, performance, or fundraiser
Pride on the River
AIDS Walk Orlando + Fight the Stigma Fest, Sept. 17, Lake Eola Park, Orlando.HopeAndHelp.org407-645-2577;
SATURDAY, SEPT. 24, 1-8:15 P.M.
Alicia Keys, Sept. 17, Dr. Phillips Center, Orlando.DrPhillipsCenter.org844-513-2014;
“Avenue Q,” Through Sept. 25, Straz Center, Tampa. 813-229-7827; StrazCenter.org
Throwdown for Miracle of Love
VFW POST 4287, ORLANDO
Hocus Pocus Drag Bingo, Sept. 26, Ivanhoe Park Brewing Company. Orlando. IvanhoeParkBrewing.com407-270-6749;
Bungalower Drag Bingo, Sept. 20, Tactical Brewing Co., Orlando. 407-203-3303;OrlandoBungalowerFacebook.com/
TAMPA BAY
Kick Up Your Heels –Risqué, Sept. 24, Empath Partners in Care, Clearwater. 727-328-3260;TampaBayAreaCyclistsFacebook.com/
Tampa Pride’s Pride on the River returns for a full day of festivities along the waterfront. Festivities include a drag brunch, riverside festival, diversity boat parade and fireworks extravaganza. “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alum Jiggly Caliente and Ra’Jah O’Hara will headline. VIP experiences are available. Read more on p. 10 and at PrideOnTheRiver.org.
Fabulous Independent Film Festival
CENTRALFLORIDA
Drag Queen Bingo, Sept. 24, Wexford Irish Pub, Tampa. 813-843-2100;BlackBearsRevengeFacebook.com/
SATURDAY, SEPT. 17, 1-5 P.M.
Lizzo performs at Tampa’s Amalie Arena in support of her new album “Special” Sept. 24. PHOTO COURTESY AMALIE ARENA/FACEBOOK
HISTORIC DOWNTOWN, MELBOURNE
TAMPA BAY
TAMPA RIVERWALK, TAMPA
SARASOTA
The Faerie Ball, Sept. 25, The Garage on Central Ave., St. 727-235-9086;Petersburg.Facebook.com/OFCLGaragePage
watermark Your LGBTQ News Source. SEPTEMBER 15 - 28, 2022 // ISSUE 29.19 WATERMARKONLINE.COM54
Space Coast Pride returns to Historic Downtown Melbourne with its Pridefest Parade & Festival. Enjoy live entertainment, vendor booths, food, drinks and more as they celebrate the LGBTQ community. Parade begins at the Melbourne Auditorium at 11 a.m. with the festival running from 12-6 p.m. For more information, visit SpaceCoastPride.org.
To visit watermarkonline.com.
community calendar
ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
Quarter Throwdown is raising funds for Miracle of Love at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4287.
Space Coast Pride
Volusia Reproductive Rights Summit, Sept. 24, The Center at Deltona, Deltona. 386-878-8875;CenterAtDeltonaFacebook.com/
OUTSpoken, Sept. 23, Fabulous Arts Foundation, Sarasota.FabAF.org941-312-1202;
CENTRAL FLORIDA
Kameron Michaels, Sept. 17, Southern Nights, Tampa. 813-559-8625;SouthernNightsTampaFacebook.com/
SARASOTA VENUES, SEPT. 23-OCT. 1
Lizzo: The Special Tour, Sept. 24, Amalie Arena, Tampa.AmalieArena.com813-301-6500;
SATURDAY, SEPT. 24, 11 A.M.-6 P.M.
LGBTQ & Allies Young Professionals Meetup, Sept. 16, Inclusivitea, St. Petersburg.MetroTampaBay.org727-321-7212;
Monarchs for Misfits Drag Show, Sept. 17, Mad Hatters Kava Bar, St. Petersburg.MadHattersTeaBar.com727-800-5030;
Young Professionals for Eunic Ortiz, Sept. 21, Dissent Craft Brewing Company, Petersburg.727-827-7129;St.EunicForFlorida.com
STOPSPECIALPLANNER
Tonight! A Celebration of the Music of Stephen Sondheim, Sept. 2225, Orlando Shakes, Orlando.OrlandoShakes.org407-447-1700;
The Cheaters, Sept. 24, Salty Nun, St. Petersburg. 727-329-9994;SaltyNunFacebook.com/
Conan Gray, Sept. 20, House of Blues, Orlando. HouseOfBlues.com/Orlando407-934-2583;
Quarter Throwdown hosts a Quarter Auction where bidders play for prizes valued from $35-50. There will also be an indoor fall fest market featuring local vendors. This is a free event and is open to everyone. For more information, go to Facebook.com/ QuarterThrowdown.
EVENT
A Timeline of HIV and AIDS, Sept. 22, LGBT+ Center, Orlando. TheCenterOrlando.com407-228-8272;
EPIC Generations Coffee Hour, Sept. 22, Empath Partners in Care, St. Petersburg.MyEPIC.org727-328-3260;
The Fabulous Arts Foundation presents the 12th annual Fabulous Independent Film Festival, Sarasota’s only LGBTQ film festival. This year will feature a wide array of in-person films and special screenings at New College on the Bay and at Burns Court Cinema. Prices, times and locations vary. Learn more at WatermarkOnline.com and buy tickets at FabAF.org.
LGBTQ+ Sand Volleyball League, Sept. 23-Nov. 11, Volleyball Courts at Festival Park, OutSportsLeague.comOrlando.
“Green Day’s American Idiot,” Through Oct. 2, American Stage, St. Petersburg.AmericanStage.org727-823-7529;
SARASOTA
Cece Teneal’s ICONS, Sept. 17, Dr. Phillips Center, Orlando.DrPhillipsCenter.org844-513-2014;
Community Sweat benefiting Special Olympics, Sept. 18, Rock Hard Fitness, Orlando. RockHardFitnessOrlando.com407-802-4631;
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