[TV] Between a Frock & a Hard Place

It has been 20 years since The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert was first released in Australia. The movie has well-known as one of those must-watch LGBT movies among various circles, whether or not you think you totally appreciate drag queens just yet. It's quite the powerful piece of LGBT cultural history almost, when you look at it pretty seriously. Plus it will always be a really fun and campy movie.

I recently stumbled across the documentary Between a Frock & a Hard Place and I don't know why I thought it might be a piece about LGBT priests or something - I guess because of the term frock? But then when I finally read up on what the little TV piece was about, I was even more excited to watch it.

I proudly admit that I've fallen more and more in love with drag culture over the years, and this show was rather fascinating to explore since it talked about the movie and that period in Australian LGBT history. And what really struck me was just how much thought went into this project. The result is more than just a comedic piece of entertainment - it was also a statement and perhaps even a rallying call for others in the community.

[Pink Scene] Why Marriage Equality in the US Matters to the Philippines

Friday's landmark US Supreme Court ruling in favor of same-sex marriage across all 50 states is certainly a significant one, and LGBT rights advocates around the world are taking part in the celebrations for this momentous occasion.

Some have questioned why folks around here have been so vocal in celebrating the news. After all, this is only about rights being extended to US citizens and won't directly affect the Philippines. But while there are no direct effects, it's foolish to think that the US becoming the 21st country where same-sex marriage is legal is a purely domestic matter for the US.

The United States of America remains to be a true superpower in the modern world. It's a country with a lot of military power, yes, but it's also a country with significant political influence. The US is also known for standing up for human rights and nudging its allies to see things in a similar manner here and there.

Beyond their direct actions in the political arena, the US is still a country that many countries, including the Philippines, tend to look up to or aspire to be like to varying degrees. The US as country is quite the influence leader. And the US is often used as an example for what one can be or at least a model for how things might work.

So continue to wave your rainbow flags and change your profile images to rainbow-tinted bits of beauty. Celebrate the successes of LGBT advocates in the US and use their story as an inspiration for what we can hope for here.

We continue to fight for the love we deserve. In the end, love tends to win.

[Pink Scene] Celebrating LGBT Pride with Manila Luzon

So when In the Dark Events first partnered with O Bar to stage events for various queens from RuPaul's Drag Race starting with Adore Delano, the drag racer that people were most hoping for was Manila Luzon. And you can't really blame people for feeling that way since this Season 3 queen was fabulous all throughout the show and proud to be part Filipino to boot! And so it goes without saying that people went crazy over the news that Manila Luzon was finally coming to Manila this month for her first-ever performance in the Philippines. Not only that, but it was part of O Bar's Pride Party event for this year, which made things all the more epic.

Last night's Pride Party called Lagalas de Pilipinas, a tribute to Philippine drag queens, was such a great night. It was already cool that the VIP-only part of the event didn't just include a professional photo with Manila but also the option to take your own selfies with her, but performances that followed totally took the house down! And Manila is such a dazzling, engaging and endearing personality that it's easy to see why she's been such a fan favorite around the world.

Beyond Manila's celebrity presence, the fabulous performance numbers by the Oh Divas, poi artists and ledge dancers, the event also include a special number from the Lola Divas, a set of older queens that still perform until today. This Pride Party was meant as a tribute to Philippine drag queens after all, and it was important to pay homage to those who have helped shaped the local drag culture. It was quite a treat to see them rock that stage like their much younger sisters and still get the whole crowd cheering and shouting.

But no Pride Party is complete without friends, and we certainly saw a good number of them at the bar last night. Tobie and I had charge of a table for other O Bar regulars and friends and we did our best to make sure everyone had a home for the night. I'm pretty sure I had way too many drinks that night and I took a ridiculous number of photos with my alcohol-impaired trigger finger. And as I say a lot on this and my other blogs, it's the presence of friends that really defines the O Bar experience for me. The bar in itself is a great venue with amazing performers that make a lot of fun possible. But it's your friends that go with you that really make all the difference and help shift a night nursing a drink into a wild event partying with your hands in the air.

Thank you O Bar. Thank you In the Dark Events. Thank you Manila Luzon. A most happy Pride indeed.

[Pink Scene] Metro Manila Pride March 2015 - Fight For Love

After years of me writing about how the Metro Manila Pride March is traditionally held on the first Saturday of December after a decision to move things, it seems that this year the Metro Manila Pride March has moved back to the older traditional date of the last weekend of June.

There's been no announcement regarding the final location of the event, which is a little unnerving with the even just about two weeks away. But then again in 2013 the same organizing group (more or less) managed to put something together under a much tighter deadline.

So for now, save the date and look forward to a Metro Manila Pride March in June! They already have a strong theme with #FightForLove and we'll just leave the location as TBD.

[Pink Scene] Manila Luzon in Manila for Pride 2015!

It's official! After Adore Delano and the pair of Alyssa Edwards and Laganja Estranja, Manila Luzon herself is coming to the Philippines! Not only that, but she'll be here just in time to kick off O Bar's Pride festivities on June 20, 2015. This is her first official show in Manila - so you know this is an event you can't afford to miss!

In addition to Manila Luzon, you'll have the joy of watching other performances:

• The O DIVAS (The countries most phenomenal drag performing group)
• The LOLA DIVAS (The Philippines pioneer drag queen group)
• FIRE & LED Dancers and soo much more!

VIP tickets have been on sale since Wednesday, but you might still have a chance to get one of 100 exclusive tickets that grant:

• Quick Entry to the event
• Meet & Greet with Manila Luzon
• Professional Photograph with Manila Luzon

Tickets retail for PHP1,800.00 and can be purchased online at the In the Dark Asia website or at the gate. General admission tickets will also be sold at the at door on the night itself including O Bar admission.

[Movies] Pride (2014)

I amuses me how many movies from the UK ultimately involve the small town struggling against harsh economic realities and the story of how they fight back. Then again, I suppose it's only fair given the significant impact the Margaret Thatcher had and the many, many strikes that happened in response to her policies.

Pride seems to follow that movie formula to a tee at first glance, but then it quickly becomes clear that there's more to it. As much as this movie is about a small mining town trying to make ends meet while they remain on strike, it's also about early LGBT activists trying to find a way to gather more support for their cause. And they plan that they come up with involves reaching out to the similarly oppressed miners and hope for the best.

I thought that this movie would just be another amusing comedy and one that I could just have fun with before getting back to more important things. But instead it turned out to be quite the powerful movie and also a very moving one. I'm ashamed to admit that by the end of the movie I was in tears given how things resolved.

[Pink Scene] Call to March for LGBT Pride!

Tomorrow is the first of December, and that means it's time for the annual Metro Manila LGBTQ Pride March. But this year there are actually two Pride Marches - one organized by Task Force Pride (TFP) in Malate and another organized by the Quezon City Pride Council and naturally in Quezon City. And while some have started to ask why there have to be two marches as if this was somehow a bad thing, I'd like to stress that this isn't bad at all.

In other countries we see different LGBTQ Pride festivals and marches hosted in different cities - not just states or political territories like NCR / Metro Manila but in actual cities. It's a great sign of support for the LGBTQ community and a good venue for getting more support for our fight for equal rights and full recognition in the eyes of the law.

For TFP, this marks the 20th year of LGBTQ Pride Marches in Metro Manila. The Metro Manila Pride march is the oldest LGBTQ Pride March in Asia and that's a lot to be thankful for indeed. We still have a long way to go in terms of national recognition and advancing any national legislation to protect the rights of the pink community, but that doesn't mean we should stop fighting.

For Quezon City this is the first LGBTQ Pride March to be officially hosted by the. Given the many moves by the city to support the LGBTQ community including a rather sweeping anti-discrimination city ordinance, there's a lot to be said about Quezon City as being a pro-LGBT city. And these efforts definitely deserve some support.

So whether you march in Malate on December 6 or you march in Quezon City on December 13 or both - stand up and be recognized! Show support for LGBTQ Rights! Whether you're a member of the community or a straight ally who wants to show support for your LGBTQ friends, then be sure to join at least one of the Pride Marches this year.

[Pink News] Quezon City Comes Out to Support the LGBT Community

So I've been pretty stoked about the fact that the Quezon City's City Council has pretty much passed an Anti-Discrimination Ordinance meant to protect members of the LGBT community. Extending beyond the context of the workplace, the Gender Fair City Ordinance is a pretty comprehensive city ordinance that offers a variety of ways to extend greater protections for LGBTs along with accompanying programs to educate people about the SOGIE concepts. It's a lot to tackle all at once, but for the most part it sounds pretty good.

But beyond the ordinance itself, which has largely been associated with members of the Council alone, it was nice to have Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista release comments not just in support of the ordinance, but also in support of same-sex marriage and greater LGBT rights. He's one of the few (if not the only) city mayor who has come out in support of LGBT rights in such a clear and definitive manner. In addition, these statements come backed by action in the form of the ordinance and the fact that the QC LGBT Pride March is actually one of the many events listed as part of Quezon City's 75th anniversary.

Under Mayor Herbert Bautista, Quezon City has suddenly become the only city government to publicly support LGBT rights. And if they keep this up, I totally see this as a serious effort by the city as a whole to make members of the LGBT community feel truly welcome and safe. And now I have even more reasons to be happy to be living in Quezon City. And I can see this as a key reason for more folks to find a home here - something that we've never really had up until this point. In the US they run annual lists for the top ten best cities for LGBT individuals but thus far we haven't really had any options around here.

And all the more I want to support the QC LGBT Pride March this year. Beyond the formation of the QC Pride Council last year and the city council wins now, there's certainly a lot to celebrate.

[Pink Scene] Metro Manila Pride 2014 Teaser

So the image above has started to make the social media rounds, which we can consider to be our first teaser for this year's LGBT Pride festivities. Interestingly enough, this was posted by a new page - Metro Manila Pride, which is different from last year's Metro Manila Pride March page. The dropping of the "march" seems pretty distinct and implies that our organizers want to do more than just put up a parade on December 6. But being familiar with how this annual event comes together, it seems clear that they're still trying to select a venue.

To be fair, the Metro Manila LGBT Pride March for 2012 actually featured a modest little bazaar featuring LGBT and LGBT-friendly businesses and was sort of the first steps towards getting out of the "just" a march model. Or you could go all the way back to when the Pride March was around the same time as the White Parties in June and thus they all felt like one integrated event.

Given how last year the LGBT Pride related announcements were a bit dizzying since it was on at QC, cancelled at QC and then revived at Malate. Hopefully things will run a lot smoother this year - whether or not the Pride organizers feel that they're ready to work with Quezon City again.

For now, stay tuned for more social media updates as they come along.

[Technicolor Musings] Happy LGBT Pride, Geeky Readers!

By the time this blog entry publishes, my partner Tobie and I are probably still struggling to get out of bed after what I assume has been a wild night of celebrating LGBT Pride with many of our friends at O Bar. I've written about why Tobie and I love O Bar so much quite a number of times on this blog and the others that I manage. Our desire to support them so much is what primarily drives this for us.

I do hope that all of you took some time this month (with it being LGBT Pride Month) to show a little love and support for the LGBT community. Whether or not you identify as part of the community, it's never too late to get on the side of true equality in terms of legal rights. And we in the LGBT community can use all the support that we can get - such is the struggle of any minority group within a democratic society.

LGBT Pride, or simply gay pride, isn't just about partying or making a fool of yourself in public. It's more about standing up and being counted among those who believe that the LGBT community deserves to have the same right as other human beings. This is not about special rights or simply giving something extra to gay people - this is about extending existing rights to the gay community, as we deserve as citizens of this country.

And so we wave the colors and we march and we do all sorts of other things to try and advance our cause step by step. And we have a long way to go.

[Pink Scene] Quezon City World Pride Festival Cancelled

I have to admit, I had considered this to be a possibility but I still wasn't quite expecting it. This week the Quezon City Pride Council announced that they're cancelling the Quezon City World Pride Festival 2013 in order to reallocate the funds for the benefit of the victims of Typhoon Yolanda. Of the different events announced to be part of the festival, it seems that at least the InQCity Independent Pride Film Festival will still push through as another fundraiser for the same cause.

With TFP having announced the cancellation of the Metro Manila Pride Celebrations a few weeks ago, this is looking like the first year without any kind of LGBT Pride celebration (perhaps save for the various White Parties and Pride Parties back in June). More importantly, it may be the first year without an LGBT Pride March. And that is truly saddening. As much as I feel for those affected by the typhoon, the march and what it represents in terms of our overall fight for LGBT rights is still an important (and distinctly separate) issue.

There are talks going around of trying to push through with the March somehow outside of Quezon City, but it seems prudent to wait for an actual official announcement about that before reacting. I'd still want to march, most definitely. Let's see what happens over the course of the next two weeks.

[Pink Scene] TFP Cancels 2013 Metro Manila Pride Celebration

This weekend TFP announced that it was cancelling its 2013 Metro Manila Pride Celebrations for undisclosed reasons. As much as I have been critical of the group in recent months (specifically regarding how they handled their initial marketing for this event) and my history as a volunteer for the group, at the end of the day this is sad news. After 18 years of working to promote LGBT pride in Metro Manila through the annual Metro Manila Pride March and other activities, this marks the first year that TFP will not have an event.

In addition, the closing paragraph inviting others to take on the mantle of leadership for the group is a little unsettling and in itself hints at some of the possible reasons that the event is not pushing through. I'll leave it to all of you to discuss among yourselves.

At the very least, we still have the first Quezon City World Pride Festival to look forward to this year. Among Metro Manila cities, this is the first city-aligned Pride event ever and with luck this may become a model for future pride celebrations in other cities in the Philippines. With TFP's future looking a little uncertain, we may have indeed reached that point when city-level interest and awareness is needed to take the fight for LGBT rights to a more direct level in terms of talking to our local government.

What is important is that we always continue to fight for LGBT rights in the Philippines and celebrate the diversity of who we are.

[Pink Scene] Quezon City World Pride Festival 2013

Earlier this year, the Quezon City government announced that it was forming an LGBT Pride Council to "oversee the integration of all city programs and projects for the LGBT community". And while we have a large number of LGBT groups active in the country, there are very few cases when a city government actually takes steps to get involved and it's definitely a big reason I'm glad that I'm a QC resident. 

The Pride Council is led by movie and television director Soxie Topacio and the rest of the group consists of an interesting mix of LGBT advocates and government officials. But of course the real question about this whole initiative is what they're actually going to do to help the Quezon City LGBT community.

Beyond operating a one-stop QC protection center for victims and survivors of gender-based violence and abuse in the city, their first major project for the year is putting together Quezon City's first major pride activity. Called the World Pride Festival, the month-long event promises to be a pretty exciting celebration of the LGBT community and its allies.

[Technicolor Musings] The LGBT Movement Doesn't Talk

Back in March I wrote about the sad state of LGBT activism in the country. The end of that blog post had a simple call to action - the need for more folks to get involved in the struggle for LGBT rights for Filipinos everywhere. And while a few months is too shot a time to expect any sort of significant change, I do find myself thinking about this subject again because of how things have developed - or have not developed.

Yes, I say this during a period when a show like My Husband's Lover is on the air as the first LGBT-focused prime time series in our nation's history. I say this after June's Pride festivities with so many different White Parties, Pride Parties and other LGBT Pride related events. Quantity is not quality you see and we certainly lack quality.

[Movies] Kinky Boots (2005)

A number of years ago, I was surprised to see that this movie, Kinky Boots, was actually playing at the Greenbelt Cinemas. It was a film that no one had heard about and even fewer seemed to be talking about given how the story revolves around drag queens. Always one to support LGBT cinema in mainstream theaters, my partner at the time and I bought tickets and watched it.

We absolutely loved the movie.

Fast forward to 2013 and Kinky Boots is now a Tony-award winning musical having won many awards including Best Musical and Best Score for Cyndi Lauper. Thus in time for my on-going Pride Month goal of featuring sort of "mainstream" movies that celebrated LGBT themes, this movie had to make an appearance here. I know I had once written a review for this movie back in my Multiply days, but I can no longer find it. So here's me revisiting one of my favorite queer movies.

[Technicolor Musings] Whence The White Party Manila Press Kit Came

Photo from O Bar's 2012 Pride Party

So this week I received a "press kit" for the White Party Manila 2013. And I'm pretty used to receiving various press kits and press releases for various events - it's part and parcel of the blogging experience.

But when I opened up this particular email I was left feeling rather...confused? Bothered? Annoyed? Words fail me.

First, it was pretty much just a press release and not a press kit - there were no other images attached and other promotional material that the organizers expected us bloggers to use. Second, the grammar and sentence construction was just...bad. Like really, really bad.

And while Tobie has already written about this release, I figure that I need to weigh in for my own peace of mind. After all, feedback is a gift in the writing game. And I really feel generous right now.

This is going to be a long blog post. Be prepared.

[Technicolor Musings] Malate is Dead

Malate White Party 2004

Malate is Dead.

Or at least, Queer Malate is Dead.

Or perhaps more specifically, My Queer Malate is Dead. At least that's what it feels like.

I'm not one of those super old school Malate folks, that much I have to admit. I only started hitting the club scene in 2003 and by then BED was already establishing its particular niche in the local gay dance club scene and the likes of Mint and Joy had already shuttered their respective bars. By some standards, I was rather late to the game, but who's counting, really?

Admittedly first going to Malate felt like walking into a show like Queer as Folk. It was such a colorful and vibrant community. BED was a tiny little bar right beside the likes of Komiks and New York Cafe. Pride Exchange officially became my very first sex shop I had ever entered with the appropriately phallic door handles. And it seems like night there as some wild and crazy party with someone new to meet at every turn.

[Technicolor Musings] Another Pride March As The Fight Goes On

Last December 8 was the 2012 Metro Manila LGBT Pride March - Sari-Sali: Pride in Action. Tobie and I marched together with the PG4M contingent along with quite a number of other organizations representing various LGBT groups, allies to the LGBT community and a number of companies and LGUs as well. It was quite the memorable event, although naturally I still wished that more people had attended.

Regardless of the opportunities that the march experienced this year, it still remains a key event in the pink calendar and an important reminder to the local community that we're still here and we're still demanding equal rights. Demonstrations like this go a long way towards the overall fight for the LGBT cause in the country and to some extent the world at large.

So for today I'll leave you with this question - How much do you truly value the cause of LGBT rights?

Whether or not you attended the march this year or in years prior or whether or not you vote for LGBT-friendly government officials and party-list groups, have you ever really thought about how much this matters to you. Do you think things are okay as they are? Do you think that the members of the LGBT community do not need access to civil marriage rights and other frequently discussed legal rights concerns? Are you okay with how things are for LGBTs in the Philippines or do you think we need change?

And just what are you prepared to do to help make that change happen?

[Technicolor Musings] Happy LGBT Pride 2012!

Tobie's Journey-inspired T-Shirt Design for Pride 2012

Yesterday was LGBT Pride here in Manila, and it was quite the fun experience. While there were a few hiccups initially, in the end the march itself managed to get underway decently enough.

I still wish that there had been more familiar faces at the march, but you can't win everyone right away. Every year I invest some of my social media time to promote the march and I think I'll continue to add pressure in the years to come to see how many people I can convince to march. It's a good goal to keep in mind for future pride marches.

So major kudos to Task Force Pride 2012! You pulled it off! Congrats!

[Technicolor Musings] Celebrating the Fight Against Intolerance

Every year, December 1 is celebrated as World AIDS Day, an important time to remember the continued fight against the spread of both the virus and the intolerance that naturally comes with it. At least that's the way things are now - with a lot of work and continued effort, we all look forward to the day that we bring the number of new HIV infections to zero and when people stop alienating people who have the virus.

At the same time, December is also a time when Filipinos - at least those in Metro Manila - take time to celebrate LGBT Pride with the annual Metro Manila Pride March.

It's interesting to note how both the fight against AIDS and the fight for LGBT rights have many similarities. Both are things (or perhaps states of being?) that are often met with a certain degree of ridicule and definitely intolerance born of ignorance. Naturally because of its prevalence, there is the inevitably thinking that one follows the other (and which comes first doesn't even matter at times). Too many people think that gay people are worth condemning and thus "deserve" to contact HIV / AIDS. Or some believe that people who have HIV / AIDS did something "wrong" to again somehow "deserve" infection.

But both being gay and living with HIV are not things to be ashamed of nor should these be things that we have to hide. They simply are what they are and until we as a society learn to treat it as such, then we'll never really get to where we need to be in terms of equal rights and true acceptance as a race. Until we can put aside these petty disagreements for those who are different from us, then we'll never mature as a people - or even as a species.

So take this month as a good time to remember the struggles that both these groups of people face every day. Take time to remember that gay pride is more than just a street party and HIV awareness and advocacy is more than taking an HIV test just once in your life. It is about changing the way you think and essentially changing the way we live our lives.