2nd Annual Bronx Pride Picnic

Bronx Community Pride Center and Bronx Pride Committee
to host Official Pride Festival at
Barretto Point Park, Bronx

NEW YORK, May 15, 2007 – For the second year in a row, the Bronx Community Pride Center (BCPC) and the Bronx Pride Committee (BPC) officially announces the Bronx LGBT Pride Festival, which will take place on June 16, 2007 from 12pm-8pm, at Barretto Point Park in the Bronx. The theme for this year’s event is “Our Second Year, A New Experience.” Teaming up with this year’s festivities are several major companies and foundations along with a plethora of vendors and service organizations catering to the LGBT community of the Bronx.

“We are thrilled to bring Bronx Pride in its second year to the Borough,” said Chanel Lopez, chair of the BPC. “The representatives of the committee have worked very meticulously to provide an event that not only provides food, live musical entertainment and dancing, but is an ideal forum for community members to access information about businesses carrying products and services committed to strengthening the unity and support of the Bronx LGBTQ community.”

Company sponsors, such as WKTU-FM, ID Lube and HX Media, will be featured throughout the afternoon. Several elected officials will be attending the event. This is the first year that gay pride in the Bronx has had an array of supporters. “The Bronx LGBT community has found its voice,” said Lisa Winters, Executive Director of BCPC. “And because of this, New York City is taking notice.”

Last year, the Bronx Pride Picnic, which was held at Van Cortlandt Park, attracted over 2000 community supporters. The event took place on Saturday, June 17, 2006.

Strange & Forbidden Fruits ? LGBTQ?

There are some black folks who disapprove of me using the Strange Fruit slang. They always ask me, "Do you know what strange fruit means?" and I always reply that yes, I do know what it meant and stood for in a song sung by Miss Billie Holliday but however in this day and age I changed it's meaning to "unusual black/Latino LGBTQ happenings" and it's my poetic license as a writer/creator/filmmaker/director. But it is strange to me how people don't like to change. I welcome change because it's the spice of life. Working 9-5 five days a week and sitting in front of a tv set after work then doing chores on Saturday and then sitting in front of a tv the rest of the day/or go to a movie and on Sunday you either stay in bed late/go to church and then spend the rest of the day in front of a TV set; is a death sentance to me. I need to be out there exploring life in all its forms be it straight or gay. That can be forbidden for a lot of people. I remember the 70's, it wasn't unusaual to go to a straight bar and pick up a straight guy who was horny and wanted to experience a blow job from a gay man and vice versa, it wasn't unusual for a gay man who was horny to go to a straight bar and pick up a woman and want to experience a blow job from her! I've done it that's why I'm strange & forbidden fruit!

Strange is the act of bare-backing

I had an interesting conversation with some friends last night about having un-protected sex. I am 55 years old and have never used a condom…(is it a black/Latino thing or machismo?), in these times of AIDS and HIV people are still playing Russian Roulette with the disease and I am guilty of it! Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not out there sucking dick or giving up ass every chance I get; (but I sure would like to, to some hairy ape), but I have on occasion fooled around with total strangers, not asking them for their HIV status, not using condoms and sharing sexual fluid. Should I be locked away? Should anybody so irresponsible be locked away from society?
“I don’t feel sorry for him at all! He got the disease! He knew what was out there!” lamented one of my friends. I lost a friend a couple of years ago when I repeated these same sentiments and was accused of being cold hearted and uncompassionate. How do you change one’s behavior? Why do I have unprotected sex with strangers? Is it I am so hard up that I’m happy to get sex when I can? Am I self-loathing? Is it t hat the guy is so hung, GL and hairy that I am put into a spell of irresponsiblity? Who Knows?

Censorship is alive and well in mainstream Media of America

Just want to say how ridiculous our society is. The mainstream media rules our lives.
They make a decision on what and how America is supposed to think or flavor of the day. IE racism vs. Don Imus; blacks like Al (pimp) Sharpton & Jessie (wannabe Jesus) Jackson get into this war of words on racism when they should be out there preaching to blacks about standing on their own two feet and stop looking for the white man (master federal government) to continue taking care of them. Blacks should be more concern about getting a good education, creating a black block of corporation, control means of production; making the big bucks then rule the population with its products and man power. We will be in control of our destiny not welfare and the federal government…