Little Havana celebrates diversity

Calle Ocho in the heart of Miami's vibrant Little Havana district is going gay. Well if truth be told, they are actually mounting a one day Festival to celebrate the area's growing diversity which is starting to include a significant LGBT community.

The first ever Gay8 Festival will celebrate LGBT art, music and culture Calle Ocho between 14th and 17th Avenues this coming Sunday January 17th in what is hoped will become an annual event. Damian Pardo the event organizer told "The Miami Herald" that the idea behind mounting this was because "it's time to shatter the the mythology that LGBT are unwelcome ad unsafe in the area"

As well as music from local bands such as Palo, Suénalo, and the Spam Allstars, Gay8 will also will also feature a number of events surrounding the street festival – including dance parties, food tastings, a mini-film festival, cigar tastings and pop-up art performances.  

Miami and South Beach have a long-held cherished reputation for it's inclusiveness of all its wonderfully diverse local community and tourists, and for having a great deal of fun too.  Gay8 is now set to ensure that Little Havana is now part of that mix too.

Photographs : Felix Becerra

For further information http://www.gay8festival.com/

TransCuba

A stunning new solo show of work from New York based photographer Mariette Pathy Allen is currently on view at the Yeelen Gallery in Miami's Little Haiti district.   The Exhibition is titled TransCuba as it is a collection of some 30 vibrant images that Allen took of the transgender community in Cuba.

Allen's work focuses on the details of the everyday lives of her transgender subjects that reveal the growing visibility and acceptance in a country whose government is transitioning  into a mire "relaxed" model of communism under Raúl Castro’s presidency.   Photographed over several trips she made to Cuba in 2012 and 2013,  the images she witnessed and captured were of strong, smart, active and optimistic transgender people who savor their new freedom to be able to be themselves publicly, while continuing to overcome daily challenges, such as health issues, and the lack of steady work and money.

TransCuba : a solo show by Marriette Pathy Allen at Yeelan Gallery until November 28th 2015.

Information www.yeelanart.com

and http://www.mariettepathyallen.com/.

Margaret Cho hits Miami

The extraordinary wild and fabulously funny women ......and thoroughly good egg ...... Margaret Cho hits Miami.  I got to meet her this summer in P. Town where, to put it frankly, the woman is not surprisingly worshipped, as she loves this (very gay) speck at the tip of Cape Cod as much as we love her. She sat down with me on the beach to talk to P.T.V. about life, love, Robin Williams, Joan Rivers, her new show Psycho  .........and the fact that she wants to marry me.  (Well, truthfully perform marriage ceremonies for lucky same-sex couples who win her competition.)

This Friday Margaret hits Miami and so I'll be seeing again but this time sitting in the packed auditorium of the Filmore Theater.  It you live in South Florida and don't have a ticket, then phone up the Box Office now and beg for one.  You'd be a fool to miss Margaret on top of her form : I know as  she had us all rolling in the aisles of the P Town Town Hall one sticky night in August.

Panic not if you don't have the good fortune to be here in the Sunshine State,  Miss Cho will be touring for some time yet. Check out her schedule http://margaretcho.com/