Portraits
of Pride
Photography Matteo Trisolini
If you have ever been to a Gay Pride celebration,
you have felt and experienced the overwhelming sense of
solidarity and friendship that exists between the people
taking part in these life-affirming events. There is a
physical, emotional, and spiritual connection between
everyone at these parades and festivities that is truly
remarkable. I remember the exhilaration I felt at my first
Gay Pride in New York. There must have been a million
people marching down Fifth Avenue. Men, women, and children
of every age, race, and nationality were smiling, singing,
hugging, kissing, and waving rainbow flags. I had never
seen anything like it. Being from a small town, I often
felt as if I was the only gay person in the world. Here,
I was part of a big, vibrant, extended family. My favorite
moment that day was when I saw a man holding a sign that
read, “God is Gay!” Being a “recovering”
Catholic, I began to cry. Tears soon turned to laughter,
however, when two women holding hands saw the “God
is Gay!” sign and exclaimed: “She certainly
is!”
—Robert Adams
FERNANDO
VASQUEZ & ROBERT STEVEN MUNOZ
 Fernando
is Vice President Financial Center Manager for Bank
United, and Robert is a make-up artist and Face Designer
for Giorgio Armani Beauty. According to Robert, “Fernando
and I met in 1988, at a little bar in Tampa, Florida.
It was my birthday and a mutual friend introduced us.
By March 1989 we were together, and have been ever since.”
Robert moved to Miami in 1992 for work and Fernando
joined him there in 1993. “We love Miami and its
diversity. There is always something new to do and great
people from all over the world to meet. Fernando and
I enjoy the beach, of course, traveling, the theatre,
and dinners out with friends. We are so glad the arts
in South Florida have become so strong.” When asked
what they consider to be the most important accomplishment
achieved so far by the gay community, Robert replied,
“We have really changed the way people see gay
people. We have earned much more respect with positive
role models. The fact that Fernando and I can share
work benefits and be recognized as valuable employees
and citizens helps make life a little easier.”
However, they also are aware of the struggles we still
face: “We really need to get ALL [the] states on
board in recognizing our ‘domestic partnership’
and/or marriage. We have come a long way, but there’s
still a ways to go.” When asked what gay pride
means to them, they replied: “…I am GAY, but
I walk, talk, and work just like you. I am a man with
goals and dreams that should not be crushed by your
ignorance of our sexuality.” If they could organize
their own Gay Pride event, what would it be like? “Well,
Fernando loves disco, and I love art and fashion. So,
I would put that all in a pot and stir it up. Combine
the hottest DJs mixing classic disco (and maybe some
80s freestyle for that Miami flavor), fashions from
hot new designers (as well as some well established
ones), and an auction of art featuring local artists.”
Their words of inspiration: LIVE. LOVE. LAUGH. “It’s
a classic that always stands true.”
 LEILANI
FAROL NILDE LEO & KAILEI
Leilani is a Technology Project Manager at a Software
company in New York City, while Nilde is getting her
PhD in Social Welfare, has a part-time private practice
as a psychotherapist, is a part-time teacher, and a
full-time mom. According to Leilani, “On a whim,
two friends and I drove from Newport, RI to Provincetown,
MA for the Fourth of July events in 1999. We decided
to walk around the shops and then go dancing at a bar.
That bar was the one and only place we went all night.
I was on the outside deck of the club watching the fireworks
along with about 100 sweaty, shirtless men, and I saw
a small group of friends come into the club. Later that
night, I ended up dancing next to that group and Nilde
was among [them]. Somehow we ended up dancing together
and we danced that whole night. We took a break to walk
on the beach and we’ve been walking together ever
since.” Currently their favorite activity is raising
their daughter Kailei. In addition, “We love laughing
a lot, walking around NYC, people-watching, going out
to dinner, having people over to our house (house parties),
cooking, going out to the clubs to dance, going to the
beach, and playing sports. To us, the most important
accomplishment for the gay community is gay marriage
in Massachusetts. We were among the first couples to
apply for our marriage license. It is our belief that
one day, marriage equality will no longer be a struggle,
but commonplace, and that the right to love and be loved
by any human [will] be looked at with great joy. When
we think of Kailei, we hope that the world sees interconnectedness,
and that we as humans want the same things. What does
Gay Pride mean to them? “It’s a time of celebration
of our gay, lesbian, transgender, and bi-sexual community.
It’s a time to ‘come out of the closet’
and be who we are, and maybe in doing so, impact the
life of another who might be struggling with their own
coming out process in a not-yet-so-accepting world.”
When asked to share a favorite quote or saying, Nilde
volunteered: “Be awake to each moment...so much
magic happens.”
 PAUL
CERRUTI & ZACHY SHERIF
Paul and Zachy met at a trendy Arabic restaurant
in New York eight years ago and “much to both of
our respective dates’ horror,” according to
Zachy, “[we] literally fell madly in love at first
sight...and moved in together a week later! The rest
is history.” Paul is a corporate sales executive
for a leading telecommunications company and is passionate
about vintage cars, architecture, history, world cultures,
and politics. Additionally, Paul is an avid sportsman,
runner, and cyclist, and has participated in many marathons,
both nationally and internationally. Zachy’s work
as an international interior and lighting designer has
been featured in such publications as Architectural
Digest, Elle Décor, and the World of Interiors.
Zachy is renowned in the industry for his unique hand-blown
glass chandeliers (clients include Sarah Jessica Parker
and A-Rod, among many others) and was credited by Marie
Claire Maison for “...having re-invented the chandelier...”
They believe “the mission to achieve gay marriage
and finally gain our equal rights” is of paramount
importance. “The world-wide gay community needs
to unite and support those in other countries where
they face severe oppression, prosecution, and even execution!
With political pressure and an internationally unified
gay force, we can help our brothers and sisters across
the globe that don’t yet have rights or a voice.”
When asked what Gay Pride means to them, they replied
“Gay Pride means having no shame and no fear being
who we are.”
ALFONSO SUAREZ &
DAVID DRAKE
Alfonso is an entrepreneur who has just
launched http://alfonso-suarez.com,
which offers handcrafted home accessories from pottery
to textiles and everything in between. David is an actor,
playwright, and stage director, well-known for his Obie-Award
winning The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me. He recently
guest-starred on Law & Order and has a new play
making the rounds of prospective theater companies.
Later this summer, he will be directing the Off-Broadway
premiere of David Parr’s Slap & Tickle. David
and Alfonso met at an after-hours Gay Pride party in
New York City five years ago. According to David, the
most important accomplishment by the gay community has
been “the cumulative and global work of ACT UP
[with] tens of thousands of LGBT activists (and our
straight friends) setting the agenda, and demanding
and following through with life-saving information,
programs, and treatment in the AIDS epidemic. The residual
effect of those activists, being ‘out, loud, and
proud’ in the late 1980s and early 90s, set into
motion a diminishing of culturally ingrained homophobia
that continues to be squashed (albeit in other ways)
to this day.” Where does the struggle for gay rights
go to from here? Alfonso says, “We need to be able
to marry and have every single right [that is] granted
to our straight counterparts. I also think that we homosexuals
need to appreciate the particular characteristics of
our own relationships, and that they don’t always
[have to] conform with the traditional heterosexual
model, and that that is OK.” Meanwhile, David emphasizes:
“Even as we fight to gain the basic civil rights
and liberties that any straight American takes as their
birthright, I hope the gay community doesn’t lose
sight of protecting and appreciating the cultural places,
people, and things that are unique to us. This is where
we must take a note from the black civil rights movement
in preserving the past in order to fully appreciate
the value of the present, and then move more proudly
and freely into the future.” If they could organize
their own Gay Pride event, what would it be like? “It
would be a televised event like the Super Bowl.”
A favorite quote of Alfonso’s comes from one of
the muses from the movie Xanadu: “Let’s rejoice
with abandon.”
[Published:
June, 2008]
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