RADically Proud
Whenever you think of the 80’s, you might think of the devastating occurrences and effects on the LGBTQIA+ community by the AIDS/HIV epidemic. As we pay our respects to all the lives lost, I want to remember their happiness. I want to remember how they broke into the new decade. Before the events unfolded, pride in the 80’s was flourishing in all different areas. From gay congressmen being elected and the first lesbian judge to gay men no longer upholding the stereotype. Just being themselves. Just being “the boy next door”. Opening the door to all different peoples and finding their identities.
This was also one of the greatest eras of music not surprisingly so. The music scene in the 80’s was POPPIN.
We’ve curated a playlist from this time. (Mostly) The early 80’s.
Identity
Queer identity is not a one size fits all. It finds you. And more often than not, it leads you into the path of accepting who you are.
I did it on my own
Providing a roof over my head
Isn’t necessarily a home
So now I roam this life searching for it
I did it on my own
Trynna earn a degree make something out of me get that money and then I’m gone
Cause I did it on my own
Driving back and fourth between cities thinking it was love
Crying a hundred miles hitting up that hotline now I’m thinking what the fuck
Where were you?
Why’d couldn’t you teach me that it wasn’t love why couldn’t you be there?
We got the same genes
Same eyes same stare
So many times you couldn’t care
You let me do it on my own
You provide for me
Hand me money
A stay safe a you know right from wrong here and there
But this pair of lungs grasped so many times for air
Endless nights of choking on my yells
I did it on my own
Tried to provide a home to a woman
I fell in love with
I broke her and myself
I did that on my own too
Broke glass, ran fast, kept going knowing it wouldn’t last ..I did it all for love
But…
I’m doing it on my own fighting for myself.
Righting my wrongs
I cant give her a call
But I can give her peace I can give her space from me and let her breathe and get everything I didn’t have in myself
Yeah I think about her time to time
Shit I wrote these lines
And I’m still trying to find how to make it better
Que sea feliz even if we’re not together
Forget that first love?
The heart says never.
I came here alone alone I’ll go out
I think life is still worth living
So ima stick around
What We’ve Been Up To
We’ve been cooking up something new and transformative and we just debuted our first draft in the Arkansas New Play Festival at Theatresquared!
If you didn’t get the chance to catch it, we will be taking it to the stage! Check out this interview by Gabriela Arroyo for Univision Arkansas.
https://latinotvar.com/arkansas-new-play-fest-celebrando-las-raices-de-los-latinos/
Also coming at you this summer, we are excited to announce that we are honored to collaborate with Crystal Bridges on July 13, 2023! The Diego Rivera exhibit is what we have been using for inspiration. In collaboration with the En Fuego Latin dance adventures. We will be posting more on this event as we get closer.
