Colors Vivos - P.R.I.D.E. Awards

Gay Latinos Celebrate with P.R.I.D.E. by Phillip Luis Velez

        The third annual P.R.I.D.E. Awards were held on Thursday November 20, 1997 at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center in Manhattan. The Puerto Rican Initiative to Develop Empowerment was founded in 1995 to empower both the Puerto Rican and lesbigaytrans communities through visibility, outreach, education and advocacy. The award ceremony honored six outstanding individuals who exemplify the best in their respective communities. Leaders and supporters from all over New York City gathered to thank the honorees for their dedicated work. The event also provided cultural entertainment and traditional Latino cuisine.
        Congresswoman Nydia M. Velazquez, the first Puerto Rican woman to serve in the United States House of Representatives, was the keynote speaker. Velazquez presented the first award of the night to Margarita Lopez, the first Puerto Rican lesbian elected just weeks earlier to the New York City Council. Lopez praised Velazquez' record in public service and was genuinely touched by the P.R.I.D.E.'s recognition.
        Sylvia Rivera, co-founder of STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries), and participant in the 1969 Stonewall Rebellion was presented with her first award for 25 years of activism. She recapped the early gay liberation movement and her active role. With many accomplishments in the gay civil rights movement, she added, "We still have a lot to struggle for."
Other honorees included:

Rev. Luis Barrios, a progressive leader at the Iglesia Episcopal de Santa Maria in Harlem, who has been criticized by conservative leaders for performing gay marriages and holding condom-blessing ceremonies.
Activist and actor Jorge Merced, who combines art and community activism to support Latino gay causes.
Katherina Rodriguez, lesbian youth activist and member of the Center's Youth Enrichment Program. She demonstrates that participation in the Latino queer community is ageless, saying "We're not just the leaders of tomorrow, we're the leaders of today."
Luis Nieves-Rosa, Project Director for the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, honored for his endless fight for more research and AIDS funding.

Entertainment between award presentations was provided by poets Mariposa and Emanual Xavier. Mariposa's performance included a poem defining the term Boricua as a "state of mind." Xavier, author of a recently published book of poems entitled "Peer Queen," delighted the audience with his urban eloquence. Both poets' creativity and originality was refreshing and a fine example of the Latino expressive soul.
Hats off to the P.R.I.D.E. organizers of the event, whose preparations were evident in the festive decorations, professional program and abundant comida Latina. Diego M. Santiago, president, and Janis Astor del Valle, vice president, put their heart and soul into the event, unifying the Puerto Rican gay and lesbian community and demonstrating its potential.

Colores Vivos