Queer Latin Dance L.A. hosted their Holiday Social on Saturday, celebrating their 10-year anniversary. Beginner and experienced dancers were welcomed to the night-long party that went from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. The evening featured music by D.J. K Bunny and special performances. 

Arlene Santos, one of the cofounders of Queer Latin Dance L.A., said the group started when a friend who had visited Santos’ own studio invited her to teach at a meetup in North Hollywood. Through word of mouth, about 80 people showed up to the first meetup of what they called a ‘same-sex dance class.’ Chairs and tables had to be shuffled around to make space for dancing in the small, smoky dive bar.  

Santos told CALÓ News that people had driven to North Hollywood all the way from Diamond Bar and Orange County. When she suggested salsa studios closer to those travelers, they told her they didn’t feel welcome in other dance spaces. One of the reasons was that gender was more strictly enforced; attending men didn’t want to dance with other men and women weren’t welcome to try and lead. Same-sex dancing couples received uncomfortable stares from others and teachers used unnecessarily gendered language to refer to class members. 

“That’s something that I was guilty of 20 years ago when I was teaching,” Santos said. “I’d say, ‘okay, take the ladies and rotate.’ And now it’s something I would never even dream of saying because it doesn’t even make sense to me anymore. It’s not about ladies and gentlemen, [dancing] is about leaders and followers.”

The queer-specific dance scene has grown over the past 10 years, according to Santos, who said Queer Latin Dance L.A. cross-promotes with other groups and sends students with different schedules to places that are a better fit. The company has grown in their own ways as well. Now, a few former students have become instructors who lead the group’s very own competitive dance team. 

Santos said she’s hopeful about the years to come.  

“I just want the scene to keep growing and for these spaces to be around so that anyone can come and dance and feel like they’re in a safe space,” she said.

Saturday night featured a salsa class at 8 p.m., bachata lesson at 8:40 p.m., and dance performances at 10 p.m. more information can be found on their site

‘One Day I’ll Grow Up and Be a Beautiful Woman’
By Abi Maxwell
c.2024, Knopf
$28/307 pages

“How many times have I told you that…?”

How many times have you heard that? Probably so often that, well, you stopped listening. From your mother, when you were very small. From your teachers in school. From your supervisor, significant other, or best friend. As in the new memoir “One Day I’ll Grow Up and Be a Beautiful Woman” by Abi Maxwell, it came from a daughter.

When she was pregnant, Abi Maxwell took long walks in the New Hampshire woods near her home, rubbing her belly and talking to her unborn baby. She was sure she was going to have a girl but when the sonogram technician said otherwise, that was OK. Maxwell and her husband would have a son.

But almost from birth, their child was angry, fierce, and unhappy. Just getting dressed each morning was a trial. Going outside was often impossible. Autism was a possible diagnosis but more importantly, Maxwell wasn’t listening, and she admits it with some shame.

Her child had been saying, in so many ways, that she was a girl.

Once Maxwell realized it and acted accordingly, her daughter changed almost overnight, from an angry child to a calm one – though she still, understandably, had outbursts from the bullying behavior of her peers and some adults at school. Nearly every day, Greta (her new name) said she was teased, called by her former name, and told that she was a boy.

Maxwell had fought for special education for Greta, once autism was confirmed. Now she fought for Greta’s rights at school, and sometimes within her own family. The ACLU got involved. State laws were broken. Maxwell reminded anyone who’d listen that the suicide rate for trans kids was frighteningly high. Few in her town seemed to care.

Throughout her life, Maxwell had been in many other states and lived in other cities. New Hampshire used to feel as comforting as a warm blanket but suddenly, she knew they had to get away from it. Her “town that would not protect us.”

When you hold “One Day I’ll Grow Up and Be a Beautiful Woman,” you’ve got more than a memoir in your hands. You’ve also got a white-hot story that seethes with anger and rightful resentment, that wails for a hurt child, and rattles the bars of injustice. And yet, it coos over love of place, but in a confused manner, as if these things don’t belong together.

Author Abi Maxwell is honest with readers, taking full responsibility for not listening to what her preschooler was saying-not-saying, and she lets you see her emotions and her worst points. In the midst of her community-wide fight, she reveals how the discrimination Greta endured affected Maxwell’s marriage and her health – all of which give a reader the sense that they’re not being sold a tall tale. Read this book, and outrage becomes familiar enough that it’s yours, too. Read “One Day I’ll Grow Up and Be a Beautiful Woman,” and share it. This is a book you’ll tell others about.

The Blade may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via this post.

In today’s world, it’s difficult to imagine that an opera singer could achieve the kind of international fame and popularity enjoyed by modern musical artists like Lady Gaga or Taylor Swift, yet that is exactly what Maria Callas did.

Possessed of a singular, inimitable, and often controversial vocal talent, she rose to the height of her profession and became a world-class artist, performing on international stages and moving within a circle that included the wealthiest, most influential and powerful people of her era. Her private life, which included a long-running affair with mega-rich Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis and a reputation for temperament that matched or exceeded expectation for a diva of her stature, was the stuff of gossip columns, and her stature as an artist was such that any scandals that might have arisen there had little impact on her reputation for the millions of fans who adored her.

Even now, nearly 50 years after her untimely death (she was only 53) in 1977, her name is still spoken with reverence among those who belong to the still-potent “cult of personality” that made her an object of near-worship, and even if you’re not an opera fan, a listen to any of the magnificent recordings she left as her legacy is enough to help you understand why. Not only did the woman have a gift for singing, she had a way of inhabiting the music she sang so completely that it seemed to belong solely to her, as if it came fully formed into the world through her own being, no matter how many other great vocalists had sung it before.

Yet the Callas we meet in Pablo Larrain’s “Maria,” a speculative biographical fantasia about the final week in the diva’s tumultuous life that premiered in competition for the prestigious “Golden Lion” award at the 2024 Venice film festival and drops on Netflix Dec. 13 following a limited theatrical release, is but a comparative shadow of that once-renowned formidable persona. Her health failing, her voice diminished, and her mind drifting between morose contemplation of her decline and drug-addled delusions of returning to her former glory, she holds a reclusive and tenuous dominion over her Paris apartment, engaged in a power struggle with her overprotective house servants and stubbornly ignoring doctor’s orders by pushing herself to regain the transcendent voice that had brought her success, fame, and a personal power that had helped her endure the traumas of a childhood in the Axis-occupied Greece of World War II.

That’s just on the surface, however. As rendered by Angelina Jolie in a career-topping performance, the Callas of “Maria” feels fully worthy of the still-imperious demeanor she wields against the world. Far from surrendering to the tragic downward spiral into which she has become entangled, she shines from within with a courageous – which is not the same thing as “fearless” – sense of self that infuses her seemingly desperate efforts to reclaim her former glory (for herself, at least, if not for public approval) and makes her story a tale of self-actualization rather than the tragic “dance with death” it might appear to be through a surface perspective.

After all, in Larrain’s vision (and the exquisitely nuanced screenplay by Steven Knight), Callas is seeking not to recapture her fame and fortune – those are hers for life, already – but to reclaim her voice. As plainly shown by the life told in bold strokes via the flashbacks interwoven throughout the film, music has been the means for Callas to overcome the oppression of men and assert personal power over her own life. From the fascist soldiers to whom she was “pimped out” in her youth by her mother to the coarse-but-doting plutocrats that have attempted to “possess” her in adulthood, she has maintained agency over them all through the gift of her vocal talent. Now, with full knowledge and acceptance that the final chapter of her life is being written, she has chosen to hold the pen firmly in her hand, asserting ownership over her own life by composing the end of its narrative for herself. It’s an unconventional path that she chooses, but how many truly great spirits ever settle for being conventional?

Whether or not she was ultimately victorious in this goal – either in her real life or in Larrain’s imagined rendering of it – might be something viewers have to decide for themselves. It’s hardly the point, however; what “Maria” conveys, more than any definitive truth about its legendary subject, is a suggestion that what matters is the fight, not the winning of it, and that perhaps the “win” is in the fight itself. Beyond that, it finds a metaphor in the diva’s willing descent into hallucinatory fantasy for engaging in a direct relationship with that part of our own nature that feels divine – one which manifests itself in our lives through many forms, be it a character in a centuries-old opera, an imagined collaboration with the long-dead composer who created it, or a fresh-faced TV interviewer (who may or not be real) with a knack for asking the questions you don’t want to answer.

The element that has sparked the most buzz about Larrain’s film, of course, is the work of its star. Jolie, who trained to sing opera for seven months in preparation for the role (though she lip-syncs to recordings of the real Callas in flashbacks of the diva’s career highlights, it is her own voice we hear when she sings in the “present-day” scenes), doubtless brings some of her own experience to the table as a successful woman whose artistic triumphs always seem less important in the public eye than her personal relationships with men.

If so, it works beyond expectation, resulting in an old-school Hollywood star turn that dazzles us with its commitment to finding a human truth behind the veneer of glamour and moves us with the raw, unfiltered emotion she masterfully underplays throughout. Oscar talk is cheap, this early in “Awards Season,” but look for this performance to be a hot contender for a nod, and perhaps even a win.

Yet even if she’s the main attraction, “Maria” boasts plenty of excellence all around, from a superb supporting cast to the luminous cinematography of Edward Lachman, which bathes the movie’s sumptuous interiors in a palette of stained-glass colors to conjure the bittersweet nostalgia for a beautiful world as it slips away into oblivion. Knight’s intelligent script, crafted with the literary eloquence of a play, explores multiple facets of the diva’s life, while using it as a springboard into a meditation on loss, letting go, and embracing our own mortality even as we strive to touch the immortal. Finally, though, it’s Larrain’s direction that ties it all together, crafting a visually gorgeous, palpably intimate film that nevertheless delves deeply into some of the grandest aspects of our existence.

For opera lovers, of course, it’s a must-see. For the rest of us, it’s still a fascinating and deeply affecting film, addressing matters of life and death as vast as the ones that drove the timeless musical masterworks in which Callas made her name.

Look-alike contests are trending, so it was no shock that Preciosita–a monthly residency party from the creators of Preciosa Night–decided to host their own the day before Thanksgiving, otherwise known as “Blackout Wednesday.” 

Preciosita Night, a more intimate version of Preciosa Night that’s hosted monthly at The Virgil in Los Angeles, happens in between bigger Preciosa events to keep the party going, while planning for the next event. For the latest Preciosita night, Eden and Jay decided to host the first look-alike contest. 

To showcase the epitome that is Preciosa Night, they decided to go with one of the most established lesbian reggaeton artists of this generation: Young Miko.

With 7.8 million followers on Instagram, 22.9 million monthly listeners through Spotify and one of the most popular albums in 2024 “att”, Young Miko has become one of the most well-known female reggaeton rappers in the LGBTQ+ community, so it was no surprise that a Young Miko Look-alike Contest would draw in such a large crowd. 

During the contest, six contestants stepped up to showcase their best moves and fashion resembling the reggaeton star. In the end, it was a unanimous vote amongst the crowd who the winner was. 

Young Miko Look-Alike winner Daelyn Daniloff blows a kiss onstage during Preciosita at The Virgil in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 27, 2024 (Photo Credit Adelyna Tirado)

Daelyn Daniloff, 27, was the last contestant to get up on stage, making the crowd go wild with applause. She won the grand prize of $20, a trophy and a vibrator.

“People come up to me all the time telling me I look like Young Miko. On the street, at work, even in my DM’s,” exclaimed the winner. “So when my friend Kendal saw this contest, she was like ‘Okay, we’re turning you into Young Miko and going!’”

Eden and Jay shared the guest count jumped from what was close to a sold out event, to the max capacity at the venue, which is 300 people. 

Considering how successful Preciosita’s first look-alike contest was, Eden and Jay have decided to continue the trend for the next and final Preciosa event of the year on New Year’s Eve. This time around, Preciosa will host a Karol G look-alike contest with a cash prize of $500.

Guests getting hyped for the Young Miko Look-Alike Contest during Preciosita at The Virgil in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 27, 2024 (Photo Credit Adelyna Tirado)

Preciosa Night, created by healthy relationship influencers Eden and Jay Trevino, is a grass-roots movement dedicated toward combining culture, community, perreo, and queerness as nightlife events for Latinx, women loving women. Their events typically feature drag performances, queer Latinx DJs, photo opportunities and most importantly, they strive for a drama-free environment and embrace unity at every single event. 

“We preach that representation matters all the time at Preciosa Night,” said Jay. “Even though Young Miko is fairly new to the reggaeton scene, she is one of the few artists who’s out and proud and we thought it would be a great way to merge both worlds and have fun with it. Being queer and Latina, we don’t often get the representation we deserve.”

The event will take place at the Teragram Room in Downtown Los Angeles. Tickets are available now at www.preciosanight.com.

Eden Trevino (left) and Jay Trevino (right) pose for a portrait during Preciosita at The Virgil in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 27, 2024. Eden and Jay are the creators of Preciosa and Preciosita Night. (Photo Credit Adelyna Tirado)

Gallery

When it comes to all-sing-and-dance musical productions, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles never fails to pull out all the stops. The festive shows make the Top Twenty LA Holiday Events List annually and 2024 looks to be no exception.

The SugarPlum Fairies Holiday Concert is set to feature “some of the most magical music ever written, filled with sugar plums, rich chocolate, and pure fantasy.”

Audiences can expect the 200-strong chorus to perform 25 songs ranging from iconic Christmas classics to a modern twist on the festive ballet. The Nutcracker’s Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’s Pure Imagination are among the musical repertoire, while Dolly Parton’s Hard Candy Christmas and Sia’s Candy Cane Lane represent the new holiday cohort. 

“You’re going to hear some Christina Aguilera, you’re going to hear some old school [songs] from the 60s about candy, and you’re also going to hear some traditional music,” said choreographer, Ray Leeper. “Wonka is really hot right now, so you’re going to hear some of the the old Wonka and from the new movie.”

This year’s Christmas show promises to be a particularly special one, with the group celebrating its 45th anniversary of service and community. 

“Everything we do is because of the incredible support we get from our singing members, who have been giving their time, energy, commitment, and activism for over 45 years,” GMCLA Executive Director, Lou Spisto explained. 

The chorus continues to garner acclaim for artistic excellence while remaining deeply rooted in its service. For those who don’t know, GMCLA was founded in 1979 in the midst of the country’s gay rights movement. 

Members spread a message of love and acceptance, with programs like SugarPlum focusing just as much on social justice as they do show tunes. 

“The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles is well known for great music, great artistry, and great concerts that we do in these major venues around town–but it’s far more than that,” Spisto added.“Each year, we do around 43 events in high schools, community centers, and hospitals to be with our communities and support them… those who look like us and those who don’t. I’m so proud to say we’ve grown these projects over the last six years.”

Its award-winning school program Alive Music Project has served over 90,000 young people since its inception. AMP also offers an opportunity to enrich each school’s music education program, with Choral students invited to perform with GMCLA at the presentations.

Their Arts for Healing & Justice program provides introductory music classes for incarcerated youth in Los Angeles County’s juvenile correctional system. They join an interdisciplinary collaboration of outstanding organizations, providing exceptional arts programming to build resiliency and wellness, eliminate recidivism, and transform the juvenile justice system.

Concerts such as SugarPlum are helping to raise funds for this vital work on an annual basis. When the chorus isn’t working on ticketed events like their Christmas concert, their yearly free events help to expand community access even further. Past venues include the Hollywood Bowl, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and Pasadena Civic Auditorium. 

As for the immediate future, GMCLA’s hope is triumphing over hate. The result of this year’s presidential election is likely to affect California’s LGBTQ+ community in some way, but Spisto is only seeing upsides, not downsides. 

One such upside? Using SugarPlum as the perfect opportunity to celebrate Los Angeles’ vibrant queer community for the loud and proud individuals they are. 

“It’s an interesting time in our world today. GMCLA has been speaking loudly, singing loudly, and standing up for this community and others for decades, and we’re going to continue to do that,” said Spisto.

SugarPlum Fairies will be at the Saban Theatre, Beverly Hills on December 14 at 8pm and December 15 at 3:30pm. Buy tickets now at https://www.gmcla.org/sugarplumfairies. Prices range from $45-$125. If you want to support the Chorus’ ongoing educational work, you can make a donation at GMCLA.org/holidaygiving. Eligible donations of $120 or more–or new monthly donations of $10 or more–will receive an official GMCLA Holiday Sweatshirt as a thank-you gift. Donations must be made by December 31st to be eligible.

At 54 and single, comedian Adam Sank is as much a veteran of the gay dating scene and of the stage, so when he was challenged to put together his new show, he did what came natural: he mined his lifetime of hookups and dates gone wrong, for an hour of laughs.

Now he’s bringing that award-winning show, Bad Dates: A One-Man Show About Many Men, to Southern California for a pair of dates in Los Angeles and San Diego Dec 6-7.

“The show opens with me saying, ‘I’m 53 years old and single,’ and fortunately, I haven’t had to change the script in the last year and a half that I’ve been performing this,” Sank said with a wry smile over a Zoom call from his New York apartment.

If that sounds like a hint of bitterness about the single life coming through, Sank is quick to dismiss it. 

“I think there’s this notion in our culture, it’s sort of ingrained in us that if you’re not married, if you don’t find your person, you’re somehow lesser. You’re somehow leading a less full life,” Sank said. “It’s taken me a long time to be able to say I truly believe that’s bullshit.”

“Finding your person does not equal happiness and being single does not equal sadness,” he continued. 

Sank has been rising through the comedy trenches for twenty years. He says he got a late start in stand-up at age 32, after getting burned out working as a television news producer. Over the years, he’s competed on Last Comic Standing and appeared as a commentator on shows like I Love the 2000s and Best Week Ever. 

Bad Dates marks something of a departure, with a stronger focus on long-form narrative as Sank goes deeper into what a life spent single means. And it’s a departure that’s won him many plaudits from critics such as two Broadway World Cabaret Awards for the show’s original run at the Stonewall Inn in New York last summer.

“There’s a cost to spending your entire adult life searching for the one, the perfect love story, when we expend so much energy and time and resources into that one thing we neglect everything else,” he said.

But Bad Dates at least proves there’s one benefit to trudging through the dating trenches across decades: the stories. And boy, does Sank have stories. Twinks, injuries, being invited to orgies, not being invited to orgies–Sank’s dating life has proven a goldmine of hilarious material.

“We like hearing about any misfortune because we identify with so much of it and it makes us feel less alone. You know, I think a lot of people out there–especially people who are not necessarily young and single–relate to this show because they’re like, ‘Oh my God, I’m not the only one who has been through these situations,’” he said.

Which isn’t to say Sank doesn’t have those romantic notions. He’s just maybe become a bit more realistic about the pursuit of partnership.

“When I was younger, I don’t think I was ready. I think I had so much work I needed to do on myself, and I had this very false idea about what a relationship should look like and what it would do for me. I basically bought into the whole rom-com idea that you would meet your person and you would live happily ever after. And that’s just not true for anyone. Even if you have the world’s greatest relationship, you have to constantly be doing work on yourself and on your relationship to keep it going,” he said.

If Sank reveals any regret, it’s that he didn’t figure all that out sooner.

“I really need a guy in my age range who’s single and they’re almost always really damaged–which is why they’re still single at my age,” he said. “I’m sure I’m just as damaged as they are, but the point is, it’s a lot harder.”

Adam Sank’s solo show Bad Dates goes on at The Broadwater Main Stage, 1078 Lillian Way, Los Angeles, on Friday, December 6 at 9pm, and at the Diversionary Theatre, 4545 Park Boulevard #101, San Diego, on Saturday, December 7 at 7:30pm. Tickets here.

The re-election of Donald Trump as President of the United States has left many Americans uncertain about their future. And none more so than those in the LGBTQ+ community. In a country that so many had considered a home and safe refuge for life, the next few years are now filled instead with a feeling of “what happens next?”. 

For many, it has brought into sharp relief the simple question of whether Europe now offers a brighter path for their long-term future. Google searches for “Move to Europe” jumped by 226% in the week after the election, and have remained high since. 

But for those with careers, families and other ties in the United States, for whom a complete relocation isn’t an option, Golden Visa programs are proving to be a popular choice.  

“We’ve had a huge surge in enquiries since the election result” says Nathan Hadlock, Managing Director of Pela Terra – a Golden Visa investment fund in Portugal. “I’d say about 25% of those enquiries have come from the LGBTQ+ community.” 

“We’re speaking to people every day who suddenly feel like the security of a second passport and knowing they have the optionality second home in Europe, is invaluable” 

What is a Golden Visa? 

Common around the world (even the US has one!), Golden Visas typically provide a preferential pathway to a country’s passport in exchange for investment into the country. 

Most people who wish to gain a second passport would need to relocate to any given country, live there for 5-10 years consecutively and eventually become eligible for citizenship.

Golden Visa programs tend to short-circuit this in exchange for investment, allowing you to qualify for citizenship in Europe while continuing to live in the US. 

Portugal is the number one rated program globally, and only requires you to visit for 7 days a year for 5 years. After that, you can apply for a passport – at which point you have the right to live, work & retire in any European country for the rest of your life. 

How Does The Investment Side Work?

Citizenship is something that every country sees as sovereign, and the investment required to access it reflects this.

In Portugal’s program, the minimum investment is €500,000, or $530,000. That’s the bad news. 

The good news is that it is an investment. Choose wisely and you’ll not only get your money back along with your passport, you’ll also be able to earn some good returns in the meantime.

“People often mistake the word investment for cost” said Nathan Hadlock. “It’s only when we get them on the phone and explain that we’re targeting to give them a 7% return annually, as cash into their bank account, that they start to get it”. 

“Of course $530,000 is a lot of money for a passport. But if you’re earning $265,000 over 7 years and then getting the money back along with your citizenship… it starts to look like a pretty good deal.

Why Portugal’s Golden Visa Is Rated Number One

Regularly rated as the world’s top citizenship by investment program, there are three key characteristics which make Portugal’s Golden Visa so popular amongst American investors:

1. Minimal Residency Requirements: Spend just seven days a year in Portugal, allowing individuals to maintain ties to the U.S. while building their future in Europe
2. Path to Citizenship: After five years, investors can apply for a Portuguese passport, granting them access to the European Union’s 27 member states
3. Flexibility for Families: The program is inclusive, extending benefits to same-sex partners and dependents

Portugal: A Haven for LGBTQ+ Expats

Portugal has established itself as one of the most progressive countries in Europe for LGBTQ+ rights. From the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2010 to comprehensive anti-discrimination laws and legal gender recognition for transgender individuals, the country provides a supportive framework for LGBTQ+ residents and visitors alike.

Rated the 4th safest country in the world, the naturally welcoming culture includes a vibrant LGBTQ+ scene in both Lishon and Porto, the two largest cities. From inclusive neighborhoods like Príncipe Real to annual Pride events that draw global crowds, inclusiveness is celebrated everywhere. The nation’s warm hospitality and cultural richness create an ideal environment for LGBTQ+ individuals seeking a sense of belonging and security.

Golden Visas For Good

Until 2023, 95% of Golden Visa investment was funnelled into Real Estate investments. This short-sighted policy created house price inflation, leaving local teachers reportedly living in tents because they couldn’t afford rents in Lisbon. 

Thankfully the real estate option was shut down last year, and a few funds have pioneered a new “Golden Visas For Good” model in their wake. “When I arrived in Portugal from the US in 2018, I couldn’t believe all this foreign capital wasn’t being directed towards the common good” said Hadlock. “It felt like a wasted opportunity, but I’m proud to say we’re at the forefront of trying to change that”. 

Pela Terra is one of the funds leading the charge. Investor’s capital is used to buy olive and almond farms in the Alentego region of Portugal. The team then focuses on improving soil health on the land, allowing it to capture more carbon from the atmosphere and hold more water. Crucially, they also believe it’ll produce more nutritious food, meaning strong returns for investors. 

“We target a 7-9% annual return. It isn’t beating the S&P 500 most years, but we’re making investments into an incredibly durable asset class and prioritizing, above all else, the full preservation and return of your investment in Year 7. So beating inflation isn’t bad.” 

Conclusion

Portugal’s Golden Visa program is more than an investment; it’s a lifeline for LGBTQ+ Americans seeking a safer, freer future. By choosing partners like Pela Terra, investors can align their financial goals with their values, securing both their residency and a sustainable legacy.

If you’re considering your options, there’s no better time to act. Learn more about Pela Terra and take the first step toward securing your European future today.

As soon as Thanksgiving is behind us, it’s time to look forward to another crop of holiday movies, and this year offers some excellent ones – though most of them seem to have very little to do with the season itself. Unfortunately, after the last year or so, when the number of queer-themed and queer-inclusive holiday films seemed to be increasing, this year’s selection is notably short on queer representation. Of course, with a couple of exceptions, they’re also notably short on seasonal cheer, too. Nevertheless, there are several promising gems headed to theaters over the next month, all of which should be of interest to any movie fan, queer or not, and the Blade is ready to break them down for you.

WICKED (Now in theaters) Our first preview also serves as a mini-review, since it jumped the holiday queue for an early release, but that’s OK, because it turns out we needed it more than we knew. The first installment of director John M. Chu’s much-anticipated two-part adaptation of the Broadway phenomenon, in turn based on the eponymous book by queer author Gregory Maguire’s book of the same name, stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande as the two iconic witches of Frank Baum’s classic “Wizard of Oz” (Elphaba, the formerly anonymous “Wicked Witch of the West” as named by Maguire in his novel, and Glinda, the “Good Witch of the North,” respectively), and, without hyperbole, truly surpasses all expectation. Expanding the stage version’s Disney-ish whimsy (reinforced by its catchy song score from “Pocahontas” composer Stephen Schwartz) by incorporating elements from Maguire’s novel to bring additional gravitas (and timely relevance) to the family-friendly fun while showcasing the amazing, no-expense-spared artistry of the film’s visual design. Played out on elaborate real-life sets by a uniformly superb cast – which also features out gay “Bridgerton” heartthrob Jonathan Bailey, Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh, veteran screen eccentric Jeff Goldblum, “Game of Thrones” star Peter Dinklage, and queer “SNL” stalwart Bowen Yang, among many other talented performers – it is that rare stage-to-screen transition that not only captures the appeal of the show that inspired it, but enhances its magic by embracing a purely cinematic expression in doing so. Add the sweet irony that can be found in the post-election success of a musical fantasy about a marginalized woman being persecuted for daring to speak truth to an authoritarian power (who also happens to be an incompetent charlatan), and you have a film that is easily the movie of the year and then some. Something tells us that Baum would be proud of what his clever little satire of American “exceptionalism” has come to inspire more than a century later. If you haven’t seen it already, what are you waiting for? Get on your broom and head straight to the next available showing at your local multiplex.

GLADIATOR II (Now in theaters) Also crashing into the arena ahead of the holidays is Ridley Scott’s sequel to his Oscar-winning original “Gladiator” from 2000, which won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Actor (Russell Crowe) among multiple other honors. The queer appeal here lies mostly in the hunkiness of its stars – allies and queer-fan-favorite heartthrobs Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal, who join Denzel Washington as the big-name-triumvirate that drives the film – but that doesn’t mean there’s not plenty of big-budget sword-and-sandal excitement to entertain anybody with an appetite for such things; and let’s face it, as cheesy as they are, who doesn’t love a movie about barely dressed muscle men swinging swords at each other in the midst of Roman depravity? Revered queer British thespian Derek Jacobi reprises his role from the original film, among a cast that also includes Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Lior Raz, and Connie Nielsen.

QUEER (now in theaters) From Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino – the man responsible for “Call Me By Your Name” and this year’s earlier bi-triangle tennis romance “Challengers” – comes this eagerly anticipated adaptation of a semi-autobiographical novella by queer “beat generation” icon William S. Burroughs, set in 1950, in which an American expatriate (Daniel Craig in a reportedly career-topping performance) trolls the local bars looking for connection and becomes enamored with a former soldier (Drew Starkey) who is new in town. Already controversial (in some circles, at least) for its explicitness and its unapologetically raw perspective – an unsurprising element, considering that Burroughs’s legendary status as an author and personality has more to do with his countercultural radicalism than his queerness – this one is probably the standout must-see title of the season for LGBTQ audiences, or at least those not completely transfixed by “Wicked.” And although Craig (who is no stranger to “playing gay”) has said in a recent interview that his character’s sexuality is the “least interesting thing” about him, we’ll wager that millions of queer fans will disagree. Also featuring the incomparable Lesley Manville (most recently an MVP in Ryan Murphy’s “Grotesquerie”), Jason Schwartzman, Henrique Zaga, and Omar Apollo.

MARIA (in theaters 11/27, Netflix 12/11) For the opera-loving crowd comes this widely touted biopic starring Angelina Jolie as legendary soprano Maria Callas, which covers the diva’s final days when she was living in Paris. The third and final film in Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larraín’s cinematic trilogy about the lives of important 20th century women (after 2016’s “Jackie” and 2021’s “Spencer”), this one competed for the Golden Lion prize at this year’s Venice Film Festival, where it sparked Oscar buzz for Jolie’s tour-de-force turn as the operatic icon.

NIGHTBITCH (in theaters 12/6) Queer viewers can dive into their feminist allyship with this horror-ific drama about an artist (Amy Adams) whose role as wife and mother (to a towheaded toddler) triggers a canine-esque transformation, complete with an enhanced sense of smell, unexpected body hair, and extra nipples on her belly. A metaphoric exploration of discovering personal power and transcending cultural expectations defining womanhood around traditional roles of homemaker and mother, it will undoubtedly spark complaints from the anti-”woke” crowd, which obviously scores points with us, every time.

THE ORDER (in theaters 12/6) There’s nothing specifically queer about this one, which stars Jude Law as a veteran FBI agent who confronts a zealous white supremacist rebel leader (Nicholas Hoult) in a “war for America’s soul,” but there are obvious points of connection in its fictionalized “what-if” fantasia based on 1980s headlines about the Aryan Nation spinoff group “The Order” and its campaign of robberies, bombings and murder. If you’re not a fan of Nazis (because no matter what they happen to call themselves, a Nazi is still a Nazi), this one is probably for you.

Nickel Boys (in theaters 12/13) Allyship is also the draw from this lengthy adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer-winning bestseller, starring Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as a hotel housekeeper whose grandson (Ethan Herisse) is unjustly incarcerated in a reformatory during the “Jim Crow” era. Directed by Peabody Award winner (and Emmy and Oscar nominee) RaMell Ross, this anti-racist drama is based on a true story.

The Room Next Door (in theaters 12/20) If any upcoming movie deserves a spotlight it’s this one, the first English-language feature by iconic queer Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar, in which a pair of former New York magazine colleagues (Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore) reunite after many years when one of them is faced with a terminal cancer diagnosis and asks the other to help her “die with dignity.” With three such transcendent artists uniting to collaborate, our confidence level is elevated enough for us to suggest that this might be the highlight of the season for lovers of pure cinema.

Better Man (in theaters 12/25) If you’ve never heard of Robbie Williams (and you’re an American), you can be forgiven, since the phenomenally successful pop singer-songwriter from the UK is a relatively unknown sensation on this side of the Atlantic, but this unorthodox musical biopic from “Greatest Showman” director Michael Gracey looks to be an introduction you’ll never forget. Depicting the well-publicized ups and downs of Williams’ personal life as it traces his rise to fame and beyond, it also depicts him as a chimpanzee – voiced by Williams himself and portrayed through CG motion capture by Jonno Davies – because, as the pop star puts it, “I’ve always felt less evolved” than other people. It sounds odd, sure, but its September debut at the Telluride Film Festival was met with enthusiastic critical acclaim, and whether it works for you or not, it surely boasts the most unusual premise of any film this year that we’re aware of.

Babygirl (in theaters 12/25) Another unusual choice for Christmastime is this provocative erotic thriller from writer/director Halina Reijn, starring Nicole Kidman as a CEO who has become sexually bored with her husband (Antonio Banderas) and pursues an affair with a much-younger male intern (the incandescently beautiful Harris Dickinson), which weaves a steamy cautionary tale about the treacherous dynamics of power and sexuality within a professional setting. Another Golden Lion contender at Venice, it’s garnered heavy praise both for Reijn’s direction and Kidman’s performance; so while it may not be the kind of family-friendly holiday film you’ll want to see with mom and dad, it’s definitely one worth sneaking out for on a solo excursion while the rest of the family is sleeping off that holiday meal.

Nosferatu (in theaters 12/25) Even less appropriate for the holiday season (well, at least this one) but eagerly awaited nonetheless, this remake of F.W. Murnau’s venerable silent classic – a 1922 German Expressionist masterpiece based on Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” that is widely seen as the “granddaddy” of all vampire films – from always-buzzy filmmaker Robert Eggers (“The Witch,” “The Lighthouse”) is probably the perfect refresher after a month of cheer, festivities, sweetness, and light. Starring Bill Saarsgård as the sinister Count Orlok, with Nicholas Hoult and Lily-Rose Depp as the couple whose lives he infiltrates and Willem Dafoe as the professor who becomes his nemesis, it brings the gothic tale “into the 21st century” (says Eggers) and emphasizes the twisted obsessions and infatuations that tie its characters together. Long-delayed and much-anticipated, this one is already a guaranteed must-see for anyone who loves the genre – so if you need a seasonal connection, you can always think of it as a holiday gift for horror fans.

Zizi Bandera and Ty Curiel, came together to form what is now Botitas–a small business brand and organizing space for Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous and People of Color to celebrate and embrace identity, ethnicity and community. 

The co-founders of Saturday’s Botitas event Cafécito and Comunidad, say they had to close the RSVP’s because they reached capacity and were afraid of having issues with the Parks and Recreation Department that issues parking permits and sets a limit for the number of people allowed to gather at Elysian Park in Los Angeles. 

“It’s our first event here and it’s an amazing turnout,” said Bandera. “TikTok blew us up.”

Bandera referenced the TikTok video they posted announcing the event and says that they woke up the next morning to see that they had well over a hundred RSVP’s for the event that they expected would only have a couple dozen people. 

“We had someone who is part of our community call up the councilmember for this district and was able to talk to whoever is in charge of Parks and Rec to OK more capacity,” said Bandera. “[Eunisses Hernandez, Councilmember CD-1] also got us the tables and permits.”

Bandera stresses that the amount of people who reserved a spot for the event comes to show the need for space like Botitas. 

“I thought it was going to be maybe fifteen, twenty people,” said Bandera. 

The space is held intentionally for the BIPOC community within the broader LGBTQ+ community, with the intention of centering BIPOC voices that can otherwise be erased, marginalized, sidelined or silenced in broader community conversations. 

“Our focus is to have these community spaces and to serve our trans Latine community in Los Angeles and beyond,” continued Bandera. “We thought about making this project a nonprofit, but we wanted to really have full agency and control over, in terms of the needs of our community.” 

Bandera says that going the nonprofit route has its own challenges and obstacles because of different stakeholders. They stress the importance of their community being the stakeholders in this business journey. 

Though the day was a bit gloomy with some light rain, many people gathered to mingle, chat and yap, along with some coffee at Elysian Park in Los Angeles this past Saturday (Photo Credit Gisselle Palomera).

“I’ve been working in community organizing, mobilizing around LGBTQ and immigrant issues for almost fifteen years now and I’ve always wanted to create something that was for us, led by us–queer, trans, Latine and intergenerational.” 

Bandera says that they were inspired to create this space for QTBIPOC because of a report released earlier this year pointing to a loneliness epidemic that disproportionately affects LGBTQ+ people over their heterosexual peers. 

The report states that ”…LGBTQ+ youth exhibit higher rates of loneliness, social isolation, and depressive symptoms than their heterosexual peers. Moreover, LGBTQ+ youth grappling with loneliness are less likely to reach out for help regarding their mental health concerns.’

The other co-founder of Botitas has different reasons to have started this business journey. 

“Botitas is one day today and another thing tomorrow,” Curiel said. “Our idea came from wanting to create a brand–something that you can wear when you’re out and about in the city. A brand that is backed by people who resonate with you as Latine folks, queer, trans and that’s what we are.” 

Curiel also states that the current state of politics also plays a major role in his idea to create Botitas. “We want to [create these spaces], especially in this time and age where there’s a rhetoric of people spreading hate.”

This event is in a public space, encouraging people who show up, to gather in a space that supports sobriety. The offerings included cafécito, pastries and games. 

Earlier this year during pride month, Curiel says he and Bandera were looking at historic news articles and photographs of LGBTQ+ life in Los Angeles during the 1950s and 60s, from an exhibit at the Central Library in DTLA, and that’s when it hit them both that none of the people in the photos looked like them. They did not feel represented. 

This moment urged them to reconsider what it means to them to feel represented, heard and seen–thus bringing about the idea for Botitas. 
Follow @Botitas.World on Instagram and TikTok to get more information on upcoming events.

“El Secreto Del Río,” or “The Secret of the River,” has made history as Trinidad González became the first transgender actress to star in a series by Netflix. 

The eight-episode series handles trans and gender nonconforming representation in the most beautiful and impactful way I’ve seen to date on any show or film–especially in a Spanish series, considering the gender identity and sexuality taboos that exist in Mexican culture. 

In a time in history where trans, gender nonconforming and intersex people are under attack and continue to face oppression when they demand basic human rights, this show beautifully and tactfully represents the true trials and tribulations that trans and gender nonconforming people experience throughout their lives–especially as children. 

Throughout the first four episodes, we get to know Manuel (Frida Sofía Cruz) and Erik (Mauro Guzmán). The two children–whose ages are not disclosed in the series–become friends, and after they experience a traumatic event that shifts their lives forever, they become even closer. 

The person who is involved in the traumatic event, is a cisgender, straight, man who proves to be the real villain of the show. He’s not only proudly an alcoholic, but he also tries to take advantage of one of the children. The way this unfolds, shows a side of Latin American culture that is hardly talked about. Many young children experience sexual assault at the hands of family members and close relatives and this issue is especially prevalent in Latin American and the Caribbean. According to a report by the National Library of Medicine, ‘… an estimated 58 percent of children 0 – 17 years of age in Latin America and the Caribbean (more than 99 million) experience physical, sexual, or emotional abuse each year.’

When the series begins, Manuel, or Young Sicarú, is new to town and immediately faces rejection because of how feminine he presents. Seeing his femininity, his grandma encourages Manuel to learn about the muxes (pronounced MOO-shay‘s), who are feminine people that exist outside of the male or female gender binary in Zapotec culture and who are deeply respected by many–but not all. 

They are often the subject of scrutiny as a third gender, and this series clearly shows that the misogyny that exists in this culture is deeply embedded in the Western European concepts of gender binary and gender roles that are upheld at all costs even in Mexico. This involves a deeper discussion of colonization and imperialism that has forced these systems and ideologies on the indigenous communities that, prior to colonization, accepted third and even fourth genders.

Within a Christian and Western ideological framework, muxe’s are part of the LGBTQ+ community, which is actually quite inaccurate because that gender classification is not based on sexuality. According to an article on the subject, ‘individuals who identify with a cultural third gender are, in fact, acting within their gender or sex norm.’ 

This topic is explored in the episode where decades later, Gonzalez’s character returns to her hometown as Sicarú, the transfeminine model who returns not only to mourn the death of a close friend, but also to tie up the loose ends of her late grandmother’s abandoned property where another subplot unfolds. 

Going back to the first 4 episodes of the series, where Manuel and Erik are still children, we see the development of fear that unfolds for the two, as they attempt to navigate life after the traumatic experience they shared. 

Because of the nature of the events that unfolded, we learn why the 2 children feel as though they cannot trust an adult and be honest about what they witnessed. The children fear the justice system working against them, criminalizing them, rather than seeing them as the victims of the traumatic event. This intense fear is very real for Erik and it causes him to become withdrawn and somewhat depressed. This is a good learning point for parents and any adult in the lives of young children. Adults need to be a safe space for children, because if not, children are left alone to deal with the consequences and repercussions of situations that were most likely out of their control. They need to confide in adults and trust that we will keep them safe at all costs. 

The adult in Young Sicarú’s life who becomes this sort of fairy godparent, is Solange (La Bruja De Texcoco). She is a muxe elder and well-respected member in the Zapotec community. Outside of the series, she is also a musician and an activist for human rights. Young Sicarú takes guidance from Solange and the other muxe’s, who keep Young Sicarú safe from the people in town who cannot come to terms with the femininity that she later embraces. 

Jacinto (Jorge A. Jimenez), Erik’s father becomes the one of the series’ villains as he punishes his son for being friends with Young Sicarú, who the town perceives as a muxe, even before she is able to accept that identity. This show does a spectacular job at showing the various faces of machismo that is deeply embedded in Mexican culture and also the difference between muxe’s and transgender people. 

In the following 4 episodes of the series, decades pass and as mentioned before, Sicarú returns to the small town as a transfeminine woman who makes it clear to her muxe community that she does not identify as muxe. She identifies as a trans woman and has a conversation with her muxe community about the distinction between the two identities. 

She comes in hot. Both in looks and in character. Her character development is incredibly thought-out as we see her go from being a shy, scared child–to a confident woman who is so free in her identity, that she decides to use her freedom to help free others.

This is important to see unfold on-screen because this type of representation is hardly ever seen, much less on the level of discussion that actually has substance and depth. 

Trans people are hardly ever portrayed in a positive way that shows how they develop strength and courage as a survival mechanism and use that to enact positive change or leave behind a legacy of progress. 

Meanwhile, the case that had been closed for decades regarding the traumatic event that unfolded for Young Sicarú and Erik, is reopened by their childhood bully–who unironically becomes a crooked police officer as an adult. 

He reopens the case and comes to find out that Sicarú and Erik were involved in the death, making it his mission to harass Sicarú. 

Another villain. Another cisgender, straight, man with anger issues and deeply rooted misogyny. 

The fourth and final villain of the series, is the cisgender, straight, man who is keeping a young boy captive in the abandoned home of Sicarú’s late grandmother.  It turns out that he is involved in a sinister business with the town’s police force.

Here, we see the very intentional representation of what real groomers look like and they’re not trans.

Sicarú sees herself in the young child and feels as though it is her sacred duty to save him from the abusive and neglectful situation he is in. 

Another aspect of the series that was deeply moving and impactful, was the way that muxe’s deaths are handled in Zapotec culture. Because of Western European religious frameworks enforced on the indigenous communities, they believe that Muxe’s must go into the afterlife as either male or female and not a third gender. 

This brings up a very deep theme of afterlife and spirituality in relation to gender identity. This is a struggle for trans, gender nonconforming and intersex people as they exist in an identity their friends, family, society, culture or religion might not understand or accept. 

Finally, the more-than-platonic relationship that develops between Sicarú and Erik when they are older, is a great conversation point that was also handled with care. 

Erik is genuinely confused about his feelings toward Sicarú and the years of misogyny that were forced on him as he grew up, continue to shape his view of gender identity. In some scenes, we see Erik reflecting on what his father would tell him as a child.  Alberto Barrera, creator of the series, gives us a unique perspective into Erik’s internal battle by interchanging young Erik and adult Erik in the scenes to help visualize his internal battle. In this scene, we hear Jacinto reinforcing his machismo in the form of homophobia and transphobia toward young Erik. 

When they were both younger, they had a third friend in their friend group, Paulina (Yoshira Escarrega), who later becomes Erik’s fiance. She welcomes Sicarú back to town with open arms, only to feel betrayed by her when she finds her and Erik sharing a somewhat intimate moment. 

In that moment, Erik confesses his confusion toward accepting Sicarú’s transition and she doesn’t know what to do to make him understand that she is still the friend he’s always cared for. The two navigate a difficult situation in a way that provides the audience with a realistic view of the journey toward acceptance. 

There won’t be any spoilers here, but the ending suggests that there is more to come from this series, as a major problem comes to light that brings turmoil to the entire town.

Overall, this series touches on very serious subjects in a way that can begin to build bridges in the discussions about transfemicide, human rights, misogyny, violence toward children and what the journey toward healing our inner child looks like.