Arts & Entertainment
Queery: David Perez
The GLBT Latino History Project president answers 20 gay questions
David Perez (Blade photo by Michael Key)
Though David Perez is a few generations removed from the group that came to the U.S. — his great-grandparents on his father’s side immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico — he identifies strongly with his Latino roots and spends his career and volunteer hours working on community advocacy.
By day, he’s director of development at the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and last May he became president of the D.C.-based Latino GLBT History Project, which is planning an expanded edition of Latino Pride this year. Festivities kick off Sunday and run over four (non-consecutive) days. More details are on page 29 or at latinoglbthistory.org.
Perez, 28, says it’s important for Latino gays to have their own forum in which to gather.
“A lot of the issues are the same, but there are additional issues as well,” he says. “Some things like access to health care, immigration reform, there are some things that affect out community more so while we like to talk about the broad LGBT agenda too, there are Latino-specific issues that are different.”
Perez says last year’s event felt a bit hectic with serious discussion-type events and a dance party all crammed into one day. This year, organizers have spread things out and added elements, such as a church service on June 3.
“We’re really excited about it,” he says. “We’ve gotten a lot of feedback of people who have an interest in seeing Latino Pride grow.”
Perez grew up in Vista., Calif., near San Diego and went to a conservative Christian college near Los Angeles. He came to Washington in 2005 for an internship and went to graduate school at Georgetown University, then stayed. He joined LULAC in 2007. He and boyfriend Gary James have been together 11 months.
Perez lives in Dupont Circle and enjoys volunteering, recreational sports, watching TV and spending time with friends in his free time. (Blade photo by Michael Key)
How long have you been out and who was the hardest person to tell?
I came out in August of 2006 to my friends during my second year of graduate school in D.C. That was fairly simple with a lot of progressive friends. The next time I saw my parents was December 25, 2006 and I told my Mom, Dad, sister and brother because they are very close to me and I wanted to share my life with them. They have been great to me and have treated me no differently than before. The hardest folks to tell were my friends from my conservative evangelical university. However, my close circle of friends there were really great and we are still friends.
Who’s your LGBT hero?
There are so many influential folks in my life. One fellow gay Latino I look up to is Russell Roybal at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. He has been involved in LGBT advocacy for many years and I admire is commitment to intersectional community organization to ensure LGBT advocacy includes mobilizing communities around racial and social justice issues as well. I witnessed this first hand at Creating Change this year in Baltimore.
What’s Washington’s best nightspot, past or present?
Rumba Latina at Cobalt is my favorite monthly party. The promoter Johnny Vasquez is hosting a special Latino dance party to raise funds for Latino Pride at Cobalt this Sunday at 10 p.m. Please join us!
Describe your dream wedding.
For my dream wedding, my husband and I would be surrounded by all our friends and families. I am sure it would be a decent size as I would want to invite all my tías and tíos (aunts and uncles). Definitely at a beautiful Episcopal Church.
What non-LGBT issue are you most passionate about?
Latino civil rights in the US. I spend my day-job fundraising for community and advocacy programs for the League of United Latino American Citizens. This is my passion. Fixing our broken immigration reform is a must! It should be LGBT inclusive compressive immigration reform. It’s hard to say if it’s just an LGBT or Latino issue. We need to be building coalitions to work together and support each other’s work.
What historical outcome would you change?
The way history has been written. So many amazing LGBTQ Latinas and Latinos have been left out of the history books. For example, Sylvia Rivera, a Latina Transgender activist, was at the front lines of the Stonewall riots. Latino involvement in LGBT advocacy is not a new thing. We have always been there. The purpose of the Latino GLBT History Project is to collect and preserve those stories and educate the public about the significant contributions of LBGT Latinos to the movement and society in general.
What’s been the most memorable pop culture moment of your lifetime?
Ricky Martin coming out. Though a long time coming, this is a very powerful statement for such a national and international figure to come out, especially for Latinos.
On what do you insist?
Doing your best to love your neighbor as yourself. It’s not always easy, but I feel we should treat all human beings with love and respect even if we disagree.
What was your last Facebook post or Tweet?
DC Latino Pride… Four days of Celebration: May 20th Royal Coronation at Cobalt, May 30th Panel Discussion & Community Resource Fair Human Rights Campaign, June 3rd Ecumenical Service St. Thomas’ Parish & Thursday, June 7th Official Latino Pride Dance Party at Town Danceboutique. Join the fun! www.LatinoGLBTHistory.org
If your life were a book, what would the title be?
“The Little Engine That Could.” I have so many mentors who have inspired me to achieve goals that I never even knew existed, like getting a graduate degree! I try to pass on the love and inspire others to dream big as well.
If science discovered a way to change sexual orientation, what would you do?
Nada (nothing). I love being gay.
What do you believe in beyond the physical world?
I believe in God who loves us all. I worship with my faith community regularly at St. Thomas’ Episcopal Parish Dupont Circle.
What’s your advice for LGBT movement leaders?
Build coalitions and work together. Commit yourself to diversity and inclusiveness. It might take a lot of work, but will be stronger partnerships for the long-term goals of the movement.
What would you walk across hot coals for?
My man, Gary
What LGBT stereotype annoys you most?
Assuming we always have to be the ones at the office to plan the party. Though I do love to plan parties.
What’s your favorite LGBT movie?
“The Broken Hearts Club.” I love softball and it’s an overall great movie.
What’s the most overrated social custom?
On Facebook, adding everyone who requests to be your “friend” even if you don’t know them.
What trophy or prize do you most covet?
I was really touched when the LULAC Youth gave me a medal after helping them paint murals in Latino neighborhoods of Chicago and north of Columbia Heights. It was totally unexpected and a project totally out of my normal duties. It was touching to see how much they enjoyed it.
What do you wish you’d known at 18?
College is expensive. Save up early!
Why Washington?
I first came to Washington, D.C. for an internship with my congressman. I loved politics and the West Wing. I came back for graduate school at Georgetown University. Stayed here working ever since. It is where I came out and is my current home.
Theater
Out dancer on Alvin Ailey’s stint at Warner Theatre
10-day production marks kickoff of national tour
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Through Feb. 8
Warner Theatre
513 12th St., N.W.
Tickets start at $75
ailey.org
The legendary Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is coming to Washington’s Warner Theatre, and one of its principal veterans couldn’t be more pleased. Out dancer Renaldo Maurice is eager to be a part of the company’s 10-day stint, the kickoff of a national tour that extends through early May.
“I love the respectful D.C. crowd and they love us,” says Maurice, a member of esteemed modern dance company for 15 years. The traveling tour is made of two programs and different casting with Ailey’s masterwork “Revelations” in both programs.
Recently, we caught up with Maurice via phone. He called from one of the quiet rooms in his New York City gym where he’s getting his body ready for the long Ailey tour.
Based in North Newark, N.J., where he recently bought a house, Maurice looks forward to being on the road: “I enjoy the rigorous performance schedule, classes, shows, gym, and travel. It’s all part of carving out a lane for myself and my future and what that looks like.”
Raised by a single mother of three in Gary, Ind., Maurice, 33, first saw Alvin Ailey as a young kid in the Auditorium Theatre in downtown Chicago, the same venue where he’s performed with the company as a professional dancer.
He credits his mother with his success: “She’s a real dance mom. I would not be the man or artist I am today if it weren’t for the grooming and discipline of my mom. Support and encouragement. It’s impacted my artistry and my adulthood.”
Maurice is also part of the New York Ballroom scene, an African-American and Latin underground LGBTQ+ subculture where ball attendees “walk” in a variety of categories (like “realness,” “fashion,” and “sex siren”) for big prizes. He’s known as the Legendary Overall Father of the Haus of Alpha Omega.
WASHINGTON BLADE: Like many gay men of his era, Ailey lived a largely closeted public life before his death from AIDS-related complications in 1989.
RENALDO MAURICE Not unusual for a Black gay man born during the Depression in Rogers, Texas, who’s striving to break out in the industry to be a creative. You want to be respected and heard. Black man, and Black man who dances, and you may be same-sex gender loving too. It was a lot, especially at that time.
BLADE: Ailey has been described as intellectual, humble, and graceful. He possessed strength. He knew who he was and what stories he wanted to tell.
MAURICE: Definitely, he wanted to concentrate on sharing and telling stories. What kept him going was his art. Ailey wanted dancers to live their lives and express that experience on stage. That way people in the audience could connect with them. It’s incredibly powerful that you can touch people by moving your body.
That’s partly what’s so special about “Revelations,” his longest running ballet and a fan favorite that’s part of the upcoming tour. Choreographed by Alvin Ailey in 1960, it’s a modern dance work that honors African-American cultural heritage through themes of grief, joy, and faith.
BLADE: Is “Revelation” a meaningful piece for you?
MAURICE: It’s my favorite piece. I saw it as a kid and now perform it as a professional dance artist. I’ve grown into the role since I was 20 years old.
BLADE: How can a dancer in a prestigious company also be a ballroom house father?
MAURICE: I’ve made it work. I learned how to navigate and separate. I’m a principal dancer with Ailey. And I take that seriously. But I’m also a house father and I take that seriously as well.
I’m about positivity, unity, and hard work. In ballroom you compete and if you’re not good, you can get chopped. You got to work on your craft and come back harder. It’s the same with dance.
BLADE: Any message for queer audiences?
MAURICE: I know my queer brothers and sisters love to leave with something good. If you come to any Ailey performance you’ll be touched, your spirit will be uplifted. There’s laughter, thoughtful and tender moments. And it’s all delivered by artists who are passionate about what they do.
BLADE: Alvin Ailey has been a huge part of your life. Thoughts on that?
MAURICE: I’m a believer in it takes a village. Hard work and discipline. I take it seriously and I love what I do. Ailey has provided me with a lot: world travel, a livelihood, and working with talented people here and internationally. Alvin Ailey has been a huge part of my life from boyhood to now. It’s been great.
Catfish Comedy will host “2026 Queer Kickoff Show” on Thursday, Feb. 5 at A League of Her Own (2319 18th Street, N.W.). This show features D.C.’s funniest LGBTQ and femme comedians. The lineup features performers who regularly take the stage at top clubs like DC Improv and Comedy Loft, with comics who tour nationally.
Tickets are $17.85 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
Arts & Entertainment
Catherine O’Hara, ‘Schitt’s Creek’ star and celebrated queer ally, dies at 71
Actress remembered for memorable comedic roles in ‘Beetlejuice’ and ‘Home Alone’
Catherine O’Hara, the varied comedic actor known for memorable roles in “Beetlejuice,” “Schitt’s Creek,” and “Home Alone,” has died at 71 on Friday, according to multiple reports. No further details about her death were revealed.
O’Hara’s death comes as a shock to Hollywood, as the Emmy award-winning actor has been recently active, with roles in both “The Studio” and “The Last of Us.” For her work in those two shows, she received Emmy nominations for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series and outstanding guest actress in a drama series.
In 2020, O’Hara won the Outstanding Lead Actress in a comedy series award for her work in the celebrated sixth and final season of “Schitt’s Creek.” She was also known as a queer ally and icon for her theatrical and often campy performances over multiple decades. In “Schitt’s Creek,” she played Moira Rose, the wig-loving mother of David Rose (played by series creator Dan Levy). David is pansexual, but the characters around him simply accept him for who he is; the show was embraced by the LGBTQ community with how naturally David’s sexuality was written and portrayed. That show ran from 2015 to 2020 and helped bring O’Hara and her co-stars into a new phase of their careers.
In a 2019 interview with the Gay Times, O’Hara explained why the show got LGBTQ representation right: “Daniel has created a world that he wants to live in, that I want to live in. It’s ridiculous that we live in a world where we don’t know how to respect each other and let each other be. It’s crazy. Other shows should follow suit and present the world and present humans as the best that we can be. It doesn’t mean you can’t laugh, that you can’t be funny in light ways and dark ways. It’s all still possible when you respect and love each other.”
Additional credits include “SCTV Network” (for which O’Hara won a writing Emmy), “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Six Feet Under,” “Best in Show,” “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” and “Dick Tracy.” O’Hara also lent her voice to “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Chicken Little,” “Monster House,” and “Elemental.” O’Hara was expected to return for Season 2 of “The Studio,” which started filming earlier this month.
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