Arts & Entertainment
Queery: Hamid Lagder
The local artist answers 20 gay questions

Hamid Lagder knows four languages — his native Arabic, the French he studied in his native Marrakech, Morocco, the Russian he mastered during his seven years there and, of course, English. He’s mostly lived in Washington since winning a Green Card lottery and arriving here in 2005.
Lagder doesn’t claim to have any special affinity for mastering new languages. He just adapts to where he is and his needs at the time. What he’s most passionate about is painting. He works by day as an IT manager for an e-commerce company but has been painting since he was a child.
“I could paint all day long,” Lagder, 45, says. “Maybe if I still lived in Morocco I could do it full time but the situation there is different. Here you have to pay bills and everything.”
He’s having his first exhibition Thursday at Puro Café Bar & Lounge (1529 Wisconsin Ave., N.W.) from 7-10 p.m. (one night only). About 12 of the acrylics on canvas — landscapes and abstract — will be on display. More information is at hlagder.com.
“There are so many things you can express in art,” he says. “A lot of these works tell a story.”
Lagder says it wasn’t particularly hard for him to come to terms with being gay, though he’s not out to his family in Morocco, where he visits once or twice per year.
“The gay life you have in Europe and America just doesn’t exist there,” he says. “They would probably think it was just something to be cured. They wouldn’t understand at all.”
Lagder, who loves Western pop culture, enjoys painting and traveling in his free time. He’s single and lives on H Street. (Blade photo by Michael Key)
How long have you been out and who was the hardest person to tell?
I have been out to friends since I moved to this country seven years ago. The hardest person to tell was a close straight friend.
Who’s your LGBT hero?
Wanda Sykes. Everything she says and does makes me laugh, every gesture.
What’s Washington’s best nightspot, past or present?
Sax is one of the best nightspots in D.C. I love the interior and the music. It’s just what D.C. needs — an upscale lounge on 11 and H streets, N.W.
Describe your dream wedding.
I’d skimp on the wedding and splurge on the honeymoon! I love to travel so I’d want to go somewhere I haven’t been yet, like Buenos Aires.
What non-LGBT issue are you most passionate about?
The alarming decline in non-supernatural characters on HBO’s “True Blood,” and the state of the economy.
What historical outcome would you change?
They should never have cancelled “Knots Landing.” And I wish Princess Diana was still alive.
What’s been the most memorable pop culture moment of your lifetime?
The recent deaths of gone-too-soon Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston.
On what do you insist?
Honesty. And no ice in my Diet Coke.
What was your last Facebook post or Tweet?
On Facebook, I posted one of the paintings that will be featured in my upcoming art show.
If your life were a book, what would the title be?
“50 Shades of Gay”
If science discovered a way to change sexual orientation, what would you do?
I’d make doctors’ appointments for all of my hot straight friends.
What do you believe in beyond the physical world?
I was raised Muslim and while I am not, obviously, adhering strictly to that faith I do believe in God/Allah.
What’s your advice for LGBT movement leaders?
Keep up the good work!
What would you walk across hot coals for?
Certainly not for fun. Who is asking me to walk across hot coals anyway?
What LGBT stereotype annoys you most?
That all gay men in D.C. are pretentious.
What’s your favorite LGBT movie?
“The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”
What’s the most overrated social custom?
Paying taxes.
What trophy or prize do you most covet?
I value my friends but they refuse to sit still on my mantle. I’d love to be recognized for my art someday.
What do you wish you’d known at 18?
That washboard abs don’t come easy. That in the blink of an eye I’d be 45.
Why Washington?
I have great friends here and I think D.C. is one of the greatest cities on the planet. There is so much to see and do and learn here! And I love the art museums, of course.
Theater
‘We Are Gathered’ a powerful contemplation of queer equality
Arena production dives fearlessly into many facets of same-sex connection

‘We Are Gathered’
Through June 15
Arena Stage
1101 Sixth St., S.W.
$70-$110
Arenastage.org
Aptly billed as a queer love story, Tarell Alvin McCraney’s terrific new play “We Are Gathered” (now at Arena Stage) dives deeply and fearlessly into the many facets of a same-sex connection and all that goes with it.
McCraney’s tale of two gay men’s romance unfolds entertainingly over two acts. Wallace Tre (Kyle Beltran), a tense architect, and his younger partner Free (Nic Ashe), a campy and fun-loving musician with a deep sense of quiet and peace are contemplating marriage after five years together, but one of the two isn’t entirely comfortable with the idea of imminent matrimony.
At 14, Wallace Tre (nicknamed Dubs) first learned about gay cruising via renowned British playwright Caryl Churchill’s seminal work “Cloud Nine.” It was an intoxicating introduction that led Dubs to an exciting world of sex and risk.
Soon after, a nearby park became a thrilling constant in his life. It remains a source of excitement, fun, danger, and fulfillment. The local cruising zone is also a constant in McCraney’s play.
One memorable evening, Dubs experienced a special night in the woods, a shadowy hour filled with exhilaration and surprise. That’s when Dubs unpredictably learned something he’d never felt before. That night in the park, he met and fell madly in love with Free.
In addition to being a talented playwright, McCraney is the Academy Award-winning Black and queer screenwriter of “Moonlight,” the 2016 film. He’s happy to be a part of WorldPride 2025, and grateful to Arena for making space for his play on its stage. McCraney says he wrote “We Are Gathered” as a contemplation of queer marriage and the right for same-sex couples, like opposite-sex couples, to marry anywhere in the United States.
For Dubs, it’s important that Free speak openly about how they met in the park. He’d like Free to share the details of their coming together with his supportive grandparents, Pop Pop (Craig Wallace) and Mama Jae (out actor Jade Jones). As far as they know, their grandson met Dubs at a lovely gathering with a nice crowd assembled under a swanky canopy. When in truth it was a park busy with horny guys cruising beneath a canopy of leafy verdure.
Understandably, Free is more than a tad embarrassed to reveal that he enjoyed al fresco sex with Dubs prior to knowing his boyfriend’s name. Clearly, in retrospect, both feel that their initial meeting is a source of discomfort, tinged with awkwardness.
There is a lot more to “We Are Gathered” than cruising. Dubs and Free are ardently liked by friends and family. Both are attractive and smart. Yet, they’re different. Free is quite easy going while Dubs is, at times, pricklier.
While Free is part of a happy family, Dubs’s people aren’t entirely easy. He grew up with a strung-out mother and a cold father (Kevin Mambo). Yet, his sister Punkin (Nikolle Salter), an astronaut, is very caring and close to him. While she doesn’t necessarily like “the gay stuff,” she very much wants to live in a world where there’s room for her gay brother.
Adeptly directed by Kent Gash, the production is memorable, and it’s not his first collaboration with McCraney. Ten years ago, Gash, who’s Black and queer, staged McCraney’s “Choir Boys” at Studio Theatre, another well-written and finely staged work.
“We Are Gathered” is performed in the round in Arena’s cavernous Fichandler Stage. The space is both a forest and various rooms created by designer Jason Sherwood and lighting designer Adam Honoré. It’s a world created by elevating a circular platform surrounded by charming street lamps both hanging overhead and lining the perimeter.
Ultimately, what takes place in “We Are Gathered” is a party, and something even more; it’s a paean to marriage, and a call to a sacrament.
Out & About
Justice-centered theater production comes to D.C.
Mexican Cultural Institute to host ‘La Golondrina’

The Mexican Cultural Institute will host “La Golondrina” on Friday, June 6 at 7:30 p.m. at its location on 2829 16th St. NW.
“La Golondrina” is a theater production that aims to elevate the conversation around hate crimes and the urgent need for dialogue and healing. It is also a powerful and deeply moving story that brings to the stage the emotional legacy of the Pulse nightclub shooting. The play explores that tragedy through an intimate encounter between two characters, Amelia (Luz Nicolás) and Ramón (Victor), whose connection unveils grief, love, and the enduring shadow of homophobia.
Tickets for this event are available on the Cultural Institute’s website.
Out & About
Celebrate Pride with a thoughtful book club
Second edition of ‘Books and Wine’ held at Urban Grape DC

Meet the World Image Solutions will host the second edition of “Books and Wine” on Thursday, June 5 at 5:30 p.m. at Urban Grape DC, a Black- and woman-owned winery in Washington, D.C.
The featured authors are: Beautiful Lawson, Chanele Ramos, and Pamela Coleman. All will read from works that reflect love, resilience, and queer identity across genres. For more details, visit Eventbrite.
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