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Dorian Wood tribute to Chavela set for US premiere

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Singer Dorian Wood performs in “Xavela Lux Aeterna” (Photo: Pedro Anguila)

Iconoclastic non-binary musician Dorian Wood is taking the stage in Los Angeles this weekend for the US premiere of their new show, “Xavela Lux Aeterna,” paying tribute to the legacy of queer Latinx musical legend Chavela Vargas.

2019 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Mexican-Costa Rican singer, and Dorian’s performance piece celebrates her musical beauty, passion and pain with an evening of songs she popularized, interwoven with original compositions and folk music from Costa Rica, and interpreted by Dorian’s distinctly powerful voice.

Accompanying Dorian is a prestigious chamber orchestra under the direction of Spanish artist Alberto Montero, and acclaimed singers San Cha and Carmina Escobar.

According to publicity materials: “The road to Chavela – she of resplendent soul and a voice filled with fury, pain and ardor – has been both a Holy Grail and a journey of self-reflection. Between the similarities of both artists there is another journey; an exploration that puts in its trajectory the nakedness of the soul, the renunciation of homeland and the plea to a world that bears on its hands the blood of the marginalization of human beings. ’Xavela Lux Aeterna’ is both a tribute and a dialogue between two creative souls passing through one single body.

Dorian says, “To those of us who have been pushed aside by society, Chavela is a divine presence. I feel an intense connection to this great artist, beginning with the common aspects we both possess in terms of sexuality, origin and date of birth, and culminating with the greatest defiance, which is to live as one desires, with scars and kisses and everything.  With ‘Xavela Lux Aeterna’, I am interested in exploring her ‘whys’ with great respect and reverence, and I invite the audience to join me in this exploration.”

Dorian premiered their tribute to Chavela in April 2019, at the prestigious Festival de Arte Sacro in Spain, and they toured Europe and Mexico through the summer and fall. This weekend’s dates in Los Angeles mark the U.S. premiere of the performance.  

“Xavela Lux Aeterna” will perform Friday and Saturday, Nov. 22-23, at REDCAT in downtown Los Angeles.

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PHOTOS: World Pride March

LGBTQ rights demonstration held in Amsterdam

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A scene from the 2026 World Pride March in Amsterdam. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The 2026 World Pride March was held on Saturday, Aug. 8 in Amsterdam. Tens of thousands of participants marched from Martin Luther Kingpark to the grounds of the Pride Village at Museumplein.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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PHOTOS: Daddy Issues at Kiki

Evry Pleasure, Tiara Missou-Sidora, Indiana Bones perform

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Evry Pleasure performs at the 'Daddy Issues' drag show at Kiki on Wednesday. (Washington Blade photo by Landon Shackelford)

The weekly drag show “Daddy Issues” was held at Kiki on Wednesday, Aug. 5. Performers included Evry Pleasure, Indiana Bones and Tiara Missou-Sidora.

(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)

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Something’s off about Dad. When is it time to step in?

‘When Memory Fades’ can help when families face dementia

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(Book cover image courtesy of St. Martin's Essentials)

‘When Memory Fades’
By Nathaniel Chin, MD
c.2026, St. Martin’s Essentials
$30/422 pages

Mom called you in a panic the other day.

She’d lost her keys and by the time you arrived to help, she’d found them. In the refrigerator.

These kinds of things keep happening, not often but often enough, and you don’t know quite what to worry about. But in the new book “When Memory Fades” by Nathaniel Chin, MD, you’ll learn about the journey ahead, for both of you.

You can’t remember why you walked into a room. You got lost last week, going to the bank. Popular wisdom says that things like that are normal as we age, but Chin says that’s not true – although the answer may not be a worst-case scenario, either. Yes, memory problems could just be signs of stress, dehydration, or lack of sleep – or is it time to see a doctor?

Chin says maybe, yes.

He was working his way through medical residency when his father, a geriatrician in Madison, Wisc., was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Chin, now a geriatrician, was blindsided, but that diagnosis also changed his life.

Here, he writes about the brain, and how Alzheimer’s and dementia are diagnosed, explaining that dementia has many faces and, depending on a doctor’s evaluation, memory problems might be slowed or improved. He shares his father’s illness with readers, but he also writes about his mother, a steadfast, steady caretaker.

Her story reminds reader-guardians to care for themselves, too.

Know how to talk the talk, so that you can have “a more productive” conversation with your doctor. Understand that there’s nothing “normal” about dementia or Alzheimer’s. Know the statistics – African Americans are affected with dementia twice as much as whites – and know how to lower your risks. Learn here what questions to ask, how to break the news to everyone, and any legal matters that will be important soon. And know how to tend to you.

Says Chin, “The best action you can take is to educate yourself… The more you understand, the better equipped you are to make sound judgments.”

Something’s off about Dad, just a lot of little things that don’t add up. When is it time to step in? “When Memory Fades” can help you decide.

Wise, wide-spread, comprehensive, and compassionately helpful, this is a book you can read and then take it to the doctor with your loved one. It’s a book that makes sense when nothing else does, and its biggest feature is that it smoothly transitions from easy-to-grasp science and charts, to gentle coaching for caregivers. Author Nathaniel Chin, MD writes with storytelling, humility, grace, and experience from both sides of the Alzheimer’s/dementia issue, and his words are reassuring but also urgent. Learn, but don’t wait, he says. Know how to safeguard yourself. See your doctor, and don’t fear testing. Watch for signs of depression. And never, ever stop asking for help.

Read those last seven words, and find “When Memory Fades” now. It’s a book to have on your shelf, whether you’re 45 or 95 because, as you’ll see, dementia happens and knowledge is key.

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