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Rehoboth Women’s FEST: We’ve come a long way, baby

Annual beach celebration features dances, speakers, yoga, and much more

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4 years ago

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Singer Chely Wright plays Women’s FEST in Rehoboth on April 9.

It’s taken more than two decades for an idea born of fear, frustration, and tragic stories to turn into a joyous four-day festival celebrating more than 20 years of bringing women together at the beach.

When CAMP Rehoboth’s Women’s FEST kicks off on Thursday, April 7, the event celebrates more than 20 years and the societal changes in attitude and legislation achieved for the LGBTQ community during these past two decades. The FEST, mirroring society, has grown and changed with the times. For 2022, it’s a time for camaraderie, nationally known entertainers, education, sports, speakers, and fun. 

But back in 2000, prior to marriage equality laws, there were too many horror stories. Area women could lose everything they owned because they lacked the proper legal paperwork to claim their rights to homes or bank accounts after a bad romantic break-up or the death of a partner. 

Too often, a grieving, long-time partner would be left homeless and helpless as parents or siblings of the deceased swept into town, claimed the home, and evicted the partner. This happened more than most people realize.

Likewise, in 2000 there were far fewer LGBTQ-welcoming medical practices. Many women avoided doctors or screenings for fear of coming out as lesbian to providers. Sadly, this reticence to seek treatment sometimes led to tragedy. 

To try and help halt these horrors, at the turn of the millennium a handful of women worked with CAMP Rehoboth, the LGBTQ non-profit service organization on Baltimore Avenue in Rehoboth Beach, to get something started.

What Did These Gals Do?

In April 2001, nine women volunteers, this author among them, put together a half-day event hosting speakers on women’s health, financial planning, and legal protection for lesbians. The speakers provided advice and identified gay-friendly resources for women whose fear kept them from taking actions they needed for wellness and security.

Now-retired attorney Ellen Feinberg says, “At that time, in Delaware, there were absolutely no legal protections for lesbians, and many women did not know what legal paperwork they needed to protect themselves, their relationships, and their finances.” 

That first morning conference, upstairs at the Rehoboth Library, saw 75 local women packed into the small space, eager to hear advice specifically pertinent to their lives. 

They learned about mortgages with “rights of survivorship” so the family of a deceased partner could not claim the couple’s home; they learned of medical practices that treated gays and lesbians with respect; they learned from medical and financial professionals how to find the resources they needed.

From those original planners — Andrea Andrus, Ellen Feinberg, Joan Glass, Maggie Ottato, Leslie Rogan, Maggie Shaw, Libby Stiff, Bea Wagner, and me—came a second conference a year later. Added volunteers helped produce a full-day event at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center, complete with opening remarks by Delaware’s then-Gov. Ruth Ann Minner. 

Her speech was about women in politics, without a single mention of the word ‘lesbian’ or the LGBTQ community. “But she came to us to speak,” a committee member said, “and for that we were thrilled.”

Leslie Rogan recalls more than 200 women attending that second year, which, along with Gov. Minner, included nationally known 1970s activist and musical icon Margie Adam. “Actually, it was 236 people attending,” Feinberg adds, “not that I was counting,” she says, smiling. 

Following that weekend, Feinberg and Rogan, and friends Barb Fischel and Wendy Grooms, formed an entertainment committee to find performers willing to come to Rehoboth. “We started by looking to see which entertainers were booked on Olivia’s women’s cruises,” says Leslie. 

“We really had no idea about producing; we were flying by the seat of our pants,” Feinberg recalls.

By 2003, the event became Women’s Weekend, headlined by comic Suzanne Westenhoefer and Olivia Records legend Teresa Trull. In addition to educational seminars, some fun sessions included Mixology and Two-Stepping.

By 2004, the word was out. Women converged from Virginia, D.C., New Jersey, and Pennsylvania to hear women’s music pioneer Cris Williamson, with the event drawing the largest crowd yet. 

As news spread, agents and entertainer reps reached out to CAMP Rehoboth with inquiries from their clients. Over the next few years, well-known lesbian comics Kate Clinton, Vickie Shaw, and Karen Williams appeared, along with songwriter Tret Fure and famed singer Holly Near. 

When the iconic women’s travel company Olivia came onboard as a sponsor, many, many local women learned about the company and signed up for their all-women Caribbean cruises, where they could mingle with gay women from all over the country.

On one cruise, as a swarm of women posed for photos in their Rehoboth T-shirts, a bystander asked “What’s Re-Ho-BOTH, a sorority? A church? A college? What is it?”

Linda Kemp, Olivia’s director of strategic sales and marketing, answered, “Rehoboth is a gay-friendly beach town in Delaware where all these women are from.”

“But where’s Delaware?” the onlooker asked. Linda rolled her eyes and offered a geography lesson. 

Not only was Women’s Weekend promoted, but women from all over the country learned about the resort town of Rehoboth Beach. 

Sometime in those early years, artist Geri Dibiase offered up a vibrant photo design for a Women’s Weekend T-shirt to be sold at the event and she’s been donating new designs each year since. In addition, Geri donates the original artwork to be auctioned off to raise money for CAMP Rehoboth. 

“I’m so grateful for the opportunity to produce the T-shirts and proud to have my art featured in this nationally recognized event,” Dibiase says. 

By 2008 and 2009, as the CAMP Rehoboth office expanded into a Community Center, it provided a welcoming hub for all the women converging downtown each April. And there was a new intimate performance space for musicians plus theatrical events like a production of “The Vagina Monologues” and a one-woman show about journalist Molly Ivins.

Women’s Weekend now had nine years under its belt, and included events like golf, craft fairs, and more to make it a beloved spring custom.

And Then Came FEST

For the 10th anniversary in 2010, the weekend became FEST, an acronym for Fun, Entertainment, Spring Tradition. 

New partnerships saw Olivia as presenting sponsor and a collaboration with Ladies 2000, the famed Philly dance promoters, bringing a fantastic Tea Dance to the mix. Wednesday was now Locals Night with a big Welcome Party (now funded by an endowment from the late Georgette Krenkel), plus added events like a bike ride, Rehoboth walking tour, juried photo/art show featuring women artists, and singles speed dating.

“My now-spouse Diane and I started dating right before Women’s FEST 2010,” says Rehoboth resident Jennifer Rubenstein, “and it was very odd going to speed dating, where we did the round robin with a bunch of other singles but kept a watchful eye on each other.” It turned out well.

A decade in the making, the 2011 FEST was now the largest women’s event in the mid-Atlantic. A partnership with the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition (DBCC) added the Broadwalk on the Boardwalk, a walk to help raise funds to fight breast cancer and honor those affected by it.  

“A flood of pink-wearing walkers showed up, some with their dogs, also in pink, and some supportive guys in pink boas and drag,” says one participant. “It was fun, and also serious, with a moving ceremony at the end. I loved it.” 

Volunteer Kathy Wiz, whose sister had the disease, helped bring CAMP Rehoboth and DBCC together for the event. ”For me, the Broadwalk is a way of showing gratitude for my sister’s survival.” 

Since 2011, Broadwalk on the Boardwalk has raised over $75,000 in donations benefiting the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition.

Of course, over the years dozens and dozens of volunteers populated the official FEST Committee, with steadfast support from the CAMP Rehoboth staff and Board. 

“I clearly remember that first event, filling 75 seats at the library, hearing the presenters, and thinking this was new, uncharted territory, and hoping it could be expanded,” says long-time CAMP Rehoboth Board Member Jane Blue. “Boy, that was an understatement!”

In conjunction with national advances in LGBTQ rights, specifically the lifting of the ban on gay and lesbian service members, the 2012 FEST welcomed special guest Col. Grethe Cammermeyer. Instrumental in overturning the military’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” law. Cammermeyer hosted a Saturday Q&A after the showing of the film “Serving in Silence,” based on her life story and starring Glenn Close. 

Musician Tret Fure recalls sitting with her hero, Col. Cammermeyer, in the front row at comic Suzanne Westenheofer’s show. “When my friend Suzanne looked down and saw us together in the front row, she almost fell off the stage.” 

But 2013 brought drama. Out and proud country singer Chely Wright, pregnant with twins, was to be the headliner. Unfortunately, her doctor put her on bed rest a week before the show. She sent her apologies and the committee freaked out! 

“We sold 700 tickets and had no entertainer. We were hysterical,” recalls Committee Chair Dottie Cirelli. Frantic committee members hit their phones and by the end of the day, comic Kate Clinton shuffled her schedule and bailed the event out. It was another huge success and Chely Wright’s twins were born happy and healthy.

Making good on her earlier promise, Chely performed to a packed house the next year and the Broadwalk was bigger than ever—honoring not only survivors and sisters lost to breast cancer, but adding women and men touched by all cancers. 

By 2015, with stunning LGBTQ victories like marriage equality and protections for transgender rights, the FEST’s original workshop concept morphed into invited guest speakers sharing their stories. Guests have included Feminist Majority leader Eleanor Smeal, Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester, transgender activist Sarah McBride, and the brave D.C. law enforcement officer who helped save lives during a mass shooting at a congressional softball game.

Two-time headliner comic Poppy Champlin performed and offered a stand-up comedy workshop. “I’ve loved my times at FEST, the spirit of the women, the huge number of women flocking to town. And doing a show for 800 women is a real thrill for a comedian.” 

The rest, as they say, is herstory. 

In 2018, FEST statistics showed 3,832 seats filled at 23 different venues plus a new partnership with Beebe Medical Center for a health fair at the community center—further fulfilling one of the original Women’s Project goals.

For 2019, the numbers were even bigger. And while there was still emphasis on topics especially important for lesbian and transgender women, the FEST had become popular with a diverse group of attendees.

Rehoboth resident Deb Ward said, “My mother-in-law started visiting us on Women’s Weekend and loved it—and as a breast cancer survivor walked in the Broadwalk. Next thing I knew, her sister started coming, then my own sister joined us. It’s a spectacular event for all women, and it’s become a family tradition.”

It was different, 22 years later, far from when women had no idea how to protect themselves legally or find a welcoming doctor. “Our community is being courted now,” Ellen Feinberg said, “and everything is so open and accessible.” 

It was a long way, baby, from those turn-of-the-century workshops at the library. That fledgling Women’s Project Committee launched the event, then they and so many other hard-working volunteers took the idea and ran with it—with no plans to stop celebrating anytime soon.

Then Came 2020

The 2020 FEST, a special 20th anniversary event featuring The Indigo Girls, was canceled due to the COVID pandemic. Bummer! 

One bright spot was that all of our wonderful sponsors kept their money in the FEST pot for the future. We love our sponsors! Especially presenting sponsor Olivia Travel and Legacy sponsors Jenn Harpel, Jeanine O’Donnel, and Lana Warfield.

The 2021 FEST happened online, with a few Zoom events and some fun in the midst of the dark days.

But now, FEST is live again for 2022. Our wonderful sponsors are back, country singer superstar Chely Wright and the hilarious Funny Girlz will be performing (among others), and we are back on track.

FEST Passes are now on sale, as are individual event tickets—visit camprehoboth.com. to purchase yours.

Oh yes, we HAVE come a long way, baby! 

There are many events associated with Women’s FEST. Visit camprehoboth.com for the full schedule. A few highlights:

• Thursday, April 7, 7 p.m., Georgette Krenkel Welcome Dance Party – free, Rehoboth Beach Convention Center. 

• Friday, April 8, 12-1 p.m., Concert: Singer Regina Sayles—$20. CAMP Rehoboth Community Center.

• Friday, April 8, 8 p.m., Chely Wright concert— FEST Pass or $40 individual ticket. Rehoboth Beach Convention Center.

• Saturday, April 9, 9 a.m-3 p.m. Women’s FEST EXPO – free. Rehoboth Beach Convention Center

• Saturday, April 9, 12-1 p.m., keynote speaker Del. Sen. Marie Pinkney — free. Rehoboth Beach Sands Hotel Ball Room 1

• Saturday, April 9, 6-10:30 p.m. Women’s FEST Dance Party, $15. Located at the Sands Hotel Ballroom

• Sunday, April 10, 9-11 a.m. 12th Annual Broadwalk on the Boardwalk—free at CAMP Rehoboth. Fundraiser for Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition


Author Fay Jacobs is one of the founders of Rehoboth’s Women’s FEST.

(This story was originally published in Letters from CAMP Rehoboth. Fay Jacobs is the author of five published books and is touring with her one-woman sit-down comedy show, Aging Gracelessly. Her reports on Rehoboth’s LGBTQ history can be heard on RadioRehoboth, 99.1.)

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Ultimate guide to queer gift giving

Champagne, candles, cologne, lawnmowers, and more

Published

2 days ago

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December 6, 2025

By

Some gifts scream practical, others whisper luxury, and a few flat-out blur the lines. From cocoa that feels ceremonial to a cologne that linger like a suggestive smirk, this year’s ultimate gift picks prove that thoughtful (and occasionally naughty) presents don’t have to be prosaic. Welcome to your holiday cheat sheet for festive tangibles that get noticed, remembered, and maybe even result in a peck of gratitude planted under the mistletoe. Consensually, of course.

Amber Glass Champagne Flutes

Pop the champs – but make it vintage. These tulip-shaped stunners in amber-tinted glass bring all the Gatsby vibes without the Jazz-age drama. Whether you’re toasting a milestone or celebrating a Tuesday, their seven-ounce capacities and hand-wash-only care make ‘em as practical as they are pretty. Pair with a thoughtful bottle of bubs and gift with a glittering wink. $18, NantucketLooms.com

Disaster Playbook by Here Comes the Apocalypse

Because the end of the world shouldn’t be a solo act, this spiral-bound guide is your step-by-step roadmap to surviving and thriving when everything else goes sideways, which might be sooner than you think. Packed with checklists, drills, and a healthy dose of humor, it’s like a survival manual written by your most prepared (and slightly snarky) friend. Whether you’re prepping for a zombie apocalypse or, more realistically, REVOLUTION!, this playbook’s got your back. $40, HereComesTheApocalypse.com

Wickless Vulva Candles

Bold, luxurious, and completely flame-free, CTOAN’s wickless candles melt from beneath on a warmer, releasing subtle, sophisticated fragrances, like sandalwood or lavender. The vulva-shaped wax adds a playful, provocative element to any space –perfect for a bedroom, living room, or anywhere you want elegance with an edge. A gift that celebrates form, intimacy and self-expression, no fire required. $39, CTOANCO.com

Villeroy & Boch Royal Classic Christmas Collection

Every meal is a mini celebration – with whimsy at every place setting – in Villeroy & Boch’s Royal Classic festive dinnerware collection that hits all the right notes. Made from premium German porcelain, it features nostalgic little toys, nutcrackers, and rocking horses in delicate relief, giving your holiday spread a playful but refined twist. Dishwasher- and microwave-safe, it’s luxe without the fuss. Gift a piece to a special someone, or start a collection they’ll use (and show off) for years to come. $22-$363, Villeroy-Boch.com

Greenworks Electric Lawnmower

You a ’hood queen who considers lawn care performance art – or just wants to rule the cul-de-sac in quiet, emission-free glory? Greenworks’ zero-turn electric mower has the muscle of a 24-horsepower gas engine but none of the fumes, drama or maintenance. Six 60V batteries and a 42-inch deck mean you can mow up to two-and-a-half acres on a single charge – then plug in, recharge, and ride again. It’s whisper-quiet, slope-ready, and smooth enough to make you wonder why you ever pushed anything besides your queer agenda. The perfect gift for the homeowner who loves sustainability, symmetry, and showing off their freshly striped yard like that fresh fade you get on Fridays. $5,000, GreenworksTools.com

Molekule Air Purifier

For the friend who treats their space like a sanctuary (or just can’t stand sneezes), the Molekule Air Pro is magic in motion. Covering up to 1,000 square feet, it doesn’t just capture allergens, VOCs, and smoke – it destroys them, leaving your air feeling luxury-clean. FDA-cleared as a Class II medical device, it’s serious science disguised as modern design. Gift it to your city-dwelling, pet-loving, candle-burning friend who likes their living room as pristine as their Instagram feed. $1,015, Molekule.com

Cipriani Prosecco Gift Set

Effervescent with stone-fruit sweetness and a touch of Italian flair, the Cipriani Bellini & Prosecco gift set brings brunch-level glamour to any day of the week. The Bellini blends rich white-peach purée with sparkling wine, while the dry ’secco keeps things crisp and celebratory. Pop a bottle, pour a flute, and suddenly winter weeknights feel like a party – even with your pants off. $36, TotalWine.com

Woo(e)d Cologne

British GQ recently crowned Woo(e)d by ALTAIA the “Best Date Night Fragrance,” and honestly, they nailed it. Confident without being cocky – smoky gaïac and Atlas cedarwood grounds the room while supple leather and spicy cardamom do all the flirting – it’s a scent that lingers like good conversation and soft candlelight. Gift it to the one who always turns heads – or keep it for yourself and let them come to (and then on) you. $255, BeautyHabit.com

Lococo Cocoa Kit

Keep the run-of-the-mill mugs in the cabinet this Christmas and pull out Lococo’s handcrafted Oaxacan versions that demand you slow down and sip like it matters. Paired with a wooden scoop, rechargeable frother, and Lococo’s signature spice hot-chocolate blend (vegan, gluten-free, with adaptogenic mushrooms), this holiday kit turns Mexi-cocoa into a mini ritual you’ll look forward to. Perfect for anyone who loves a little indulgence with a side of ¡A huevo! energy.

Manta Sleep Mask

Total blackout, zero pressure on the eyes, and Bluetooth speakers built right into the straps, this ain’t your mama’s sleep mask — but it could be. The Manta SOUND sleep mask features C-shaped eye cups that block every hint of light while ultra-thin speakers deliver your favorite white noise, meditation, or late-night playlist straight to your ears. With 24-hour battery life, breathable fabric, and easy-to-adjust sound, it turns any bed (or airplane seat) into a five-star sleep suite. Perfect for anyone who treats shut-eye like an art form (or just wants to escape their roommate’s late-night bingin’ and/or bangin’). $159, MantaSleep.com

Shacklelock Necklace

Turn the industrial-chic vibe of a shackle into a sleek statement. Mi Tesoro’s platinum-plated stainless-steel necklace sits on an 18-inch wheat chain, featuring a shackle-style latch pendant that’s waterproof, tarnish-free, and totally fuss-les. Beyond style, it nods to a classic gesture in the queer leather community: replacing a traditional Master lock with something elegant to quietly signal belonging to someone special. Wear it solo for a minimalist edge or layer it like you mean it; either way this piece locks in both your look and your intentions. $90, MiTesoroJewelry.com

Parkside Flask Mojave Edition

Wine nights get a desert glow-up with Parkside’s limited-edition 750-milliliter all-in-one flask draped in sun-washed bronze and badland hues like sage, sand, and terracotta – with magnetic stemless tumblers that snap on for effortless shareability. It keeps your vino chilled for 24 hours, pours without drips (no tears for spilled rosé, please), and even lets you laser-engrave your own mantra or inside joke. Perfect for picnics, surprise rooftop clinks, or gifting to your favorite wine (or desert) rat. $149, HighCampFlasks.com

Mikey Rox is an award-winning journalist and LGBT lifestyle expert whose work has published in more than 100 outlets across the world. Connect with him on Instagram @mikeyroxtravels.

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Meet Mr. Christmas

Hallmark’s Jonathan Bennett on telling gay love stories for mainstream audiences

Published

4 days ago

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December 4, 2025

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Hallmark’s Jonathan Bennett

Jonathan Bennett believes there are two kinds of people in the world — those who love Hallmark movies and liars. And in Season 2 of Finding Mr. Christmas, which the Mean Girls star co-created with Ben Roy, Bennett is searching for Hallmark’s next leading man.

“It’s so fun for people because everyone in their life has someone they know that they think should be in Hallmark movies, right? The UPS driver, the barista at the coffee shop, the dentist,” Bennett says. “So we’re testing their acting abilities, we’re testing who they are, but we’re also looking for that star quality — the thing that makes them shine above everyone else. It’s almost something you can’t explain, but we know it when we see it.”

Season 2’s cast includes a former NFL player for the Green Bay Packers, a few actors, and a realtor. The 10 men compete in weekly festive-themed acting challenges, one of which included having to ride a horse and act out a scene with Alison Sweeney. The contestants were chosen from a crop of 360 potential men, and Bennett gives kudos to the show’s Emmy-nominated casting director, Lindsay Liles (The Bachelor, Bachelor in Paradise).

“She has a tough job because she has to find 10 guys that are going to be good reality television, but also have the talent to act, carry a scene, and lead a Hallmark movie eventually,” he says. To be the right fit for a Hallmark leading man, Bennett singles out five key characteristics: you have to be funny, charming, kind, have a sense of humor, and you have to do it all with a big heart.

Of course, Finding Mr. Christmas wouldn’t be Finding Mr. Christmas without its signature eye candy — something Bennett describes as “part of the job” for the contestants. “I can’t believe Hallmark let me get away with this. I dressed them as sexy reindeer and put them in harnesses attached to a cable 30 feet in the air, and they had to do a sexy reindeer photo shoot challenge,” he says with a laugh. “This season is just bigger and bolder than last. People are responding to not only all the craziness that we put them through, but also comparing and contrasting the guys in their acting scenes when we do them back-to-back.”

Season 1 winner Ezra Moreland’s career has been an early testament to the show’s success at finding rising talent. On seeing the show’s first winner flourish, Bennett says, “Now to watch him out in the world, just booking commercial after commercial and shining as an actor and a model, I think the show gave him the wings to do that. He learned so much about himself, and he took all that into his future auditions and casting. He just works nonstop. I’ve never seen an actor book more commercials and modeling gigs in my life.”

Bennett has been a star of plenty of Hallmark movies himself, including the GLAAD-award-winning The Groomsmen: Second Chances, which makes him a fitting host. Among those movies are 2020’s Christmas House, which featured the first same-sex kiss on the network and had a major impact on Bennett’s career as an openly gay man. “Hallmark’s been so great about supporting me in queer storytelling. But again, I don’t make gay movies for gay audiences. I make gay love stories for a broad audience, and that’s a huge difference, right? We’re not telling stories inside baseball that only the gay community will understand.”

He continues, “The backdrop of a Hallmark Christmas movie is very familiar to these people who watch. And so when you tell a gay love story, and you tell it no differently than a straight love story in that space, they’re able to understand. It’s able to change hearts and minds for people who might not have it in their lives.”

While Hallmark has become a major staple of Bennett’s career, he started off wanting to be a Broadway actor. And before the first season of Finding Mr. Christmas aired, Bennett took a break from TV to make his Broadway debut in Spamalot, replacing Michael Urie as Sir Robin and starring alongside Ethan Slater and Alex Brightman.

“That was my dream since I was five years old – then I booked a movie called Mean Girls, and everything kind of changes in your life. You no longer become a person pursuing Broadway, you become a part of pop culture,” Bennett recalls. “And to be honest, when I hit 40, I was like, ‘I’m probably never going to get to live that dream.’ And that’s okay, because I got to do other dreams and other things that were just as cool but different. So I honestly never thought it would happen.”

Bennett is still determined to make his way back on Broadway with the right role — he calls Spamalot the “best experience” of his life, after all — but he’s got another Hallmark show lined up with Murder Mystery House, which he co-created. The show was recently greenlit for development and intends to bring the Hallmark mystery movie to life. “It’s kind of like our version of The Traitors,” Bennett admits.

Looking back on both seasons, Bennett says that what makes Finding Mr. Christmas stand out in the overcrowded reality TV landscape is that everyone involved makes it with heart: “This isn’t a show where you’re going to watch people throw drinks in each other’s faces and get into big fights. The thing that has amazed me so much about this show, the more we’ve done it, is that every season, 10 guys come in as competitors, but they leave as a family and as brothers. That’s something you don’t get on any other network.”

Finding Mr. Christmas airs every Monday on Hallmark through December 20, with episodes available to stream on Hallmark+.

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Guillermo Diaz on his role as a queer, Latino actor in Hollywood

Shattering stereotypes and norms with long resume of roles

Published

3 weeks ago

on

November 20, 2025

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Guillermo Diaz (Photo courtesy Diaz)

Actor Guillermo Diaz has been working hard in the entertainment industry for more than three decades. Proud of his heritage and queer identity, he has broken through many glass ceilings to have a prolific career that includes tentpole moments such as roles in the films Party Girl, Half Baked, and Bros, and in major TV shows like Weeds and Scandal, and even in a Britney Spears music video. This season, he made his feature-length directorial debut with the film Dear Luke, Love Me.

In an intimate sit-down with the Blade, Diaz shares that he attributes a lot of his success to his Cuban upbringing.

“Well, it prepared me to learn how to lie really well and be a good actor because it was a lot of acting like you were straight, back in the eighties and nineties (laugh). Another thing I learned from my Cuban immigrant parents is that they work super hard. They both had two jobs; we were latchkey kids, and I just saw them constantly working and wanting to provide for us by any means. So that was super instilled in me. That was the one thing that really stuck out that I admire and respect.”

Besides Diaz’s recurring roles on TV, his resume includes appearances in just about every genre of programming out there. If there is a major show out there, he was probably on it. Law and Order, Girls, The Closer, Chappelle’s Show, ER, Party of Five, and the list goes on. He’s accomplished more in his career thus far than most actors do in a lifetime. There is no doubt he is a hard worker.

“It’s a sign that I just loved to work, and it’s funny looking back at it now because you see all those things, but at the time it was just the next gig, the next job.  I was just wanting to keep working and acting and learning and doing all that stuff. Then it sort of accumulates, and you look back and you’re like, damn! That’s a lot of stuff!”

Acting was never on Diaz’s radar until he was asked to fill in for a friend in a Beastie Boys medley for a talent show when he was a sophomore in high school.

“I did it and fell in love with it. I was teased a lot in high school. Then, when I did that performance, all those people who teased me were like, you were so great! So I looked at it initially as a thing of like, oh, this is where I’m accepted and people like me when I’m on stage. It’s kind of sad, too, because that’s what I latched onto. And then of course, I fell in love with the craft and performing and acting, but that initial rush was because all these people who were messing with me and teasing me all of a sudden liked me. And I was like, this is what I have to do.”

Little did Diaz know that he would break the mold when it came to stereotypical casting. When he first hit the industry, diversity and positive representation were not a thing in Hollywood.

“You just kind of accepted at the time. It was the early nineties. 90% of the time, it was playing a thug or a gun dealer, or a crack head – it was all bad guys, negative characters. But it was either that or not act and not be in anything. So you just kind of accept it, and then you have this sort of vision or hope that in the future it’s going to get better.

Diaz’s management was trepidatious about him playing gay roles for fear of being typecast. But Diaz did play a handful of gay roles early on, although he passed on But I’m A Cheerleader, which went on to become a gay cult classic. Diaz decided early on that he was not going to hide his sexuality. Diaz appeared in the film Stonewall. That was the defining point for him in sharing his identity.

“Being cast in that historical sort of dramatization of the 1969 Stonewall riots – I couldn’t believe I was in the midst that I was in the middle of doing this and playing the lead drag queen on the film. I just felt so honored, and I knew it was important, and I knew I needed to do a really good job. I thought, what a special moment this is. And it kicked my ass shooting that movie.

I remember after doing Stonewall, people saying, well, now you’re either going to have to make a choice if you’re going to lie, or if you’re going to just be honest, and you’re going to have to be out from now on if you’re going to be honest. And I was like, I’m not going to freaking lie. When they’d asked me, I would say I was gay. I think because I never tried to hide it, it didn’t become a thing. So people just kind of ignored it. It didn’t mess with me or my career. I don’t know. Or I just got lucky. I don’t freaking know.”

As a queer, Latin actor, Diaz is all too aware of what is happening politically and socially in the world towards minority communities. Does he think actors have a place in politics?

“For sure. I mean, we’re people first, right? Like, I hate when people sort of are like, oh, you’re an actor, shut up. I’m super political and outspoken, and I’m that guy who will say shit. I’m on the right side of history, at least. I’m not being complicit and silent. So, yeah, I think actors for sure have a place in politics. Absolutely.”

While directing was on Diaz’s radar, it wasn’t something that he was actively searching out. But as life would have it, his friend Mallie McCown sent him her script for Dear Luke, Love Me, a film she would play the lead in. Diaz was hooked.

“It was one of those scripts that I had to keep putting down every like 20 pages. I would put it down because I didn’t want it to end. It was so good. Originally, I was just going to come on as a producer of the film, and then the director dropped out, and then Mallie asked me if I was interested in directing. I was scared as shit. I had never directed a feature film. But I was like, it’s now or never.”

The film covers a decade of the friendship between Penny and Luke, covering themes of platonic love, asexuality, co-dependence, and self-identity. With most of the film focusing on just the two leads, Diaz has crafted an intimate and raw film. What is his message with the film?

“That love is complicated, but it’s beautiful and rewarding and worth all the heartache. I believe that. I don’t want to give away too much in the film either, but I think everyone can relate to it because there’s heartache and there’s pain, and there’s beauty and there’s love.”

And in looking at his past work and in looking toward his future career, what kind of legacy does Diaz want to build?

“That I broke some ground, that I knocked down some walls as an artist; I’m hoping that made a difference. It’s funny because when you’re in it, you’re not thinking about all this stuff that could possibly pave the way for other people. You’re just kind of moving along and living your life. But yeah, I would hope that I broke down some walls as a queer Latino.

I hope that people can sort of get something out of me trying to live as authentically as I can, just being my queer self. Hopefully, that helps someone along who is having some troubles being accepted or being comfortable with who they are.”

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