Sunday, October 24, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Days of Anarchy
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Gay Pride Santiago
This past June, it was international Gay Pride, for which the Santiago gays came out (not exactly in droves) as a community, raised awareness and had an all around good time. The vibe and performances were decidedly less impressive than those of Buenos Aires, plus, there was no march, which I can easily chalk up to the fact that the event was being held in the middle of winter.
We still managed to have a great time, though, since our wonderfully fun friend Victor came along and really perked things up. And when in good company, Lord only knows what kind of trouble you're bound to get into...
There were loads of performances and drag queens and trannies to boot.
(Yes, she's wearing Mickey Mouse ears and a variation of Cher's "If I Could Turn Back Time" outfit. She betta werk!)
In the end, I've got to say I had a really great time. Though Chile doesn't exactly have a liberal or socially progressive culture, we (as a crowd) were in no way bothered or mocked. There was a rally and call to action on various social issues such as equal marriage rights (there is currently a same sex marriage bill in congress, immediately drafted after it's passing in Argentina), there was a public kiss-in (yes, we participated) and the different LGBT groups were well represented. There were even a few advertisers.
When it comes to my personal opinion on the local gay life and scene, I infinitely prefer Santiago's to Buenos Aires'. Where BA's is much larger, Santiago's is more alive. BA has the activism, the clubs and the socially progressive culture, but it's not an open community. It's very cliquey and surprisingly closeted. Where in Santiago, since Chileans are so conservative, you are faced with two sharply contrasting sets of gays: The super-closeted and the super-rebellious.
Santiago has it's own gay neighborhood, Bellas Artes, which is it's own little Chelsea or Castro, as opposed to BA which only has 'gay-friendly' stores and restaurants, all of which are scattered around the city. Chilean gays are much friendlier and easy to meet. Go to a club in Buenos Aires, all the locals are huddled in little groups of 3 or 4. You'd be lucky to find a hook-up. Go to a club in Santiago, the little groups are there, but if contact is made it won't be hard to strike up a conversation and eventually take a boy home ;) Plus, the music in BA is pretty hardcore electronica, while in Santiago they favor Pop music and don't shy away from classic disco or 80's dance music (I have a particularly fond memory of dancing to Aqua's Barbie Girl).
I suppose it becomes a matter of taste. Take the drag queens and trannies for instance. Argentina and Brazil are the land of the flawless trannies. But, they're nowhere near as entertaining or funny... or busted as Chilean ones. And I don't know about you, but to me, a busted old queen is just a better overall show.
We still managed to have a great time, though, since our wonderfully fun friend Victor came along and really perked things up. And when in good company, Lord only knows what kind of trouble you're bound to get into...
There were loads of performances and drag queens and trannies to boot.
(Yes, she's wearing Mickey Mouse ears and a variation of Cher's "If I Could Turn Back Time" outfit. She betta werk!)
In the end, I've got to say I had a really great time. Though Chile doesn't exactly have a liberal or socially progressive culture, we (as a crowd) were in no way bothered or mocked. There was a rally and call to action on various social issues such as equal marriage rights (there is currently a same sex marriage bill in congress, immediately drafted after it's passing in Argentina), there was a public kiss-in (yes, we participated) and the different LGBT groups were well represented. There were even a few advertisers.
When it comes to my personal opinion on the local gay life and scene, I infinitely prefer Santiago's to Buenos Aires'. Where BA's is much larger, Santiago's is more alive. BA has the activism, the clubs and the socially progressive culture, but it's not an open community. It's very cliquey and surprisingly closeted. Where in Santiago, since Chileans are so conservative, you are faced with two sharply contrasting sets of gays: The super-closeted and the super-rebellious.
Santiago has it's own gay neighborhood, Bellas Artes, which is it's own little Chelsea or Castro, as opposed to BA which only has 'gay-friendly' stores and restaurants, all of which are scattered around the city. Chilean gays are much friendlier and easy to meet. Go to a club in Buenos Aires, all the locals are huddled in little groups of 3 or 4. You'd be lucky to find a hook-up. Go to a club in Santiago, the little groups are there, but if contact is made it won't be hard to strike up a conversation and eventually take a boy home ;) Plus, the music in BA is pretty hardcore electronica, while in Santiago they favor Pop music and don't shy away from classic disco or 80's dance music (I have a particularly fond memory of dancing to Aqua's Barbie Girl).
I suppose it becomes a matter of taste. Take the drag queens and trannies for instance. Argentina and Brazil are the land of the flawless trannies. But, they're nowhere near as entertaining or funny... or busted as Chilean ones. And I don't know about you, but to me, a busted old queen is just a better overall show.
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