A Month of Hispanic Talent, Culture and LGBT Pride
September 4-October 3, 2015
Celebrate Orgullo, produced by Unity Coalition|Coalición Unida (UC|CU), is South Florida’s only Hispanic LGBT pride festival, and the festivities are in their fifth anniversary year this year. As a result, the celebration, which welcomed over 25,000 people last year, will last an entire month and expand and offer more events than ever before.
The very first event which will kick off a month of pride celebrations for South Florida’s Hispanic community is the Leaders, Legends and Lovelies Ball on September 4. The Legends Ball celebrates “the good, positive and outstanding within our LGBT community.” At this event, the Legends Honors will be given to allies of the LGBT community in South Florida. For more information on date, location and tickets, visit unitycoalition.org.
The month of events continues with Orgullo ARTNights at The Betsy South Beach. Overjoyed by the large turnout for the Jazz at The Betsy events last year, the Celebrate Orgullo team has expanded the jazz nights to feature live music performances, featured art from local LGBT artists, and spoken-word poetry performances. EnVEE, Rick Jazzed, Rolando Polo and others will be featured performers at these special nights. The Betsy will be hosting Orgullo Art Nights at 8 p.m. on Sept. 16, 23 and 30. All of these events are free and open to the public.
There will also be an artists’ showcase hosted by the LGBT Visitor Center, featuring artist Marcelo Holzinger, with an opening reception on Friday, September 11. This event, which will be free to attend, will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at 1130 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach.
The Betsy South Beach will host an LGBT writers’ forum, with well-known Hispanic LGBT authors from all over the world will come to South Florida and talk about their works with their fans. E.E. Charlton-Trujillo, Caridad Moro-McCormick, Johnny Diaz, Carlos Pintado, Jose Ingacio Valenzuela and others will be part of the week-long writers’ forum, which will include Q&A sessions, readings and workshops, all led by author and moderator Pablo Cartaya. The writers will also participate in the Writers’ Pavilion during the Celebrate Orgullo Carnaval festival on Saturday, October 3.
“Our partnership with Unity Coaltion|Coalición Unida is an important part of The Betsy’s programming in the LGBT space,” said Betsy owner Jonathan Plutzik. “This year our Orgullo Literary program invites high school students from regional GSAs (Gay Student Associations) to read, and presents a Festival workshop by one of the country’s leading Young Adult Writers, E.E. Charlton-Trujillo, winner of the prestigious Stonewall Award,” he said
The centerpiece event, ORGULLO Carnaval, will be held on Saturday, October 3. Before the big day, there will be a VIP and media reception at The Betsy South Beach at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 30. The Celebrate Orgullo organizers are excited to announce that their annual Carnaval will be held for the very first time at Miami’s Museum Park (1075 Biscayne Blvd.), just off the MacArthur Causeway. Thousands of people will descend on Museum Park at 10 a.m., when the festival opens. An all-day event, Carnaval goes on until 9 p.m.
There will be two stages featuring local and international entertainment acts, including Giovanni Falchetti, EnVee, Victor Valdez, Rego, Veronica Vergara, Abigail Pereira, Diana y Dela, Yukioh, DC Cruz, DJ Citizen Jane, DJ Reddy, DJ Jorge G, DJ Nancy Starr, MC Marco Perez, MC Jessica Lane, Justice Divine, and many more.
There is also a special cultural exchange delegation from the Dominican Republic of volunteers and performers who will be participating this year. “We have been working for months with this amazing group to make this exchange happen. We are thrilled to welcome our Caribbean brothers and sisters to Miami’s Celebrate ORGULLO Festival,” added event director Herb Sosa.
There will be over 80 booth spaces operated by sponsors and community partners, and new this year are the Pavilions. The Cultura (Culture) pavilion will provide an amazing schedule of art and artists in a casual setting. The Writers’ Pavilion will bring the best of the literary world together for workshops and readings. Thirdly, the ELEVATE Pavilion brings UC|CU’s successful programming of “A Day of Being Nicer” to the Carnaval – with programming on health, wellness, spirituality and more. UC|CU also brings back their “Kiki Ball” – a celebration of runway and ballroom dancing, from noon to 3 p.m. Are you a ballroom star? Strike a pose and vogue! There will be STD education and testing, free lunch and refreshments at the Kiki Tent for all interested participants.
Hotspots Media Group, including Hotspots Magazine, Genre Latino, and Mark’s List, is proud to be a media sponsor of Celebrate Orgullo. Other community partners include COMCAST, the Miami Herald, Palette, EDGE Media, Ambiente Magazine, The BETSY-South Beach, Jackson Health, AeroMexico, Miami-Dade County’s Office of Cultural Affairs, The Miami Foundation, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Jack Daniels, Hiro Sake, Tequila Herradura, Hot Flyers, CP Productions, Printers Cove, House of Starz, and more. If you are interested in participating in Celebrate Orgullo, there are still sponsorship opportunities and booths available. Visit celebrateorgullo.com/sponsors.html for more information.
For more information on Celebrate Orgullo, visit celebrateorgullo.com. For more information on Unity Coalition, visit unitycoalition.org.
