DisneyWorld likes to bill itself as The Happiest Place on Earth, and there are those who think South Beach is The Gayest Place on Earth. DisneyWorld has had Gay Day for years, but, despite Miami Beach's long, proud history of being a gay-friendly town--even passing a law recognizing domestic partnerships--the city has never hosted a Pride festival.
Huh? What? Huh?
When Carlos and I lived in South Florida, we attended many Pride events......in Palm beach....Ft. Lauderdale....Key West....but never in Miami.
So I was pleased to hear that just last Saturday, Ocean Drive was alive with Rainbow flags and go-go boys, dancing shirtless men from Twist, cars hanging banners saying ''Marriage is a Civil Right,'' and the Miami Gay Men's Chorus singing "Over the Rainbow." However, there was also something a little different about South Beach Pride.
Legacy Couples. Gay couples who had been together twenty-plus years had their own float in the parade, showing all of South Florida, and the world, that even without marriage, gay couple are committed to one another.
One half of one such couple, George Volpe is having a birthday this week. He'll celebrate his 89th birthday with his partner, of 65 years, Peter Santangelo. Sixty-five years! Few "traditional" marriages last that long. But there is one other difference; because of who he loved, and the times in which he was living, Volpe never told his family he was gay. He wasn't allowed the simple act of proclaiming his love, and marrying the man he loved.
"It was like `don't ask, don't tell,' '' says Santangelo. "It was voodoo then. It was a curse. Not like it is now.''
I like the idea of the Legacy Couples, because the gay community isn't just buttless chaps and go-go boys, dykes on bikes and drag queens. We are all that and more; we are everything and then some. Married. Single. Partnered. Out. In. Drag Queen. Leathermen. Poofters and wankers.
And it's all good. We aren't one thing, and we aren't the "other."
On Saturday, Volpe and Santangelo held hands and waved to the crowds from the back seat of a convertible cruising down Ocean Drive during the city's inaugural Gay Pride parade. They were one of many ''legacy couples'' to participate in the parade.
And here are others.
That is so cool. My cousin sent me a story a while back about a couple who had met in the Army in WWII. Obviously, they couldn't be out back then, but they are still together. Isn't that something?
ReplyDeleteHugs, Beth
Very cool post - me and mine are working on 18 years this year.
ReplyDeleteMaybe one day we'll be up there.