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Mario Canedo, Prevention Specialist, organizes first Latino Gay Pride
CAMP KC - Latino Gay Pride: Once Solely a Feeling, It's Now an Event
August 27, 2009
by Bradley Osborn
www.campkc.com
All are welcome to the Sept. 12 celebration in Hyde Park. Entertainment? Education? Soccer and volleyball? Yes, those are all part of the plan.
Starting with a simple idea – celebrating community – Mario Canedo decided to plan the area’s first Orgullo Latino or Latino Gay Pride. Setting it for Saturday, Sept. 12, in Hyde Park, Canedo hopes to bring together Kansas City’s LGBT Latinos and the wider community for an afternoon of fun, family and togetherness.
Running from 1 to 7 p.m., Orgullo Latino will feature soccer (fútbol) and volleyball, deejay-spun music, entertainment and education about LGBT issues. Everyone will be welcomed at the free event. Bring your own lawn chair, blanket and snacks. No alcohol will be permitted on the premises.
Latino Gay Pride falls just before Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15) and a few weeks before National Latino AIDS Awareness Day, which is Oct. 15. Other cities around the country have large, well-attended Latino gay prides. The first effort in Kansas City will be smaller and more intimate but have a similar cultural feeling as those in bigger metros.
The line-up for Kansas City’s Orgullo Latino includes Latin drag performances, reggaetón singer VG and the salsa dance group of Esteban Garcia, with more artists yet to confirm. Deejays will spin throughout the day, and other entertainment might include salsa dancing lessons, baile folklórico (folk dancing) and games for both kids and adults.
This event is about inviting members of a traditionally closeted, sometimes linguistically and culturally isolated community to come out and be themselves. All are welcome to attend. Come, hang out and make some new Latino friends.
Organizer Canedo works as a community prevention specialist at Good Samaritan Project (GSP) and is GSP’s point man on Latino outreach. He is also a late-night radio host for La Super X 1250 AM, where he often talks about sex and how to do it safely. Earlier this year, Canedo organized the first Latino team for AIDS Walk Kansas City, and Orgullo Latino will likely have a strong underlying prevention message.
If you’d like more information about Orgullo Latino, want to volunteer your time, help with entertainment or promotion, make in-kind or monetary donations or set up information tables for your organization at the event, please contact Canedo at somoskc@yahoo.com
Orgullo Latino (Latino Gay Pride)
1-7 p.m. Sept. 12, 2009
Hyde Park (median of Gillham Road and 37th Street), Kansas City, Mo.