ALEC MAPA
daddies swim with WeHo boys, jocks canoodle with twinks, and gay guys meet the ladies.” SummerTramp boasts two pools, colossal water slides, a wet and wild attitude, and numerous popular DJs and hosts. Access is free on Saturday and Sunday with L.A. Pride admis- sion. Swimwear, however minimal, is recommended. In light of its organizers’ commitment to “offering something for
everyone in our wonderfully multicultural community,” Latino Car- nival will also be making its debut this year. This brand-new dance experience on Saturday and Sunday will feature sexy Club Papi dancers as well as hot performers Ivy Queen, Andres Cuervo and Maria Jose. “Club Papi is super excited to be back at L.A. Pride after a five-year hiatus,” said Club Papi’s Jamie Awad. As if all this weren’t enough, L.A. Pride 2012 will have its usual
community-interest exhibitors, impromptu dance parties, model- worthy attendees in various states of undress, yummy food and drink offerings, and more fun in the sun at the Hip Hop and R&B Pavillion and Underground Dance area than one can shake their disco stick at. Not to forget you country and western afficianados, check out the Country Pavillion for some of L.A.’s best dancers, singers and DJs. Also returning this year is one of L.A. Pride’s more unique offerings, Erotic City, which hosts presentations about and even live demon- strations of various fetish and mainstream erotic practices. One must be 18 or older to visit. For tickets and complete information on the festival, events, parade, performers and all of the fun, go to
lapride.org.
AMERICA’S GAYSIAN SWEETHEART by chris carpenter
One can never be sure what’s going to emerge from Alec Mapa’s mouth/iPhone.
While negotiating an interview with the actor-comedian in conjunction with his headliner appearance at L.A. Pride on Sunday, June 10, I assured him I would be gentle (with my questioning, that is). He replied, “I never asked you to be gentle.” Mapa, for those of you who have been hiding under a rock the past 25 years, has
carved quite a name for himself in LGBT entertainment history. Since appearing in an ABC Afterschool Special in 1987 and succeeding B.D. Wong in the original Broad- way production of M. Butterfly the following year, Mapa continues to distinguish himself in the worlds of television, theatre and film. Perhaps best known for playing Vern, Gabrielle’s gay best friend, on the recently-
ended Desperate Housewives and imperious fashionista Suzuki St. Pierre on the late, great Ugly Betty, the Filipino-American Mapa has also appeared in such classic TV series as The Cosby Show, Friends and NYPD Blue as well as the mainstream, hit mov- ies You Don’t Mess with the Zohan and Marley & Me. Here’s my only slightly edited, rollicking, revealing conversation with the delight-
ful Mapa.
So, how did you dethrone B.D. Wong and George Takei as “America’s Gaysian Sweetheart?” (Laughing) I was the only one who showed up to accept the bou-
quet. I always kid George by telling him he should have come out 40 years ago if he wanted to be the queen. I love George, and he’s had an amazing career since coming out. I was actually doing a sitcom a few years back but was jetting off to a benefit somewhere. I’m always
JUNE 2012 | RAGE monthly 31
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