community A SPOTLIGHT ON DIVERSITY
DTLA PROUD FESTIVAL
by tim parks The non-profit organization is definitely all about
reflecting that sanguinity. Their mission statement says, “We are committed to celebrating everyone’s story, spreading optimism, growing our community and expanding our definition of diversity.” How do they go about making that a reality? “When we do something, we want to make sure that we use those filters. When we’re choosing who we partner with, those are the four things that you have to be able to address,” offered Alpuche. “If you look at how we program our Main Stage, we use it as a platform for the queer community to showcase their talents to the larger LGBTQ audience. A lot of queer artists don’t have that opportunity and that’s how we use our mission statement to insure how we come to life at the festival. It’s one stage, one group learning from each other, showcasing the different cultures and people,” Alpuche opined. “The LGBTQ community is such a special group, it bypasses any race, religion or country, because we are part of every possible community out there.” Aside from the food, folks and fun aspects of DTLA
There was a time when Downtown Los Angeles
(DTLA) was let’s say, well “sketchy” is the word that springs to mind. That has most definitely changed however, as its hipper incarnation is nothing short of an architectural wonder and a sight to behold with classic buildings enjoying a makeover, with shops and restaurants galore and three newer gay bars in the heart of the city: Precinct DTLA, Bar Mattachine and Redline. The DTLA Proud Festival came into
being three years ago as a celebra- tion of the area, its long history as a gathering place and to shine a spotlight on the true diversity within our community. The three-day event, offers the community a place to gather with offerings of music, food and wares to buy. The Rage Monthly spoke with
“DTLA Proud was formed by a group of people
WE’RE IN THE PROCESS RIGHT NOW OF FIGUR- ING OUT HOW WE CAN
IT WOULD FOLLOW THE SAME MISSION STATE- MENT AS THE FESTIVAL BUT WOULD GIVE US
A PLATFORM TO DO IT YEAR-ROUND.”
DTLA Proud Festival Founder and President Oliver Alpuche, owner of Redline, about the genesis of the festival and where he sees it heading.
in Downtown L.A. who wanted to showcase what was happening here,” he explained. “It was a year after three new gay bars opened up and we all know each other, support each other and help each other out. Along with other community members, we wanted to do something like a block party and show that Downtown was an open and accepting community.” Alpuche let us in on how the
OPEN UP A DTLA PROUD COMMUNITY CENTER.
festival differentiates itself from L.A. Pride, “We put it in August, because we didn’t want to compete with other Prides, especially L.A. Pride. We wanted to create something unique,” he said. “One of our inspirations was Market Days in Chicago, because it’s more local, community-oriented, with local shops and vendors coming
to the streets. We don’t have huge themes and it’s not a music festival. Downtown is still growing and we’re trying to make sure it’s an all-inclusive, growing com- munity where everyone treats people with respect.”
Proud, Alpuche also extolled the virtues of having an Artist Alley. It gives voice to stories that need to be told in a number of creative mediums, as well as highlighting queer-run businesses. “We try to partner with local queer artists and vendors to create this LGBTQ flea market,” he explained, “an area for you to sell your goods, to showcase your art and talents without paying an arm and a leg.” Alpuche has some definite ideas about how he’d
like to see the spirit of the three-day event expanded to include the other 362 days to its calendar. “As we grow, I want to make sure that we stay true to our mission statement,” he stated. “We realized how special Downtown was and what the festival has meant to a lot of people.” “But, that’s just one weekend a year, what if we
could create something that lasted 365 days a year?” asked Alpuche. “We’re in the process right now of figuring out how we can open up a DTLA Proud Community Center. It would follow the same mission statement as the festival but would give us a platform to do it year-round.”
The DTLA Proud Festival takes place from Friday, August 24 through Sunday, August 26, at L.A.’s Pershing Square. Join them also on Monday, August 20 for the DTLA Proud Gala, honoring our DTLA Proud supporters, community leaders, elected officials, and sponsors.
For tickets and more information, go to
dtlaproud.org.
12
RAGE monthly | AUGUST 2018
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56
