Unstoppable!

It is often said whenever gay people converge it rains. Not on the day the Toronto Pride was held. In fact, rainbows adorned the streets and every nook and cranny of Toronto. Not a drop of rain fell on the week long celebration. The event was celebrating its 27th year and carried an apt theme: “Unstoppable!”

Fantabulous as ever, organizers of the event made sure that all corners of the world knew what’s at stake in the annual event. Even public officials, members of the different clergies, and other sectors of Canadian society participated in the celebration. It was a worthy endeavor. After posting a challenging theme last year, “Fearless,” this year’s celebration garnered a lot of praise. Other groups carried the banner, “We will not be silenced!” Probably their attention was always called because they cannot keep their mouth shut (literally and figuratively).

PRIDE, it is said, evolved as a mass protest after the 1981 Toronto bathhouse raids. Today, it is a yearly celebration being looked forward to not only by the LGBT community but also by the media and people around the world. Toronto is one of the cities in the world that has a big LGBT population. What’s comforting is the government of Toronto recognizes and supports the LGBT community and their programs. Even Mayor David Miller joined the parade, dancing and waving to the crowd, without admonition that he might be suspected as a closeted queen. That didn’t worry him as he looked every inch a man. That is why Miller is admired by the LGBT community. Unlike, perhaps, of other politicians in the Philippines who are still in the closet and would book the next flight for abroad if invited to participate in such events.

The highlight of the event was the Pride Parade which routed along Yonge, Gerrard and Bloor streets. It was a stellar success. Even if the afternoon heat almost roasted the crowd, nobody complained. Gay people flooded the streets. You name it – butch, bears, femmes, transsexuals, transvestites, queens, handsome gays and gays whose faces only their mothers could appreciate looking at. No one can deny that the gay community is the finest of the human species.

Not missing the event was the Philippine delegation. The Filipino gay divas paraded the streets with gusto, wearing their splendid costumes with flare and majesty. One would suspect that they were wearing the gowns they wore in gay beauty pageants at home. As we all know, every town and barangay has their own gay beauty pageants. You can be sure that it would be the same candidates who participated in another barangay’s gay beauty contest; although they’d carry another pseudonym, primarily of stars and beauty queens. Or were the gowns they wore in the parade “stolen” from their sisters’ or mothers’ baul?

At hotel lobbies, the gay men came and went, talking about Michael and Angelo. Later they’d shift to a more operant discourse, like “should we invite Adam and Steve too?” Then they’d head to Church St. to look at the nameless yet eager faces in the crowd.

At Church St., where the action shifted after the parade, the gay men’s eyes communicated with reformulated phrase, taking cues from past experiences. But the motive was the same – to enjoy life’s bounty as it may not happen again.In the morning the streets became a virtual ghost town. One would wonder - where did everybody go? Well, perhaps, the gay men were still in bed, exhausted and sore, but with insatiable smiles on their faces.