Elliot Loves: A Dominican-American boy comes of age in New York

Yesterday, The Hollywood Reporter said that Mythgarden and Funny Boy Films are teaming up to produce a gay coming-of-age story called "Elliot Loves" (Funny Boy Films has previously released "The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me," "Later Days" and "Adam & Steve" while Mythgarden counts Queer as Folk's Robert Gant and Chad Allen as partners).

What might set aside this film from all those other gay coming of age films is that it takes a look at the Dominican community in New York and also has a Dominican-born man at the helm.

According to the Reporter, the film "chronicles two stages of a Dominican-American youth's life - first as a 9-year old struggling to build a relationship with his young mother - then as a 21-year old looking for love in New York" The article also says that it will be the full-feature directorial debut for Terracino (pictured), a Dominican-born filmmaker, who might be best known a short film called "My Polish Waiter" which is featured in "The Best of Boys in Love." He also wrote the screenplay.

It will be a while until it reaches the screen though as principal photography is only slated to begin in New York this July.

[Photo credit: Taken from the Film Festival Today's look at the July 2005 New York International Film Festival]

Another Latino gay man murdered

Alfredo Gonzalez, a friend, alerted me to yet another murder of a Latino gay man in this city:

On Saturday, afraid that something was wrong when his boyfriend Oswaldo Hernández did not return his calls, Julio Torres made his way from New Jersey to Oswaldo's apartment in Washington Heights. He called 911 when nobody answered the knocks on the door. When police arrived and entered the apartment, El Diaro La Prensa reports that the police found the 51 year old hair dresser "stabbed 12 times in the chest and neck, laying in his bathtub at 560 W 183rd Street around 11:22 at night." Nothing had been stolen.

A neighbor says that he saw Mr. Torres crying and shaken up after seeing the body of his lover "covered by a blanlet and shielding his face with his hands and lifted elbows." (The New York Times actually reports that Mr. Torres made his way into the apartment before the police got there and that the killer might have "escaped through a rear window and dropped approximately 12 feet to the ground").

According to Alfredo, the neighbor collected enough money to bury Mr. Hernández on Sunday - though attempts to reach his family in Venezuela failed (rumors are that Mr. Hernández was Colombian but that his family lived in Venezuela).

Neigbors said that the burial mass was "amazing" and that women "grabbed on to Mr. Hernández body and spoke to him, men cried... many were dressed in white as is common in [the religious tradition of] Santería, many proclaimed that Mr. Hernández had saved their marriage [through his advice] and spoke of other favors he had given them."

Neighbors also said that as the hearse went by the neighborhood people waited for it to pass, some with flowers, others crying out loud.

According to Alfredo, "I think this contradicts and complicates the stereotypical ideas about homophobia in Latino communities."

Rumors also indicate that police have caught the murderer(s) but so far I have not seen any reports corroborating this fact. I'll run updates if they come my way.

Dancing in the Park

So today Gay City News published a couple of the photos I took at the Gay and Lesbian Dominican Empowerment Organization (GALDE)'s annual picnic back on July 31st, 2005. The weather was as glorious as it had been in previous years (sunny, mid-80's) and the turn-out seemed, at least to me, higher as well. Unfortunately I was only able to get there as things were winding down and missed most all the (usually) outstanding performances.

For all the June gay pride hoopla in New York this continues to be my favorite annual event. The backdrop of the George Washington Bridge is certainly magnificent but it's the reggaeton, bachata and salsa blasting from the speakers that truly gives it that special kick. It helps that, even after 15th years, most people in New York don't know about it. The result? An event that draws from 500 to 1,000 people that still manages to feel like a family picnic. My hats off to GALDE and all their volunteers for another great weekend.