Who could forget the look on Drake’s face when Madonna kissed him onstage at Coachella last year? That look, equal parts confusion and disgust, represented what many around the world were feeling as they watched safely through their computer screens. Thirty years into a career of highs and lows, there’s not much Madonna can do that…
Pride Center and Big Brothers Big Sisters seek youth mentors
Pride Center San Antonio and Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Texas are seeking mentors for a new, site-based joint mentoring group for LGBT youth. The program is looking for individuals who “live successful ‘out’ and ‘proud’ LGBTQ lives.” In an announcement, Pride Center officials say the joint program with Big Brothers Big Sisters is…
Moving Forward: Cynthia Nelson’s Vision for SAAF
“I’m happy to be out there and say that SAAF is alive and well.” As the San Antonio AIDS Foundation prepares for its 30th anniversary in 2016, the organization announced in October the appointment of its new president, Cynthia Nelson. Founded in the back of a gay bar by Robert “Papa Bear” Edwards in 1986,…
San Antonio AIDS Foundation at a Crossroads
Nearly 30 years ago, Robert “Papa Bear” Edwards started the San Antonio AIDS Foundation (SAAF) in the back of a gay bar. From those humble beginnings, the organization has flourished, and now appears to be ready for another growth spurt under newly hired president Cynthia Nelson. However, for Edwards and some supporters, that growth has…
Psychotherapist helps school district address needs of LGBT students
A San Antonio psychotherapist is working with counselors at a local school district to help address the needs of its LGBT students. Darrell Garcia Parsons confirmed to Out In SA that he has been retained by the Alamo Heights Independent School District to present a two-hour training on January 6 to the district’s counselors. Among…
Bounce into 2016 with Big Freedia
New Orleans-based bounce artist Big Freedia, aka the Queen Diva, is hosting a New Year’s Day party at Paper Tiger. Since gaining national recognition via appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live and Last Call with Carson Daly, Big Freedia — a gay man who favors female pronouns but does not identify as transgender — has been spearheading the…
2015 in Review: Honorable & Dishonorable Mentions
HONORABLE MENTIONS Julian Castro’s continuing support of LGBT equality When he was mayor, Julian Castro championed changes to the city’s nondiscrimination ordinance to include LGBT protections. Now that he’s Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Castro has continued to voice his support for LGBT issues. In October, Castro addressed the HRC Foundation board of directors…
2015 in Review: Top ten local news stories
1) San Antonio celebrates marriage equality There was joyous celebration in the Alamo City on June 26, the day the Supreme Court made marriage equality a reality. There were church nuptuals and downtown wedding parties jammed the halls of the Bexar County Courthouse. There was a rally in Main Plaza and a block party on…
2015 in Review: A year in the life of LGBT SA
A select month-by-month recap of stories about our community reported here and elsewhere in 2015. JANUARY Cornyation’s Robert Rehm dies There is no adequate way to document the contributions that Robert Rehm made to the San Antonio theater community, his former students at Jefferson High School’s Fine Arts Magnet Academy, and Cornyation, where he was…
FDA’s new policy on blood donations still discriminatory
After a year-long discussion, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced last week it would lift the 32-year-old lifetime ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood. The new regulations allow men who have sex with men (MSM) to donate blood as long as they have abstained from sex for a period of 12…