El Paso Sun City Pride held a block party on June 8 in front of Cleveland Park as part of their 7th annual pride week. Attendants were able to enjoy talent shows, art, music and food.
Hundreds of attendants made their way downtown to enjoy an evening of activities and promote awareness of the LGBT community in El Paso. Multiple organizations had booths set up that promoted voter registration, opportunities for internships and scholarships, art and the importance of having representation in the community.
Aaron Waggoner, community project member, said these events and projects are about representation and creating a visual of the community for the rest of the city.
Waggoner is a UTEP doctoral student in history of the borderlands and is also working with Brenda Risch, assistant professor and director of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program, on a project that will document the photography, literature and testimonials of LGBT individuals in El Paso and Ciudad Juárez.
According to Waggoner, the UTEP Women Studies Program has been involved with the LGBT community, and next year’s pride week will kickoff the opening of the exhibit at the Centennial Museum.
“This project will be a reflection of a community that had been disregarded by the community leaders,” Waggoner said. “There are plenty of people of power who do not respect (Risch’s) work or ours. There is strong institutional biases in the community.”
He also pointed out that UTEP was not a sponsor of the event, but El Paso Community College was.
During the event, four scholarships were awarded to one absent recipient, two college students including Waggoner and one high school senior, Sylvia Turnan.
Turnan is a student- at Andress High School and identifies herself as a lesbian. She explained that she applied for the scholarship because she plans on attending the nursing program at New Mexico State University.
As a requirement, Turnan wrote three essays and in one included the memory of her deceased friend who took his own life. No one knew that he was being bullied, she said.
According to Turnan, her friend was being picked on because of his sexual orientation and it hurt her to lose her friend.
“Sometimes we feel alone,” she said. “That is why we have to celebrate who we are.”
Fernie Morales, sophomore digital media production major explained that the events are so that members of the LGBT can celebrate and be in a safe zone.
He said that aside from the annual pride week, many of the members feel comfortable at clubs where they gather together. He said that the LGBT community will be able to carry itself more openly very soon.
Rene Fernandez, sophomore marketing major said that the events are about inclusion.
“People need to recognize that it’s important for individuals to be themselves,” Fernandez said.
He said that participants need to know their health status and need to go through HIV testing.
He also said that M Factor, an organization part of the HIV Prevention program in El Paso’s Department of Public Health, sponsored movie night. M Factor has been a participant in the pride week’s events and has provided 60-second HIV tests for attendants.
Aaron Montes may be reached at [email protected]
