#Gary Alan Hidalgo

[garyalanhidalgo]

OG Pride Was Literally a Riot: Stonewall Inn, Resistance, & Our LGBTQ+ Sanctuaries

Kamusta, my fabulous friends, and HAPPY PRIDE MONTH! 🏳️‍🌈🎉✨

June is HERE! To celebrate, I’m posting on a hopefully laid-back Sunday instead of just another Manic Monday as usual (our new schedule). Can you believe today is June 1? There’s a definite glitter shimmering in the air, anthems proudly playing, and best of all, the marvellous buzz of community, celebration, and yes, righteous defiance (only a healthy dose). From my experiences of Prides past, it’s what makes this time of year so spectacularly inspiring.

Last month, I rolled out the relaunches of the refreshed GaryAlanHidalgo.com and my romcom novel  The Hotel Cairo (out now, btw) by dishing on everything from soaps to ageism to the radical act of love and laughter. We also received an introduction to the importance of queer sanctuaries. Without such places, the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement would have been a whole different story, a sadder one. As we welcome Pride Month worldwide this June, we have to start at a gay bar on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village, New York City: The Stonewall Inn.

Before the Rainbows, There Was Resistance

Before the rainbow flags, the loud and proud parades, and the legalization of same-sex marriage equality (which has Stonewall to thank too), we can’t forget that the first Pride was a riot. The Stonewall Inn (popularly known as Stonewall) had a whole other life before four mafiosos linked with the Genovese crime family reopened it as a gay bar in early 1967. Despite bribes from the owners, it couldn’t secure a liquor license and therefore operated as a private club. As it became a popular hangout with young gay men and other queer characters, outsiders found more and more reason to harass it. It all came to a head in late June 1969 after one such unwarranted invasion. 

Per The Stonewall Inn website, “...one steamy summer night in 1969…” in NYC during an era when being out was illegal, Stonewall Inn was so reviled by polite society and the authorities that the Mafia ran it since no legitimate business owners would dare. Nevertheless, queer folks embraced it. It was one of the few places they could meet with some freedom. That didn’t mean this sanctuary was left in peace. Far from it, police raids were frequent and often violent. Every visit was intended to shame and terrorize its queer patrons during and even after they “visited.” The harassment didn’t stop with being arrested, customer names were also published in newspapers, so they’d lose their jobs, ruin their reputations, and ultimately, destroy their lives.

By that fateful night of June 28 when the riots began, Stonewall’s LGBTQ+ patrons, including gay men, butch lesbians, street kids, drag queens, trans women of color had enough not just of the police raiding one more time but ALL OF IT! Instead of fleeing law enforcement like usual, this time, these marginalized of the marginalized, fought back. The streets around the inn erupted in protests while they clashed with cops. In no way was it planned. It was rage built up over long-term bullying that finally spilled out. More importantly, it was a demand that queer people be allowed to gather in peace, be left with their dignity, to simply exist without fear. And LGBTQ+ folk are ever-resilient. The Stonewall riots lasted for six days from June 28 to July 3, 1969.

No matter what its customers personally thought about Stonewall Inn, it was a queer sanctuary: their sanctuary. No wonder they defended it with their lives, which is what the Stonewall rioters surely thought was at risk. But it was more than defending the building but shouting “NO MORE!” to being treated as less than human. Hopefully, you can likewise appreciate that bigger picture as we celebrate Pride Month again, not just at 53 Christopher Street, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, USA, but fifty-six years later, on a global scale. That first proud “NO MORE!” that steamy, Saturday night was the spark that ignited the flame of the modern queer rights movement long before today’s pageantry and anthems. 

Sanctuaries Then & Now: From Stonewall to The Hotel Cairo to Fantabulous!

There’s no better proof our community needs its sanctuaries than Stonewall. Places where we can be our authentic selves without judgement and safely are a thread that runs throughout LGBTQ+ history. It’s also a theme I love exploring in my fiction, whether it’s The Hotel Cairo where the new hotel manager, Fabian Flores, wants to sell his passionate “Love is Welcome Here” initiative to anti-love co-owner, Hughie Roman or the upcoming new mystery series, Fantabulous! itself set in a 90s gay bar. Both represent very different queer sanctuaries likewise invaded by uncaring, ignorant forces that end in protest and unfortunately, violence. Nevertheless, both were built out of the desire for a space where love, in all its forms, can breathe freely. Spoilers ahead! Nuff said!

“Let the lovers go.” Mayor Blair stuffed bills leisurely in Hughie’s underwear, then Hunky Hector’s. “They may not be into public displays of affection, but have become rather horny thanks to you, gentlemen. Better they get a room soon. God knows there are plenty of vacancies at the Hotel Cairo.” “The Hotel Cairo is doing just fine,” Hughie said. “Fabian has big plans for its future.” “I apologize for running off at the mouth.” He laughed. “You must be very invested in your hotel. Among other things.” Fabian had overheard Hughie defend him to the mayor. Before he could thank him, James pulled him to the middle of the dance floor as a slow couples-only eighties song took over. “It’s Careless Whisper, one of my all-time favorites,” James said. “We probably won’t get to dance to this until our wedding.” “Wedding?” Fabian felt his bladder loosen. “You’re pale as a ghost. I didn’t intend to frighten you. I meant we’re the grown-ups. When will we get the chance to dance again? At least in public.” “I need to tell you something.” It was time to own up to kissing not just another man but Hughie. Things were already moving too quickly for him to postpone. James was already planning the first dance at their wedding. If the truth meant being dumped again, then Fabian deserved to be hurt. “I-I …” “You?” James held him tighter as they swayed to George Michael’s wounded voice. “I love you,” he said matter-of-factly as he watched Hughie and Barry disappear into the office. “He loves me,” James shouted at his out-of-the-blue declaration. “Everyone, Fabian Flores said he loves me.” Everyone inside the Casablanca clapped and cheered. Deep down, Fabian always knew they had no future.

I cheated! While this scene is in The Hotel Cairo, it does not take place at the Hotel Cairo but the Casablanca, an alleged gay bar in the same conservative town and state of the titular queer sanctuary-to-be. As one protesting resident compared ominously:

“His uncle lies with man too,” the Hell woman piously growled. “The Hotel Cairo is Sodom, and the Casablanca is Gomorrah. Our town will suffer rape, cultic prostitution, male prostitution, and pederasty.”

With such pious growling in their ears daily, the local queer community need more than one safe space to gather their thoughts and feel safe with their chosen family. The characters in both The Hotel Cairo (navigating the post-2015 marriage equality and gay divorcee world) and Fantabulous! (confronting a 90s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and Matthew Shepard reality) mirror a quieter, everday type of resistance as well. Like you, they’re simply living their truths, seek connection, choose their families, and find love and laughter in a world that denies us what everyone else takes for granted. Thanks to our courage, we build communal and personal sanctuaries we fight to protect.

Pride is Still About That Fight

I first heard about Pride in the late-90s. It certainly was a must-attend celebration in West Hollywood where streets were closed for the main parade (Santa Monica Blvd. bye bye) as well as other epic events that were equally educational and strictly entertainment. I knew it was about being proud of who I was (finally!) and for the LGBTQ+ community as a whole. However, I didn’t know about Stonewall, which was the name of a lesbian bar where a friend took me to play pool. Not THE Stonewall. While twenty-something me enjoyed being in a safe place rather than feel out of place as in my conservative hometown, I was too caught up in the newness of the experience to care about the hard-won freedoms we enjoyed even then. I’m sorry I didn’t investigate how Pride came to be or the name that inspired the bar. 

This Pride Month 2025, let’s remember the courage of those marginalized of the marginalized who shouted that first “NO More!” in queer history. Thank you! Now, every time we create a space where Love & Laughter grows, where queer history is remembered, and where authentic LGBTQ+ lives are seen and celebrated, we’re honoring the Stonewall spirit beyond June and Pride Month.

Join the Celebration & the Conversation!

The Hotel Cairo is Relaunched! If you haven't checked into Hughie and Fabian's world yet, now is the perfect time! Find it on Amazon KDP! 

What does "sanctuary" mean to you? Share your thoughts in the comments below or on social media!

Sign Up for the Newsletter: Get all the latest news, more history deep dives, and exclusives

Follow on Social Media: Let's keep the Pride spirit going all month long! I’m on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky.

Next Sunday's Topic: We'll be tracing the evolution of Pride from protest march to parade, and why visibility still matters so much!

Happy Pride, everyone! Let's make it a month of powerful remembrance and joyous resistance!

Love & Laughter,

Gary Alan Hidalgo

[gaybookpromotions]

Love's Not Welcome at the Hotel Cairo by Gary Alan Hidalgo

BOOK BLAST Book Title: Love’s Not Welcome at the Hotel Cairo Author and Publisher: Gary Alan Hidalgo Cover Artist: Ambhen Dacasin Release Date: May 6, 2023 Genres: Gay Romantic Comedy, Contemporary M/M Romance Tropes: May/December, Boss/Employee, Enemies to Lovers, Slow Burn Themes: Coming of age, Welcoming love at any age, Finding home Heat Rating:  2 flames Length: 158 553 words/561…

[joyffree]

Book Recommendation: Love's Not Welcome at the Hotel Cairo a Gay Romantic Comedy by Gary Alan Hidalgo

Love's Not Welcome at the Hotel Cairo by Gary Alan Hidalgo is a fast-paced slow-burn romantic comedy that has a bit of everything.

[holocron-inthe-restrictedsection]

The Star Wars family remembers Peter Mayhew

May 19, 1944 - April 30, 2019

Rest in Peace

May the Force be with you

[bluseum]

also why is everyone in the skellington book called [place name] [latin word] [adjective]

Derek very evidently names characters like any good lazy D&D player, random name generators and dictionaries. He doesn't seem to see a problem with

Abyssinia

Adam Brate

Adedayo Akinde

Adrasdos

Adrian Sykes

Adrienna Shade

Ajuoga

Alan

Alan (Boyle Solutions)

Alan Brennan

Alena Metz

Alesha Walsh

Alexander Remit

Alexander Slake

Alice Edgley

Aloysius Vespers

Amalia

Amity

Amity's Wife

Anathem Mire

The Ancients

Anguish

Anna

Annie Brennan

Anton Shudder

Arabella Wicked

Argeddion

Argento

Argus

Armiger Fop

Arthur Dagan

Ashione

Ashley Hubbard

Aspen

Assegai

Category:Assistants

Audoen

Auger Darkly

Aurnia

Auron Tenebrae

Aurora Jane

Category:Australians

Avatar

Avaunt

Axelia Lukt

Axle

Azzedine Smoke

Badstreet

Bagatelle

Baritone

Baron Vengeous

Bartholomew

Basher

Batu

The Beast

Bennet Troth

Benzel Travestine

Bernadette Maguire

Bernard Sult

Bertrand Solus

Beryl Edgley

Billy-Ray Sanguine

Binder Firm

Bison Dragonclaw

Black Annis

Boiler

Brennock

Brides of Blood Tears

Bridget

Brobding

Brock

Bruno

Bubba Moon

Burgundy Dalrymple

The Butcher

Byron Grace

Cadaver Cain

Cadaverous Gant

Caelan

Caisson

Caius Caviler

Cameron Light

Cark

Carol Edgley

Carol Edgley (Reflection)

Cassandra Pharos

Caste

Cathy

Cathy (The Button)

Category:Cats

Cerise

Ceryen

Cerys

Charivari

Charlie Smith

Child of the Faceless

China Sorrows

China's Assistant

China's Grandmother

Chrissy Brennan

Christophe Nocturnal

Civet

Clagge

Clarabelle

Cleaver

Clement Gale

Clerihew Montgomery

Coda Quell

Colleen Stint

Collup

Colm Muldoon

Conor Delaney

Corrival Deuce

Cothernus Ode

Crab

Craddock Sirroco

Crasher

Crepuscular Vies

Creyfon Signate

Crystal Edgley

Cu na Gealaí Duibhe

Dacanay

Daffyd Maybury

Dai Maybury

Daisy

Damocles Creed

Danny

Darian Vector

Darquesse

Dasher

Daveth Maybury

Davina Marr

Davit Maybury

Davon Maybury

Deacon Maybury

Death Monkey

Dedrich Wahrheit

Delafonte Mien

Desmond Edgley

Destrier

Detective Harris

Devoted

Dexter Vex

Dicer

Dima

Dionysus Pertinax

Doctor Whorl

Donegan Bane

Doran Purcell

Dragunov

Dreylan Scarab

Dubhóg Ni Broin

Duenna

The Dullahan

Dusk

Eachan Meritorious

Eamon Campbell

Eamon Pearce

Ed Stynes

Eddie Sullivan

Edgley Tempest

Edwina

Eliza Scorn

Elsie O'Brien

Elwood Satchel

Emmeline Darkly

Emmett Peregrine

Category:End of the World characters

Category:Energy-Throwers

The Engineer

Ephraim Tungsten

Erskine Ravel

Esryn Vanguard

Etta Faulkner

Evoric Cudgel

Faceless Ones

Father Reynolds

Fergus Edgley

Ferrente Rhadaman

Filament Sclavi

Finbar Wrong

Fintan Muldoon

Flaring

Fletcher Renn

Flint

Forby

Frightening Jones

Gall

Gary Price

Gavin Praetor

Ged

Category:Generals

Geoffrey Scrutinous

Gepard

Gepard Voke

Geraint Mizzle

Gerontius

Ghastly Bespoke

Ghastly Bespoke's father

Ghastly Bespoke's mother

Gladys

Glass

Gleeman Shakespeare

Gordon Edgley

Grace Kelly

Gracious O'Callahan

Graft

Gratio Erato

Gregory Castallan

Gregory Day

Greta Dapple

Griff

Grim

The Grotesquery

Gruesome Krav

Habergeon

Hansard Kray

Hapathy

Harmony

Hayley Skirmish

Hidalgo Bolt

Hieronymus Deadfall

Hoc

Hokum Pete

Hollow Men

Hopeless

Horts

The Hound

Hrishi

Hutchinson

Ian Moore

Ieni

Illori Reticent

Imogen

Infected

Isara

Isidora Splendour

Ivy

Jack Irons

Jackie Earl

Jajo Prave

James Hubbard

Jaron Gallow

Jason Randal

Jasper

Jenan Ispolin

Jeremiah Wallow

Jerry Houlihan

Jerry Ordain

Jethro

The Jitter Girls

Johann Starke

Joost

Kaiven

Kallista Pendragon

Kalvin Accord

Karrik

Kase

Kathryn Ether

Keir Tanner

Keith

Kenny Dunne

Kenspeckle Grouse

Keratin

Kes

Kierre of the Unveiled

Kiln

Kimora

Kitana Kellaway

Korb

Kribu

Krull

Kumo

Laken Cross

Lamour

Lapse

Larks

Larrikin

Lenka Bazaar

Levitt

Liam Muldoon

Lightning Dave

Lillian Agog

Lily

Lord Vile

Lorenzo Mult

Lorien

Luciana

Luke Skywalker

Madame Mist

Madcap Fenton

Magenta

Mahala

Maksy

Mandat

Mantis

Martin Flanery

Master

Maverick Reels

Melancholia St Clair

Melissa Edgley

Mellifluous Golding

Memphis

Mercy Charient

Merriwyn Hyphenate-Bash

Metric

Mevolent

Midnight Blue

Militsa Gnosis

Minion One and Minion Two

Mirk

Misery

Miss Nuncio

Moloch

Moribund

Mortal

Morven

Morwenna Crow

Mr Chou

Mr. Bliss

Mr. Fedgewick

Mr. Jib

Mud

Mulct

Murder Rose

Muriel Hubbard

Myosotis Terra

Myra

Myron Stray

Nathanial Quiver

Nefarian Serpine

Nero

Nestor Tarry

Never

Nixion

Nj Maverick

Noche

Noonan

Nye

Oberon Guile

Oblivious

Obloquy

Octa Gregorian Boona

October Klein

Odetta

Ogre

Oisin

Omen Darkly

Operative

Oscar Nightfall

Owen

Palaver Graves

Parthenios Lilt

Pat Hanratty

Patrick Slattery

Patrick Xebec

Paul Lynch

Paulie

Peg Muldoon

Pennant

Persephone Grief

Pete Green

Petrichor

Phil Lynott

Philomena Random

Ping

Portia

To name a few

[marhaba-maroc-algerie-tunisie]

List of FOREIGN Films shot in MOROCCO 🇲🇦

Many foreign films have been shot in Morocco. The first were by French film pioneer Louis Lumière Le chevrier Marocain . Orson Welles filmed his Othello there, which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. In 1955, Alfred Hitchcock directed The Man Who Knew Too Much, set in Marrakech and Casablanca, in 1962 David Lean shot the desert scenes of Lawrence of Arabia in Morocco. The following is a list of some films that were entirely or partially shot in Morocco:

1930: Morocco, directed by Josef von Sternberg, starred Marlene Dietrich and Gary Cooper

1951: Othello, directed by Orson Welles

1953: Flight to Tangier, directed by Charles Marquis Warren

1956: The Man Who Knew Too Much

1962: Lawrence of Arabia, starred Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif

1967: The Burning, directed by Stephen Frears, starring Mark Baillie and Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies

1967: Oedipus Rex, directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini, starred Franco Citti

1970: Patton, directed by Franklin Schaffner

1975: The Man Who Would Be King, directed by John Huston

1977: Jesus of Nazareth, directed by Franco Zeffirelli

1977: The Arms of Venus, directed by Mircea Drăgan[1]

1981: Rollover, directed by Alan Pakula, starred Jane Fonda

1985: Harem, directed by Arthur Joffé, starred Nastassja Kinski

1985: The Jewel of the Nile, directed by Lewis Teague, starred Michael Douglas

1987: The Living Daylights, directed by John Glen, starred Timothy Dalton and Maryam d'Abo

1988: The Last Temptation of Christ, directed by Martin Scorsese, starred Willem Dafoe

1989: Marrakech Express, directed by Gabriele Salvatores

1990: The Sheltering Sky, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, starred John Malkovich and Debra Winger

1994: Highlander III: The Sorcerer, directed by Andrew Morahan, starred Christopher Lambert

1997: Kundun, directed by Martin Scorsese

1998: Hamilton, directed by Harald Zwart

1998: Hideous Kinky (Marrakech Express)

1999: The Mummy, directed by Stephen Sommers, starred Brendan Fraser

2000: Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott, starred Russell Crowe

2000: Rules of Engagement, directed by William Friedkin, starred Tommy Lee Jones, Samuel L. Jackson and Guy Pearce

2001: Black Hawk Down, directed by Ridley Scott

2001: The Mummy Returns, directed by Stephen Sommers, starred Brendan Fraser

2001: Spy Game, directed by Tony Scott, starred Robert Redford and Brad Pitt

2002: Astérix et Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre (France), directed by Alain Chabat, starred Gérard Depardieu and Jamel Debbouze

2002: Live from Baghdad, directed by Mick Jackson, starred Michael Keaton

2004: Alexander, directed by Oliver Stone

2004: Exorcist: The Beginning, directed by Renny Harlin, starred Stellan Skarsgård

2004: Hidalgo, directed by Joe Johnston

2004: Les temps qui changent, directed by André Téchiné

2005: Kingdom of Heaven, directed by Ridley Scott

2005: Sahara, directed by Breck Eisner, starred Matthew McConaughey, Steve Zahn, Penélope Cruz and William H. Macy

2006: Babel, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu

2006: The Hills Have Eyes, directed by Alexandre Aja

2007: Arn – The Knight Templar, directed by Peter Flinth

2007: The Bourne Ultimatum, directed by Paul Greengrass

2007: The Hills Have Eyes 2, directed by Martin Weisz

2008: Arn – The Kingdom at Road's End, directed by Peter Flinth

2008: Body of Lies, directed by Ridley Scott, starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe

2009: Pope Joan, directed by Sönke Wortmann, starring John Goodman and Johanna Wokalek

2010: Inception, directed by Christopher Nolan

2010: Of Gods and Men, directed by Xavier Beauvois

2010: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, directed by Mike Newell

2010: Sex and the City 2, directed by Michael Patrick King

2011: Captain Phillips, directed by Paul Greengrass

2011: Hanna, directed by Joe Wright

2013: The Bible, produced by Roma Downey and Mark Burnett

2013: Only Lovers Left Alive, directed by Jim Jarmusch

2014: Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, directed by Christopher McQuarrie

2014: Son of God, produced by Roma Downey and Mark Burnett

2015: A.D. The Bible Continues, produced by Roma Downey and Mark Burnett, starring Juan Pablo di Pace, Babou Ceesay, Richard Coyle and Vincent Regan

2015: American Sniper, directed by Clint Eastwood

2015: Spectre, directed by Sam Mendes

2016: The Yellow Birds

2016: Damascus Cover

2016: Watch Them Fall

2016: War Dogs

2016: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

2016: 13 Hours

2016: A Hologram for the King

2016: Our Kind of Traitor

[stripesandrockers]

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the explosion of gun turret #2, an explosion that killed 47 crew members of the USS Iowa. The Iowa was 300 miles off the coast of Puerto Rico, participating in a routine naval training exercise, FLEETEX 3-89, when the center gun room blew. A naval investigation of the incident concluded that the explosion was deliberately caused by crew member Clayton Hartwig. A second subsequent investigation by the GAO, assisted by Sandia National Laboratories, determined that an overram of the powder bags was the likely cause of the center gun room explosion.

You can read more about this tragic incident here. Video and news report here. 

Honoring the 47 fallen:

TUNG THANH ADAMS, 25, fire controlman, Alexandria.

ROBERT WALLACE BACKHERMS, 30, gunner's mate, Ravenna, Ohio.

DWAYNE COLLIER BATTLE, 21, electrician's mate, fireman apprentice, Rocky Mount, N.C.

WALTER SCOT BLAKEY, 20, gunner's mate, Eaton Rapids, Mich.

PETE EDWARD BOPP, 21, gunner's mate, Levittown, N.Y.

RAMON JEREL BRADSHAW, 19, seaman recruit, Tampa, Fla.

PHILLIP EDWARD BUCH, 24, lieutenant junior grade, Las Cruces, N.M.

JOHN PETER CRAMER, 28, gunner's mate, Uniontown, Pa.

MILTON FRANCIS DEVAUL Jr., 21, gunner's mate, Solvay, N.Y.

LESLIE ALLEN EVERHART Jr., 31, seaman apprentice, Cary, N.C.

GARY JOHN FISK, 24, boatswain's mate, Oneida, N.Y.

TYRONE DWAYNE FOLEY, 27, seaman, Bullard, Texas.

ROBERT JAMES GEDEON III, 22, seaman apprentice, Lakewood, Ohio.

BRIAN WAYNE GENDRON, 20, seaman apprentice, Madera, Calif.

JOHN LEONARD GOINS, 20, seaman recruit, Columbus, Ohio.

DAVID L. HANSON, 23, electrician's mate, Perkins, S.D.

ERNEST EDWARD HANYECZ, 27, gunner's mate, Borenton, N.J.

CLAYTON MICHAEL HARTWIG, 25, gunner's mate, Cleveland, Ohio.

MICHAEL WILLIAM HELTON, 31, legalman, Louisville, Ky.

SCOTT ALAN HOLT, 20, seaman apprentice, Fort Myers, Fla.

REGINALD JOHNSON Jr., 20, seaman recruit, Warrensville Heights, Ohio.

BRIAN ROBERT JONES, 19, seaman, Kennesaw, Ga.

MICHAEL SHANNON JUSTICE, 21, seaman, Matewan, W.Va. (resident of Norfolk, Va.)

EDWARD J. KIMBLE, 23, seaman, Ft. Stockton, Texas

RICHARD E. LAWRENCE, 29, gunner's mate, Springfield, Ohio.

RICHARD JOHN LEWIS, 23, seaman apprentice, Northville, Mich.

JOSE LUIS MARTINEZ Jr., 21, seaman apprentice, Hidalgo, Texas.

TODD CHRISTOPHER McMULLEN, 20, boatswain's mate, Manheim, Pa.

TODD EDWARD MILLER, 25, seaman recruit, Ligonier, Pa.

ROBERT KENNETH MORRISON, 36, legalman, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

OTIS LEVANCE MOSES, 23, seaman, Bridgeport, Conn.

DARIN ANDREW OGDEN, 24, gunner's mate, Shelbyville, Ind. (resident of Hampton, Va.)

RICKY RONALD PETERSON, 27, seaman, Houston, Minn.

MATTHEW RAY PRICE, 20, gunner's mate, Burnside, Pa.

HAROLD EARL ROMINE Jr., 19, gunner's mate, Bradenton, Fla.

GEOFFREY SCOTT SCHELIN, 20, seaman, Costa Mesa, Calif.

HEATH EUGENE STILLWAGON, 21, gunner's mate, Connellsville, Pa.

TODD THOMAS TATHAM, 19, seaman recruit, Wolcott, N.Y.

JACK ERNEST THOMPSON, 22, gunner's mate, Greeneville, Tenn.

STEPHEN J. WELDON, 24, gunner's mate, Yukon, Okla.

JAMES DARRELL WHITE, 22, gunner's mate, Norwalk, Calif.

RODNEY MAURICE WHITE, 19, seaman recruit, Louisville, Ky.

JOHN RODNEY YOUNG, 21, gunner's mate, Columbia, S.C.

REGINALD OWEN ZIEGLER, 39, gunner's mate, Port Gibson, N.Y.

[nedraggett]

Thoughts on 2018

No need for me to be fancier than that!  And yeah I realize that nobody should be using Tumblr any more but until I figure out a proper revive of my old Wordpress site, this will do for now.

So anyway: I wrote this up for a private email list reflecting on the end of the year in terms of things I especially enjoyed culturally. Well, why not share it?

My year went very well — steady at work and in life, being 47 means more aches and pains but you have to learn to live with it.  The state of the world is something else again of course and we need not spend more time on the blazingly obvious.  That said, the history bug in me has been constantly intrigued by the slow drip of the investigations (and revelations) and were it all fiction, I’d be thoroughly enthralled instead of quietly apprehensive, of course.  November did provide some partial relief on that front so bring on the new year.  In terms of my own written work, nothing quite equalled my heart/soul going into last year’s Algiers feature for NPR, but my two big Quietus pieces this year — on Gary Numan’s Dance  and Ralph Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings  — were treats to write, while my presentation on the too-obscure Billy Mackenzie at PopCon was a great experience.

In terms of music this has been one of the most concert-heavy years I’ve spent.  Even having moved to SF in 2015 I only did the occasional show every so often — there was so much going on (even in a local scene lots of long-timers say has been irrevocably changed) that I was almost spoiled for choice, and part of me also just wanted to relax most nights.  But deaths like Prince’s and Bowie’s among many others served as a reminder that there’s no such thing as forever, and you never know what the last chance will be.  More veteran acts than younger ones in the end for me — greatest missed concert regrets this year included serpentwithfeet, Lizzo, Perfume Genius and Emma Ruth Rundle among the younger acts, while being ill when Orbital came through will be a lingering annoyance, still having never seen them live.  But the huge amount of shows I did see outweighed that, ranging from big arena stops like Fleetwood Mac to celebratory open-air free shows like Mexican Institute of Sound to small club sets by folks like Kinski, Six Organs of Admittance, Kimbra and many more, including, for the first time in years, a show in the UK, specifically a great performance by Roddy Frame of Aztec Camera.  If I absolutely had to grade my top picks among shows, Cruel Diagonals, Johnny Marr, Wye Oak, Peter Brotzmann/Keiji Haino, John Zorn/Terry Riley/Laurie Anderson, Laurie Anderson again separately, Nine Inch Nails, VNV Nation, Jarvis Cocker, Beak and, in terms of no real expectations turning into utter delight and thrills, a brilliant set by Lesley Rankine under her Ruby guise, with Martin Atkins on drums.  Best damn combination of righteous ire, hilarious raconteurism and compelling, unique approaches to how performance can work I’d seen in a while.  (As for recorded music in general, uh, endless?)

TV, as ever a bit sporadic, with a few things on my to-do list — still need to catch The Terror for sure, and what I saw of The Alienist looked good; I love both books so I need to see how it all worked out, similarly with the just-dropped version of Watership Down.  Pose I definitely need to catch up with since it sounds like Ryan Murphy stood out of the way to let the best possible team do the business on it, but my real unexpected delight of a show this year was also Murphy-based, American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace.  While not down the line perfect, it was absolutely more compelling than not, and in fact at its best was a shuddering combination of amazing music cue choices, a reverse structure that helped undercut any attempt at making Cunanan seem sympathetic or an antihero, and, at its considerable best, a ratcheting up of terror and horror that a friend said was almost Kubrickian, and I would have to agree.  And, frankly, Darren Criss really did the business as Cunanan, a controlled and powerful turn. Only a few of us seemed to be following it at the time, but when it scored all those Emmys, then while it was as much a reflection of Murphy’s status, it honestly felt well deserved.  Meantime, you’ll pry my addiction to all the RuPaul’s Drag Race incarnations from my cold dead hands but it’s the amazing online series that Trixie Mattel and Katya do, UNHhhh, which remains my comedy highlight of the year, with at least a few jaw-dropping/seize up laughing every episode. (Kudos as well for Brad Jones’s The Cinema Snob, ten years running online and still funny as fuck while digging up all kinds of cinematic horrors.) Also, tying back into music a bit, late recommendation for something you can only see on UK TV/streaming so far, but get yourself a VPN and seek out Bros: After the Screaming Stops, in which the two brothers in the late-80s monster hit pop band Bros (never had any traction here but pretty much owned the entire Commonwealth and beyond) try for a comeback.  It’s an unintentionally hilarious and harrowing portrait of two twins who have a LOT of issues, have clearly been through a LOT of therapy, but are still…not quite there.  UK friends said it was a combination of Spinal Tap, Alan Partridge and David Brent and they were ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. 

Movies, less specifically to choose from — I remain an essentially sporadic populist when it comes to what I see in theaters, but I can say for sure that Spider-man: Into the Spiderverse is a hell of a thing and will almost certainly prove to be a real year-zero moment down the line.  Possibly the most affecting watch was Bohemian Rhapsody, in that I also saw this in the UK — in Brighton, which besides making me think of the band’s song “Brighton Rock” is also notably the country’s most LGBT-friendly city; those I was with felt the movie’s themes, successes and flaws/elisions deeply, and the constant discussion of it for the next few days was very rewarding. As for books, John Carreyrou’s Bad Blood, delving into Theranos and the amoral duo behind it, was properly enraging and compelling, while Beth Macy’s Dopesick, if not perfect, nonetheless adds to the good literature on the opioid crisis, while as ever indirectly calling into question who’s getting the focus and care now as opposed to in earlier times and places. My favorite music publications as such probably remain the two I most regularly write for, The Quietus and Daily Bandcamp, while Ugly Things is the print publication that I most look forward to with each issue, and am never disappointed. 

Podcasts now consist of a lot of my regular cultural engagement, kinda obvious but nonetheless true.  Long running faves include My Favorite Murder — Karen and Georgia are an amazing comedy team who have figured out how to reinterpret their anxieties in new ways — The Vanished, which at its best often casts a piercing eye on how official indifference from law enforcement is almost as destructive as their more obvious abuses (recent discovery The Fall Line does this as well, even more explicitly), Karina Longworth’s constantly revelatory Hollywood histories You Must Remember This, Patrick Wyman’s enjoyable history dives on Tides of History, my friend Chris Molanphy’s constantly excellent investigations into music chart history Hit Parade, the great weekly movie chats by MST3K vets Frank Conniff and Trace Beaulieu along with Carolina Hidalgo on Movie Sign With the Mads, and The Age of Napoleon, which really has hit my history wonk sweet spot.  New to me this year was It’s Just a Show,  a really wonderful episode by episode — but not in exact order — deep dive into every episode of MST3K ever, by two fun and thoughtful Canadian folks, Adam Clarke and Beth Martin. (Adam also cohosts a new podcast, A Part of Our Scare-itage, specifically looking at Canadian horror. It’s not just Cronenberg!). Among the excellent one-off series this year: American Fiasco by Men in Blazers’ Roger Bennett on the failed US World Cup attempt in 1998, Dear Franklin Jones, a story about the narrator’s experience growing up in a California cult and how his parents came to be followers in the first place, and the Boston Globe’s Gladiator, their audio accompaniment to their in-depth story of the life and ultimate fate of Aaron Hernandez. Finally, totally new series this year that quickly got added to my regular listening: American Grift, a casual and chatty look at various scams and schemes, overseen by Oriana Schwindt, The Eurowhat?, a running look at the Eurovision competition throughout the year from the perspective of two American fans, and The Ace Records Podcast, an often engaging series of one-off interviews with various musicians, fans and so forth by UK writer Pete Paphides (I highly recommend the interviews with Jon Savage and Sheila B). Hands down my two favorite totally new podcasts of the year were The Dream, a more formal story of American grifting in general hosted by Jane Marie — this first season’s focus was on multilevel marketing, and Marie and company’s careful way of seemingly backing into the larger story makes it all the more compelling and ultimately infuriating, especially in the current political climate — and the hilarious Race Chasers, a RuPaul’s Drag Race-celebrating podcast by two veterans of the show, Alaska and Willam, loaded with all kinds of fun, behind the scenes stuff, guests and an easy casualness from two pros that strikes the perfect balance between going through things and just shooting the shit.  Returning podcast I’m most looking forward to next year: the second season of Cocaine and Rhinestones, hands down.  Check out the first season for sure.

And there ya go!  Keep fighting all your respective good fights.

[geekerycomics]

The Geekery #1

Written by: Gary Alan Hidalgo

Art by: Ambhen Dacasin

Price: $1.99

“What Geekery Is This?”

"The multiverse is a big place. I mean huge ass big! If you happen to bump into someone you left dead and buried, there must be a higher, cosmic reason."

A loner even among his own geeky kind, Tomas Edison is about to discover what that "higher, cosmic reason" is when his ex, Zelda, burst attacks back into his life and into the arms of...his best geek buddy, G-Dawg (probably not his real name)?

AU CONTRAIRE! This is far from the eternal teen love triangle of A----- (you know who). There's no love lost between Edison and Zee. In fact, she's the prime suspect when he...

READ OUR AMAZING/ASTONISHING/EXTRAORDINARY/UNCANNY (did we miss an adjective) 1ST ISSUE TO FIND OUT!

ALL AGES

Buy It Now!

[nitestar]

Hey Gary Alan Hidalgo thanks for the follow! I look forward to tweeting with you.

Hey Gary Alan Hidalgo thanks for the follow! I look forward to tweeting with you.

— Peter C. Frank (@NiteStar) August 16, 2017

via Twitter https://twitter.com/NiteStar August 16, 2017 at 09:23AM

[garyalanhidalgo]

Pride Prep: Still Got It! Age, Love, & The Hotel Cairo

Again, Spoilers Ahead! I don’t give away the big plot twists like Fabian being exposed as a Brony, but I reference character backstories, some plot developments, and assorted themes from The Hotel Cairo to investigate this week’s topic. It’s your last warning. I respect your choice to stay a Hotel Cairo virgin. After all, you can only be that once!

Kamusta again, fabulous readers!

First, the most telling quote from The Hotel Cairo to set the tone:

“Spit it out, Lawson. Is it because I turned sixty?”

Welcome back to Week #2 of our May Pride Month Prep series! Last week we had a fabulous discussion about soap operas and their deeply tangled love affair with LGBTQ+ history. Talk about so much drama, right?! This week, we’re putting on our bi-focal reading glasses and grabbing our poison of choice (coffee for me) to tackle another juicy topic that hits close to home for many Generation Xers like me. To top it off, if the character you’ve played on Autumn of My Discontent since the mid-nineties becomes dead DEAD again–yeah, it’s a soap–just as you turn sixty, you could be a victim, both on and off screen, of ageism.

How does the script play out in the sparkly yet cutthroat world of Hollywoof? We’ll see it from recently fired soap actor Hughie Roman’s POV, who Autumn fans watched flatline after being comatose and on a respirator for months. He was nominated for a Daytime Emmy but lost. Chewed up and spat out by an industry he’s devoted half his life to. Because Hughie just turned sixty, he naturally blames his age. Will it prove a barrier to his Hollywood dreams? That’s what the above quote is actually about. If you’re a queer man of a certain vintage, you might be likewise worried how your age intersects with the quest for love and relevance. So, who better to be our reluctant poster boy for our dive into ageism than the eternally dramatic Hughie. Just this year alone, he’s become a gay divorcee, a sacked soap star, and in the opening chapter of The Hotel Cairo found out it all connected. A conspiracy disgusting enough to make you…something cake-related (and let's just say, it involves a public meltdown!).

Speaking of cake, don’t forget, sweeties, The Hotel Cairo and GaryAlanHidalgo.com are both celebrating our relaunches this June for Pride Month! Stay tuned!

"Is it because I turned sixty?" – The Agony of the Aging Actor

Picture it… Channeling the Golden Girls’ Sophia Petrillo, who, unlike our hero, Hughie Roman, aged with a sense of humor. After thirty years pouring his heart and soul into Autumn of My Discontent, he finds himself unceremoniously dumped. The role that defined him? Gone. His personal life? A can’t miss pity party. After working non-stop for three decades as only soap actors can, surely this thespian will work again? Well, his own agent hasn’t returned his many, many…many calls.

In one particularly telling (and, if I do say so myself, rather poignant) scene from The Hotel Cairo, when Hughie’s agent, Lawson, does finally call back, it’s just to remind him of his dwindling prospects.

“Spit it out, Lawson. Is it because I turned sixty?” “No. You know it’s never been about that. There was even a call from CBS for a prime-time family legal drama they thought you’d be perfect for. They’re taping a pilot soon.” “Fuck!” Hughie salivated over the prospect of a prime-time show he could devote himself to. If it became a hit and ran the one hundred episodes or more into syndication, then he’d be secure for the rest of his life. Angela Lansbury did it at fifty-nine with Murder She Wrote, Andy Griffith at sixty with Matlock, and Dick Van Dyke at sixty-eight with Diagnosis Murder. Hughie Roman could do it at sixty-five … sixty—whatever the name of the show was. “I knew you wouldn’t let me down, Law. You’ll always be the greatest agent of all time. I’ll send you one of the most expensive gift baskets you’ve ever received.” “I’ll be completely honest with you.” He exhaled. “They can overlook your behavior at the rival network’s party, especially setting a beloved TV priest on fire, but Practice Makes Perfect, that’s the name of the show, centers on a father and son law practice. With all the gossip about you sleeping with your last TV relative, they pulled their request immediately.” “That thing?” He dismissed the network’s concerns. “It’ll blow over, eventually. There’s always a bigger and better scandal coming soon. Is this because Herbie and I are openly gay or our age difference?” “It’s not always about that. It just wouldn’t give a show that they have high hopes will be the next Matlock or Diagnosis Murder the best start. Why don’t you extend your vacation a little longer? Come back a new man. When the time’s right, I can see about booking you a hemorrhoid commercial. It’s the same casting director who’s a Dick Hunter fan.”

Ouch, correct? Even as Lawson attempts to soften the blow by blaming Hughie’s “scandal” (why Little Herbie?), the subtext is loud and clear. In Hollywoof, growing old is a career death sentence. We’re not left in a soap opera cliffhanger there. And for an openly gay actor whose so-called indiscretion involves his thirty-year-old TV nephew–yes, another man–the collision of ageism, homophobia, and panic over “bad optics,” becomes Hughie Roman’s real-life Autumn of My Discontent when even playing a sixty-something TV lawyer becomes out of reach. FYI, a first draft of The Hotel Cairo was written circa 2021 long before Kathy Bates’ successful 2024 revival of Matlock with a gender flip. I’m certain Hughie today would claim that was the one that got away too. At least, he has the parting gift of a potential hemorrhoid commercial. So glamorous!

It’s time to take a step back. The desperation Hughie feels…is inescapable. He recites the names of actors over sixty who did succeed like a prayer to ward off bad luck. Angela…Andy…Dick… After all, he’s already drowned at this disastrous Emmy after-party where the following internal monologue bares a man grappling with more than losing an award:

Not only did Hughie Roman have a date with the open bar, but he had one ending scene to perform for the Autumn of My Discontent producers. After almost thirty years of unwavering loyalty, Richard Hunter and Hughie Roman had deserved more than the unceremonious send-off without so much as a scrap of dialogue or discernible facial expression. The industry and TV viewers should have seen him act up a storm and unequivocally know that Hughie Roman was a brilliant actor whose career was on the rise.  Even if resurrections were par for the course in a soap opera, when all was said and done, the powers that be remained adamant: “Hughie Roman, you’ve been more trouble than you’re worth.” Tonight, he would teach them to use such an auspicious actor as nothing more than a prop on what was to be his final, final death. He swore he’d continue the vicious cycle tonight—all at their expense.

The "Best Before" Date: A Queer Conundrum?

While Hughie’s meltdown is unfolding at one of Hollywoof’s glitterati-only events, the theme of ageism hits the LGBTQ+ community even harder. I know, we’re supposed to be inclusive and all, but let’s get real. Gay men, in particular, consider themselves over the hill when they hit thirty. I know, at twenty nine, I started buying beauty products that were anti-everything from eye bags to hair loss, promising to stave off the curse of the big 3-0. I couldn’t imagine turning fifty-four, like I am this year, much more turning Hughie's age of sixty (or the whole disabled thing I’ll tackle someday). For gay guys, the pressure to stay forever young and beautiful is intensely internal and societal. For better or worse, it’s ingrained in us to chase an ideal that’s realistically unattainable. Not now when twenty five years have passed since the 2000s, thirty-five since the 1990s, etc. We’re old! You’re as young as you feel. We’re less desirable! Beauty is in the eye… I’m throwing out cliches but they come with plenty of home truths. Queers should know the song I Am What I Am by heart. It’s a global gay anthem by the marvelous Gloria Gaynor, but originally sung in the eighties musical La Cage aux Folles (read on for a special treat). Whichever version you prefer, the song should be as self-accepting, authentic, and more importantly, unapologetic now as then. Do we still have “it”?

YES, YOU DO!

I shout that with all the Love & Laughter in my soul.

My personal motto is more than a cute tagline at the end of this post. It’s a mindset that arrived while writing The Hotel Cairo in 2021 and remained rewriting it in 2022, editing it in 2023, taking a break in 2024, and relaunching it this June. In all its incarnations, The Hotel Cairo has always been my love letter to that very idea. I dedicate it to everyone still waiting for your one true love, no matter how old or disillusioned you get. Love is just around the next corner even if it’s the quaint B&B that you’ve never visited with its leaky rooftops and wacky, LGBTQ+ staff. Your toe-curling, heart-stopping, and LMFAO romance will be waiting whether you’re forty like Fabian or sixty like Hughie. Yes, you can reboot yourself when life throws you tomatoes (and a flaming TV priest). And yes, you unequivocally and absolutely STILL GOT IT!

That comes with a lot of power. The joy and heartache of finding love and purpose aren’t exclusive to the under-30s. The experiences, including the scars, smarts, and even, cultivated cynicism earned over the decades? It isn’t baggage, sweetie. It’s flavor! It’s the spice that makes our own stories more sumptuous, more complex, and frankly, a lot more fun. Hughie Roman, for all his flaws and epic meltdowns, is on a journey to rediscover that even if he trips into too many scandals (and perhaps a cutie-pie hotel manager) along the way.

“My mortgage is due next week, and I have nothing left to sell. Except for my shares. I can’t lose my house too.” “I’m not asking you to do that,” he assured him. “I know by early next year, the hotel will be profitable. So not only can you pay off your debts, but you’ll have additional dividends by holding onto your fifty percent.” From only a couple of feet away, Hughie tried to avoid Fabian’s gaze and the boundless hope in his eyes that assured him without words, it would be okay. As if his optimism were enough to assure him of the future, he just described. Fabian searched his face, perhaps looking for reassurance as well. Hughie was certain all he’d find was his loneliness and desperation. Fabian then looked down as his hands quivered. He then surprised him and took his nervous hands in his. Their warmth soothed Hughie as he clasped tighter. Fabian slowly raised his head and asked, “Wouldn’t it be nice?” Excited by his touch, Hughie said, “That would be nice.” Confident this was indeed what he’d longed for, Hughie leaned in for a kiss he’d so far only dreamed of.

Keep Prepping for Pride! Let's Talk About It!

Discussing difficult themes like ageism, especially since it’s so intrinsically linked with our queer identities and our shared history is essential. Because our stories are diverse and complex, they deserve to be shared at every age and every stage.

We’ve come to the end of Blog #2 and survived. Let’s keep the conversation going as we prepare for June Pride and the epic relaunches of The Hotel Cairo and the refreshed GaryAlanHidalgo.com.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on ageism in Hollywoof or the LGBTQ+ community. Have you witnessed it? Felt it? Share your stories in the comments below or on social media!

Sign Up for the Newsletter: Get all the relaunch updates first! Plus, you’ll get exclusive content, like deleted material, short stories, etc. delivered straight to your inbox!

Follow on Social Media: Catch regular updates, teasers, and more Pride Prep! I’m on Facebook, Instagram, and BlueSky.

Next Week’s Topic: We’ll dive into the crucial role of Queer Sanctuaries–those safe spaces where “Love Is Welcome,” inspired by the Hotel Cairo itself and the upcoming Fantabulous! 

I appreciate spending time with you! As we await 2025 Pride, remember your age is a number. Love, laughter, and a damn good story? Those are timeless.

Love & Laughter,

Gary Alan Hidalgo

[garyalanhidalgo]

Let’s Prep for 2025 Pride: Soap Dish, LGBTQ+ History, and A New Queer Universe!

Spoilers Ahead! This inaugural post references a few character revelations and themes from The Hotel Cairo connected to LGBTQ+ history and the wonderful world of soaps. While I won’t spoil major plot twists like Hughie Roman’s middle name being “Dolly,” you are gently forewarned if you prefer to check into The Hotel Cairo a virgin.

Kamusta, fabulous readers, and welcome to GaryAlanHidalgo.com!

Say hello to May. Can you feel it? June is almost here, and the countdown to Pride Month has officially begun!

Are you loading up your glitter cannons? Curating your Pride playlists? As for me, this month, I’m getting ready to share our stories, celebrate our history, and connect to our colorful community throughout June. You’re invited to join me as your official Pride Month Prep hub!

And as we gear up for June 1, fabulous readers, I have some amazing announcements for you!

Get Ready for June Double Trouble!

Of course, only the fab kind of complications! So, mark your calendars with not one but two epic relaunches:

This Website! GaryAlanHidalgo.com is getting a content refresh. My goal is to do more than sell you my books. I’ll also unpack the treasure-trove of history and profound LGBTQ+ stories behind my creations. My vision is to build a genuine community of champions for visibility and positivity. Hence, I’ve adopted the motto Love & Laughter for my reenergized hub. Much like the eponymous Fantabulous! series, I wish for GaryAlanHidalgo.com to be a dazzling, lively, and safe space–our space!

The Hotel Cairo Reopens! Hughie, Fabian, and The Hotel Cairo’s lovable, queer staff invites everyone to check back into my cozy gay romcom. Ready to revisit fired soap star Hughie Roman and the undeniably charming hotel manager, Fabian Flores, his frequent nemesis and future lover-to-be? They’ll teach you to welcome love no matter how old or disillusioned you feel. Swoon-worthy, LMFAO fun is waiting for you now with a complimentary book club guide perfect for June!

As the Queer World Turns: Soap Operas, Our History, and Autumn of My Discontent

The Hotel Cairo’s Hughie Roman spending or, in his words, wasting thirty years on the fictional soap Autumn of My Discontent wasn’t just a random plot point. It was the building block to a much larger and queerer universe I’m building!

Harken back to the eighties when American soap operas were king. Daytime programs were bona fide appointment TV, especially to students like me and working moms like mine who worked graveyard shifts. Mom always woke up for The Young and the Restless. I rushed home from school for Santa Barbara, a new soap. Of course, thirty million guests watched Luke and Laura’s wedding on General Hospital.

Soaps were more than TV shows. They became cultural touchstones where the worlds of theatrical talents, primetime players, and future movie stars, including Meg Ryan (As the World Turns), sprang. And for queer folks? We were a complicated mirror to our favorite soaps. Sure, Dynasty had Steven Carrington who we sometimes cheered but often jeered–worthy of a future blog post series all his own. Long before primetime dared, The Young and the Restless’ Katherine Chancellor, played by the legendary Jeanne Cooper, pined for Joann Curtis in 1977 while GH tackled the AIDS crisis starting in 1994. I got hooked on One Life to Live because of its campiness during the eighties, such as its underground city Eterna storyline, but by the early nineties, I was riveted by Billy Douglas’, played by future movie star Ryan Phillippe, coming out. I wouldn’t officially come out of the closet until the late nineties but Billy’s storyline gave me much food for thought. Only now in 2025, have I learned then head writer, Michael Malone, wished to use legacy character, Joey, to tell the story, but the Powers That Be refused a character from the main Lord-Buchanan family to be gay. Imperfect? Yes. Visible? YES! 

This rich, intricate history of daytime drama is why I created Autumn of Discontent as the cornerstone for my own queer universe. I was inspired by real life soap Guiding Light, which began on radio in 1937, overlapped/switched to TV around 1952, and ended after seventy-two years in 2009. Autumn spans generations as well!

And here’s the epic part: Just as Guiding Light mirrored American life through changing times from radio to TV to, well, bye-bye, Autumn of My Discontent serves as the roots for many of my future LGBTQ+ stories. I’ve already planted the seeds of this new, queer universe in The Hotel Cairo. My upcoming mystery series Fantabulous! set in a nineties Venice, CA gay bar also connects closely with Autumn. As you can see, I plan to use the soap’s drama-filled history on and off the screen. This makes it a constant whatever era of LGBTQ+ history I’m referencing, even if the queer character is a 1930s radio listener. Nothing could be more appropriate or fun than mining both our and the soap’s history to explore the challenges and triumphs of LGBTQ+ lives through unique eras–the coded forties, the rebellious sixties, the heartbreaking eighties, the unexpected 2000s (2015 marriage equality, I’m looking at you!), and beyond. We can follow LGBTQ+ history through the sure-fire melodramatic lens of Autumn Valley’s chaotic and campy residents. What’s not to love?

The Hotel Cairo: Our First Stop in the Autumn Universe

The Hotel Cairo is your perfect start in this new queer universe built around the fictional TV show Autumn of My Discontent. The first published entry even opens smack-dab in soap territory at the Daytime Emmys where recently killed-off Hughie Roman has been ironically nominated. Think Titanic, just as tragic but career-wise, including a doomed love as he meets his nemesis/love interest, Fabian Flores, the hotel manager. Yes, Hughie encounters love and laughter, as promised, but the story doesn’t shy away from its specific historical context of its characters.

We learn of hotel founder, Leo Cicero, who fled Hollywood in the eighties at the height of his career because of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. We meet Xenia Xavier, the daughter of a conservative radio host, who signs onto a union of convenience, a lavender marriage to secure her future only to… You’ll need to read The Hotel Cairo to find out more but here’s an excerpt to whet your appetite.

“What drove Leo Cicero from an illustrious Hollywood career?” “In the 1980s, there was something worse than being gay to wreck a movie star’s career. It was being gay and HIV positive. Leo was diagnosed with HIV in 1984, a few months after he’d won his first Oscar. It’d been only three years after the first cases of HIV in the United States and one year after they identified HIV caused AIDS.” Hughie was in tears at the revelation. “Poor Leo.” “Only in hindsight did Leo realize he was one of the few lucky ones. He had HIV, but it never developed into full-blown AIDS during a time when there was no treatment. After he was diagnosed, Leo didn’t know how long he had to live. Worse, he knew it was a matter of time before someone found out. He left the industry because he expected to die sooner than later and wanted to preserve his sweet but short legacy as an actor.”

By sprinkling these historical truths into a romcom narrative honors the courage of those who lived it.

After decades as a soap heartthrob, Hughie Roman, is backstabbed by an industry he stayed loyal to. Worse, a job he loved. We likewise explore ageism whether it’s youth-obsessed Hollywoof or similarly perfection-obsessed gay society. Celebrating sixty, Hughie is not today’s typical gay romance hero. Neither is his love interest, Fabian Flores, who, at forty-two years old, officially classifies this a mature romance. It only adds another layer in the search for love and relevance as soon-to-be senior citizens, some sooner than others.

Fabian steered them to an even more antiquated section of town. At the turn, they had to wait for a green light, which made for an awkward silence.  “I hope I’m not getting too personal,” Fabian said. “Why did you sleep with that kid who’s all over social media? Were you drunk?” “I can’t blame it all on alcohol, although it made it easier. That night, I also lost my last chance to win an Emmy to validate the three decades I wasted on Autumn. I already lost my job. Couldn’t they give me one win? Guess it was Hollywood’s way of saying—you’re sixty, stop dreaming.” “I’m sorry you had to go through that. No wonder you looked for something … someone … to cling onto.” For once, they were actually talking on the level, like old friends. “Considering I’ve known him since he was nineteen, I wasn’t in my right mind even if it was the distraction I sorely needed. It’s also for the best that I cut myself off from the Hotel Cairo before my reputation hurts you.” “It’s that bad?” Fabian asked, concerned for a good reason. “Herbie is twenty-nine. He’s hardly a kid. I suppose Herbie needed a boost for his social media following only unfavorable publicity brings about.”

Ready For Our Close-Up!

This first week barely sets the stage for three more weeks of exploring the history and themes that make these LGBTQ+ stories tick. Officially join the Pride Prep!

Sign Up for the Newsletter: Be the first to know about my books (Fantabulous!, for instance) and other news. You’ll get free exclusive content, such as deleted material, short stories, etc. delivered straight to your inbox!

Follow on Social Media: Get additional doses of updates, teasers, LGBTQ+ news, and queer history tidbits! I’m on Facebook, Instagram, and BlueSky.

Check Back Here: I have more Pride Prep blog posts to inform, entertain, and connect. Next Monday: Ageism in Hollywoof and beyond!

This month, let’s do our best to honor our past, celebrate our present, and fight for our fabulous future. June Pride is a big part of it!

Love & Laughter,

Gary Alan Hidalgo

[garyalanhidalgo]

So Party, Love, & Laugh Defiantly!

Kamusta, fabulous reader and Pride activist aglitter! ✨🏳️‍🌈

This month passed by quickly while we explored the origins of Pride Month from righteous, raucous riot to out and proud parade. What began as the marginalized of the marginalized’s screams of “NO MORE!” at Stonewall turned the first protest marches nationwide in a still danger-filled era, then became rainbow-filled celebrations globally to stay visible. Today, the LGBTQ+ community enjoys the hard-won radical, life-saving power of visibility thanks to those brave rioters and marchers. To repay their sacrifice, our yearly Pride Month isn’t just about celebration but about showing up to stay visible. It may be a far cry from the first Stonewall riot and the first protest march. It’s still our duty as LGBTQ+ to be seen!

As for me, in the very early 2000s, every June wasn’t just the start of summer but Pride Month, but on a less epic neighborhood level (a must-read to understand the LA/Weho relationship) in West Hollywood, CA. Sure, Weho Pride brought out the crème de la crème of celebrity grand marshals and performers, organized by Christopher Street West. If their name doesn’t ring a bell, then do a refresh here. Having been to San Francisco and Seattle because of the Dotcom era, I knew Pride was celebrated nationwide, but now, out (and nearly 30!) me could never imagine Pride as a whole month, much less a whole planet-thing? WHOA!

So, 25 years later, in 2025, it begs the question: What is Pride now? Have the rainbows made us forget the dark clouds of rioting? Has going global meant it left our own backyard?

The answer’s as exquisitely complex as our community.

Partying as a Political Act: Love & Laughter is Resistance

If you feel guilty that you enjoy the party atmosphere of Pride, don’t worry. Not only is enjoying the party valid, it’s vital. Just as early-2000 me couldn’t imagine a Pride without borders, I would be no less happy the queer community is now a global one. I’m certain the Stonewall rioters and post-revolution marchers (still protesting injustice) never imagined the streets shut down for LGBTQ+ folk, celebrating openly with our chosen GLOBAL family, kissing your loved one in public without fear, more so, celebrating a same-sex wedding openly… Take it from Happy Holden, the owner of the town’s alleged gay bar, minority co-owner of the Hotel Cairo, and it turns out, so much more: Spoilers ahead! Turn back if you want to enter the hotel a virgin…yadda…yadda…

“Still, you must have been heartbroken watching the man you loved and wanted to marry, marry someone else.” “But I never fantasized about marrying Leo.” Happy’s voice trembled. “As committed as we were to each other, same-sex marriage wasn’t even an idea in our heads. Young gays like Berto may not remember a time when we had to fight just for the right to love.” “Or in Leo’s case, not allow his dream to suffer because of who he loved.” Hughie had respected Leo Cicero all the more.

But that is what they fought for, and too many times, bled for. Not necessarily a happily ever after, but a breather where you can feel safe and be happy for however long it lasts. For now, the people who still tell us we don’t deserve to love but deserve to die because we do, don’t get to be right. At least for now, we get to live like everyone, even if dark clouds are threatening. Those same people forget that after the rain comes the rainbow. So party, love, and laugh defiantly! 

Yes, “Love & Laughter” is my mantra now and forever, but I likewise loved partying, often too much (saving it for the upcoming Fantabulous! era). Right now, the dark clouds seem to be gathering again. Protests are getting louder and louder. I’m not ignoring that’s the reality, especially with more marginalized of the marginalized. We’re still included. That's why it’s more important than ever this June Pride to shine. To be part of an even greater rainbow. Because happiness is just as powerful in our struggle.

It’s the same tightrope that majority owner Hughie and new manager Fabian walk in The Hotel Cairo (out now, have you checked in yet?) as they finally find they’re on the same page. Both desire to turn the hotel into a sanctuary but face the political pressure and pious protests. Picture this:

“Thanks.” Fabian belched. “Guess I was really thirsty.” “Slow down,” he warned his erratically behaving companion. “You’ll be tipsy before the first act starts. Was there some trouble with the ad you posted? Is that why you’re acting so weird?” “Weird?” Fabian sounded disappointed that he’d reminded him of the real world. “I didn’t expect so many bands to turn down an audition because they’d have to play at a same-sex wedding. I should be grateful they didn’t make a big deal about it. In fact, they were very polite, explaining that they couldn’t do it because it disagreed with their Christian beliefs.” “You should be grateful?” Hughie raised his voice. “How can saying screw your kind be very polite? That was their Christian intention by turning us down.” “I didn’t want any trouble for the hotel.” Fabian’s voice broke. “Or you.” “I know. I’m sorry, I snapped.” “That still leaves us with plenty of talented wedding bands who want the job.” “You should be glad to be rid of the haters. You have enough on your mind, seeing as how you guzzled your champagne like you wanted to get drunk.”

That’s it. That’s the magic. A moment of connection, to stop and think, that doesn’t erase the trouble brewing around them. In a surprising reversal, it’s defeatist Hughie who schools defiant Fabian on the importance of not keeping quiet. In another switch-up, it’s Fabian who’s drinking a great deal, not so much because of others' “Christian” beliefs, but… Go find out for yourself in this standalone romantic comedy.

Stonewall Never Ended, It Just Got More Fabulous

Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities opens with the now famous, “It was the worst of times, it was the best of times.” Although set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, it perfectly captures 2025. Marriage equality happened a decade ago. Win! But the right is renewing its fight against same sex marriage. Boo! It’s a boo not a loss. Conservatives never really stopped fighting the same way that we never really just sit it out. The party is a necessity (the best of times), but never forget the protest part (the worst of times). There are also book bans targeting our stories, and laws targeting our trans siblings. Ensuring we use Pride to be a protest is as urgent as ever.

With rainbow flags as our battle standards, our parades are still marches. Of protest. NO MORE! In early 2000, LA Pride had an estimated half a million attendees. When we show up in epic numbers, we send a clear message to all: We are here. We will fight for our rights. We will not be erased! 

As simple as that. It’s the beauty of modern Pride, they didn’t have in the past. It’s a riotous party. That comes with much meaning. We can sing our Pride anthems to show our anger against injustice. We can dance to celebrate how far our chosen family has come. And we gather in great numbers worldwide, they can’t ignore our demand for justice for everyone still left behind. We should draw strength from being more than the first 200 Stonewall rioters or less than 1,000 marchers, the first gay Pride march in NYC. We party with a fabulous purpose.

And We Keep on Going & Talking!

Before the month ends, embrace the duality of today’s Pride! Get your glitter on. Dance until you can dance no more. Celebrate your far-from-perfect but always beautiful life. Then rest. And tomorrow, grab a sign, march, and shout because you don’t take anything for granted. In between, find some Love & Laughter, connect with other humans. That’s what keeps us going.

The Hotel Cairo is Relaunched & Ready for You! Check into a world where the fight for sanctuary is fueled by moments of pure Love & Laughter! Find it on Amazon!

Protest or Party? What does Pride mean to you in 2025? Do you feel the pull of one over the other, or do you find power in the blend? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Get the Inside Scoop: Sign Up for my Love & Laughter Newsletter for more history, exclusives, and sneak peeks!

Follow the Journey: Let's chat more on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky!

Come back next week: We go global as we learn about “Pride With No Borders.” How did our chosen family grow? It’s all about how our homespun queer stories of love, heartbreak, and loss connected…around the world.

Happy Pride, sweeties! Grrr…don’t stop fighting!

Love & Laughter,

Gary Alan Hidalgo

P.S. This is David Archuleta's first-ever Utah Pride performance. Apart from delivering such a powerful performance, he embodies the power of visibility we've

[garyalanhidalgo]

From Protest to Parade: Pride, Visibility & Our Queer Stories Out Loud! 

Kamusta again, my fabulous Pride warriors! ❤️🏳️‍🌈

Welcome back to our journey through the history and heart of Pride Month this June. We kicked off last week by lighting a candle (or more appropriately, a fuse) in honor of the Stonewall Riots. When LGBTQ+ folk reminisce that the first Pride was a riot, we aren’t exaggerating. As the Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand duet goes, No More Tears (Enough Is Enough), the marginalized of the marginalized were finally fed up! Why not? All they wanted was their dignity and sanctuary. It was about fighting for our right to simply be.

Naturally, you want to know what happened next? If you’re celebrating Pride in your part of the world, you can thank the Stonewall rioters. But how did that raw cry for justice born on the street outside a gay bar evolve into the worldwide phenomenon we celebrate now? Don’t worry, today’s Pride is just as fierce and heartfelt under all the glitter. It endures through shifting landscapes because of the queer community’s spirit to fight to be SEEN and the radical power it has.

Pride’s First Steps: Christopher Street Liberation Day – When Visibility Was a Weapon

Stonewall Inn, as a gay bar, went out of business shortly afterwards, but only a year after the Stonewall Uprising, a brave new chapter started. On June 28, 1970, the first marches commemorating the riots took place in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago. In NYC, it was called “Christopher Street Liberation Day” to honor the location of Stonewall and what it genuinely was. I was born in 1971, but, sweetie, I still can’t fathom how much courage it took to march that day. Imagine, a year before, the riots started because Stonewall was unfairly raided and its queer customers, on top of being arrested, had their names published in newspapers. Yet thousands of LGBTQ+ folk like us stepped out of the shadows and onto the streets shouting with pride!

This certainly wasn’t the corporate-sponsored, rainbow-bedazzled float that’s passing by you now. A year after the historic uprising, the first march was still held to protest injustice. Therefore, it was just as much a political statement, every bit as angry, raw, and defiant as the rioters the year before. There was still inhumane discrimination and a lack of respect for basic human rights. Worse, participants risked the same brutal consequences from arrest to public shaming to violence. If you marched, you risked not just your safety but your job and your family. You may wonder, was it worth it? NYC had the largest turnout with marchers covering nearly 15 blocks. These marchers wanted to be seen. For them, remaining invisible was a death sentence.

The Evolution: From Protest March to Pride Parades (and back again?)

From that first one, marches became more frequent, spreading to more cities, and more people attended. Because queer culture had so many facets, these diverse subcultures influenced the amazing sights and sounds we see today, such as the unique fashion and the memorable music. Pride even got its iconic symbol of diversity, the rainbow flag, which deserves its own post or series. Designed by artist Gilbert Baker, an openly gay man and a drag queen, the rainbow flag first flew at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade celebration on June 25, 1978. It soon became our universal symbol of diversity, unity, and hope as "Liberation Day Marches" gradually transformed into "Pride Parades."

When we step back further, we can see how Pride’s history reflects the LGBTQ+ community’s quest from protecting its priceless sanctuaries to showing (yes, proudly) that we exist, and own the power that visibility in the mainstream provides. Today, we shouldn’t forget that the fun, colorful parades aren’t just about celebrating our identity, our love. Moreover, we must remember we enjoy that freedom because all the queers before us demanded that right when society was less open-minded and we weren’t so out. While you and I are always fabulous, times may get rough. What to do? Stay visible, especially in June, because, sweetie, attendance is protesting, celebrating is resistance! Secret: The riots never really left. Just disguised as our powerful gay anthems and lively parades.

Fictional Characters March Too: Visibility in the Autumn of My Discontent Queerniverse

Queerniverse? LGBTQ+ people are more like multiverses unto our own! I know I’m having crises/incursions hourly. Anywho, this quest for visibility and the need to live openly, is a major theme that inspired my Autumn of My Discontent queer universe. The unifying thread is my fictional long-running soap, allowing each character in their own Dark Age, Age of Enlightenment, or Somewhere In-Between, to “find the light!” I miss Guiding Light!

The Hotel Cairo co-owner (out now! Haven’t you heard?), Hughie Roman, the soap’s fired star, swam the shark-infested waters of Hollywoof for decades during a Dark Age that was the product of a more repressed era in show business. As his story reveals, he was only “coaxed out of the closet…” (more below)

While I came out in the late 90s, I’ve met many Gen Xers who came out later in life like Hughie likewise to guard their careers. It was understandably a more complicated, less voluntary development compared to what younger generations experience. Nevertheless, Hughie “marched” too, albeit due to personal relationships and shifting societal norms, especially in Hollywoof. Not really a spoiler…

Herbie raised his iPhone and accepted his unseen audience’s condolences, well wishes for next year, and even a handful of date invitations. Hughie couldn’t help but notice his muscular arms and well-developed pectorals, which he hadn’t had when he screen-tested ten years ago for the role of Toby Hunter, Richard’s cad nephew. A fit of nostalgia came over him. Little Herbie, as the cast and crew had nicknamed him, had grown up on Autumn of My Discontent, coming out publicly not even a year later and becoming even more well-loved by soap fans thereafter. Hughie, on the other hand, was coaxed out of the closet in 2020 because his fiancé refused to marry anyone in the closet, especially someone who was, on a very, very slow news cycle, fodder for gossip, just because he was on television. As for Larry, all of Hollywood seemed to know he was gay. He’d even been the grand marshal of the West Hollywood Gay Pride parade. Yet for such an out and proud queer person, he lived his personal life out of everyone’s scrutiny. If someone cared who Lameo had dated or was currently doing, they were left to guess.

Thanks to the longevity of soap operas, the Autumn of My Discontent universe, by its very nature, can span decades, from its fictional 1930s radio debut to its “present-day” cancellation. This allows me to reflect on the ever-changing landscape of LGBTQ+ history and visibility. Queers in the late 1930s? I’m excited about that deep dive!

But The Hotel Cairo, although set in the “present-day,” is the start.

Our Stories Still Need to Be Shouted - Loud & Proud!

As an out gay author, my mission is to connect human beings through stories. In my Pollyanna world, even the coldest heart can melt when reading about and becoming fond of fictional queer characters, who show our heartbreaks, our happiness, our hopes, and our dreams. Our humanity. As readers and writers, we have the power to change the world, one reader, one book, one post, one word at a time. Even the villains have hope (huge spoiler):

“I know there’s no way to rebuild some bridges, but I’ve only come to treasure my time at the Hotel Cairo while I’m away. Young Poopy has done a stellar job in my former position.” “His name’s Berto Popov, not Poo—never mind.” Hughie wanted to hang up. Why he was still speaking to her was beyond him. “I’ll let you go,” she said, her voice breaking. “I’m truly appalled at my behavior. My bitterness has colored my outlook, especially toward the queer community. I still have a long way to cure my homophobia, but I’m making progress slowly but surely.” “You can cure that?” “With professional help. I’ve learned it was never about my religious beliefs or who you loved. They were convenient excuses. I was channeling my pain.”

Sharing our everyday realities, including homophobia, isn’t comfortable but essential. It’s part of our history and our humor. Hotel co-owner, Xenia Xavier, is the co-worker, friend, or relative whose comments on your Pride pics on Facebook you dread too. Bwahahaha!

Let’s Celebrate Visibility!

"The Hotel Cairo" is Relaunched & Waiting for You! Experience Hughie's own complicated journey to love and visibility! You can find it on Amazon! A Spotify Playlist is also hiding in plain sight.

What does "visibility" mean to you this Pride? How has seeing LGBTQ+ lives represented (or not represented) impacted you? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Get the Inside Scoop & Future Exclusives: Sign up for my Love & Laughter Newsletter!

Follow Along & Chat: More Pride history and musings happening on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky.

Next Week's Topic: We're asking the big question: "Beyond the Rainbow Glitter: Is Pride Still a Protest, a Party, or Both?" And, crucially, how do we find our essential Love & Laughter in the mix?

As we enter its second week, let’s continue to remember those brave marchers of that first Pride. Live your truth out loud, share your stories, and celebrate the power of visibility as individuals and as a community!

Happy Pride!

Love & Laughter,

Gary Alan Hidalgo

[garyalanhidalgo]

Pride Prep: The Radical Act of Love & Laughter!

Kamusta, my fabulous friends!

Congratulations! We’re at the last corner of May, and Pride is practically knocking down the door. Together, we’ve opened our eyes to the queer POV on soap opera history, ageism, and the importance of queer sanctuaries. Thank you for coming along for the ride.

For our final Pride Month Prep conversation, I have to tackle something truly near and dear to my heart. It’s so key to me that I bake it into everything I write, including the essay you’re reading. It inspired my romantic comedy novel, The Hotel Cairo, which I hope you’ve already heard, gets a relaunch this June in time for Pride. That special ingredient is LOVE & LAUGHTER!

Of course, it’s also my motto!

More Than Just a Tagline

Why focus on love and laughter? Such an odd choice, especially when telling stories rooted in LGBTQ+ history and issues, which often involve a great deal of hardship and struggle. Because, sweetie, I’ve likewise learned, when it comes to the resilient queer community, we find happiness, seek connection, and allow ourselves to laugh, even in the face of adversity. You say trial and tribulations? I say LMFAO!

It’s the most radical act of all.

Let’s look back to historical eras we’ve touched on, like the 80s setting that gave birth to The Hotel Cairo’s soap-inspired secrets. It was a decade marked by the terrifying rise of the AIDS crisis, surging political hostility, and widespread social stigma. There was so much pain and loss to prioritize. That would be too easy. But it wouldn’t be the whole story. Not by a long shot.

Humor and Romance as Resilience

Despite the darkest times, queer people found ways to connect, built community, and yes, loved and laughed. As a coping mechanism, humor became our shield as we fought our way through the darkness. It helped us find the light. And as for love, we looked for it even while we were in hell. From momentary connections to lifelong friendships, we found love to remind us of our humanity, even if others looked at us as something less. Even when the world tried to tell us otherwise, queers declared for themselves that our hearts and our passions mattered just as much.

I’m not diminishing the suffering by making Love & Laughter the force of my fiction. It’s about acknowledging them while insisting on the resilience, the spirit, and the innate humanity of our community. Our history and more importantly, people have shown that when the going gets tough… well, LGBTQ+ folk still found reason to dance. We still built chosen families. We still fell in love. We still cracked inappropriate jokes. We still lived as if today were our very last. For many, it was. And speaking of those who lived fiercely, Spoiler Alert: I'm about to share a major character moment for Hughie Roman’s logical Uber driver, Rusty, that truly embodies this resilience.

“I’ve definitely been outed.” He sighed. “Maybe I should reconsider jumping.” “I’m just as pathetic as you, maybe more. Who’s been in love with the same guy since high school?” “Sheriff Hank?” he asked. “But you told him you didn’t go to school with him.” “That’s because Henry Holden Jr. went to school with Rustin Farnsworth.” She sighed. “I was Rustin Farnsworth.” “I’m shocked,” Hughie said, flabbergasted. “Your last name was Farnsworth.” “Stop teasing. If you thought being gay when you were in high school in the fifties was tough?” “Seventies,” he corrected her. “Imagine growing up trans in the Dark Ages right here in Hannibal. I didn’t really know what to call my identity. I just knew I was different, no matter where I went. At school, a lot of the kids and even some teachers teased me. You’d think at least when I got home I’d find some sanctuary from the cruelty. My parents may not have physically abused me, but the emotional abuse was far worse. Because it came from the two people I counted on to help me when no one else would.” “That’s why you’re the strongest person I know.” Hughie held her as she lamented her painful past. He hadn’t quite been the support system she had been to him. Rusty made being a true blue friend seem easy. “You could’ve told me when we first met. It must’ve been tough coming back here.”

Authentic Queer Stories Need Happiness

Far too long has mainstream media reduced queer lives to simple narratives: coming out trauma, victimhood, and always tragic. While these stories have their place and reason, they don’t represent the whole spectrum of our experience. Authentic queer storytelling goes beyond the heartbreak that comes with being LGBTQ+. They must include happiness like in The Hotel Cairo, which I made a standalone, for now, to preserve its (again, spoiler) HEA. It must include exciting but awkward first kisses, being ourselves around chosen family, the insane twists and turns of life, and even unapologetically embracing heartbreak with a smile.

Only Love & Laughter allows us to tell stories where we aren’t limited by our struggles but defined by our capacity to connect, find happiness, and find humor in the suffering. It’s unedited. It’s genuine. Moreover, it's us!

The Spirit of Pride

And as June arrives next week, isn’t that what Pride is ultimately about? To remind us. To protest. To also be happy and hopeful. To celebrate survival and that in the end, love wins. In the meantime, you’re allowed to laugh through your tears. Heck, it’s our queer superpower.

Again, The Hotel Cairo is more than a romcom. It’s a love letter to the spirit of Pride—a story jam-packed with romantic entanglements, LMFAO mishaps, and characters whose humanity defines them more than their flaws and impossible challenges. They seek love anyway. More often, they’re heartbroken. Only sometimes do they find happiness. But it’s worth the risk.

The Countdown is ON!

We’ve prepped, we’ve pondered, and now we’re ready. The June Relaunches of The Hotel Cairo and the refreshed GaryAlanHidalgo.com are finally here!

Final Check! Have you signed up for the newsletter yet? Don't miss the launch day alert!

Get Social! Follow along for countdown posts and more launch day fun! I’m on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky.

Spread the Word! Tell your own chosen family who love a good romcom with heart and history! The Hotel Cairo is now open!

Get in the Mood! The Hotel Cairo: Love, Laughter & Libations 🏳️‍🌈🍸Playlist 🎶 is the ultimate soundtrack for Pride prep or anytime you need a swoon-worthy escape. With a dash of 80s daytime drama and campiness, it inspired my book, or vice versa. Grab the book, a martini, and come listen and see if you can guess the connections!

Next week’s topic: I’m kicking off Pride Month by exploring its epic history from the Stonewall Inn to the world.

See you next Monday!

Love & Laughter,

Gary Alan Hidalgo

[garyalanhidalgo]

Pride Prep: Love IS Welcome Here! Queer Sanctuaries & The Hotel Cairo

Kamusta, fabulous readers! Hello, again…

Can you believe we’re already halfway through May (and 2025)? Nevertheless, Pride Month Prep is also in full swing! I’ve already delivered the queer dish on soap operas and tackled the thorny issue of ageism in Hollywoof and our own community. Thank you for coming back for something truly fundamental to LGBTQ+ history and experience: Sanctuary.

It’s that feeling of walking into a place and knowing…knowing…you can breathe. That you can finally be yourself, fully and unashamedly. That last adverb was critical for me. Someone who grew up in a conservative town that today still debates over pride flags. For much of the 80s and 90s, I edited my existence, pretending to have a crush on girls when I fell in love with boys. It wasn’t until I worked in Hollywood, my big dream, that I started to meet real-life out and proud queers like me among many, many allies who made coming out myself almost logical and natural. Yes, I make fun of Hollywoof and its foibles only because of my deep love for my first taste of, as the Hotel Cairo co-owner, Xenia Xavier labelled them:

“Hotel porter?” Xenia said skeptically to the paparazzi. “Don’t you recognize the seventeen-year-old actor who played Mr. Roman’s son in Autumn of My Discontent? I set aside my reservations about same-sex marriage ceremonies being the next evolution for the Hotel Cairo, but as we can all see, LGBTQXYZs are simply out of control, especially these outsiders from Hollywood.”

I waited to exhale until the mid-nineties, thanks to work. Sure, everyone was larger-than-life and even troublesome. That provided the contrast I needed to say goodbye to normalcy, to straightforward, to straight. I wouldn’t officially come out until later in the decade after I’d discovered and gone to gay bars in the queer hub of West Hollywood. It was where I could be me without fear or judgment. As you can see, it wasn’t overnight, even if I’d already accepted I was gay wholeheartedly. It was the rest of the world’s, my world’s, turn to accept it. And safe havens, especially made for queers, new and old, made it easier, safer, and as I’ve described, more natural to come out of the closet. No wonder, for generations, creating and finding these safe spaces has been a cornerstone to LGBTQ+ history and our community’s well-being and survival.

It brings me back to The Hotel Cairo and its upcoming June relaunch. Yes, that countdown.

"Love is Welcome at the Hotel Cairo"

Once More, Spoilers Ahead! Mostly, thematic, like one of the novel’s driving forces, being the hotel’s cute-as-a-chipmunk new manager, Fabian Flores. You have been warned. Anyway, his big initiative is Love is Welcome at the Hotel Cairo, as this excerpt teases:

“I wonder what’s next on the agenda?” Hughie impatiently whispered. “All love is welcome at the Hotel Cairo.” Fabian beamed with pride as he read the title of his five-hour presentation.

Of course, you won’t need to sit for five hours like Hughie Roman and the other shareholders to find out Fabian’s goal isn’t just about good hospitality. It’s a proclamation. It’s about purposefully creating an environment where all love stories are welcome. He wants all guests to feel safe, seen, and celebrated for who they are and who they love. For Fabian, it’s beyond business as usual. Despite its two gay owners and numerous queer staff, the Hotel Cairo is located in a conservative town in a red state. The third co-owner happens to be an enigma. As quoted, Xenia warns against Hollywood-types like Hughie but married, divorced, and quietly inherited some hotel shares from a Hollywoof best of breed. Meanwhile, the manager she handpicked envisions a sanctuary for anyone denied the wedding of their dreams even if same sex marriage was legalized all the way back in 2015. Too bad he needs anti-marriage gay divorcee, Hughie!

“Say no more. Let’s just enjoy our lunch. We’re almost there. “ “At least you get plenty of exercise by always walking from one place to another on this vast property.” Hughie ogled him from head to toe but suddenly stopped before Fabian noticed. “Keeps one deliciously fit.” “If you don’t mind, you may have some insights I could use for my presentation next week.” “Are you planning to make a YouTube ad and need my advice as an artist?” Hughie asked, flustered by the invitation. “Maybe you want me to star in it?”  “No, I thought you could share your experience planning your wedding. Do you have any advice?” As they stopped in front of the mansion, a self-loathing so substantial consumed him that he wanted to vomit.

The majority shareholder’s initial reaction to Fabian’s plans for the Hotel Cairo doesn’t bode well for business or for the remotest possibility of romance. If Mr. Roman would only embrace the spirit of “Love is Welcome,” he’d have a better stay.

A History of Havens: Why Queer Sanctuaries Matter

Fabian’s fictional love-in has deep and significant roots in real LGBTQ+ history. Decades of it. In the mid-nineties, I was lucky to live and work in liberal Los Angeles, but I grew up in a conservative area of Southern California where I went to a Catholic school through high school. Sure, everyone was friendly, but I wore armor even among the many acquaintances whom I’d later cross paths with in West Hollywood. Remember, we grew up in the eighties. We had to stay in the closet for our well-being and survival. But society’s hostility towards queer folks stretches back further to times where the vitriol was more venomous and the danger ever present. That’s why the legendary gay bars, like Stonewall, came to be. Queer people needed a space where they could just be. Stonewall Inn’s patrons famously fought back against police harassment in the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, a pivotal moment in the LGBTQ+ rights movement. At the end of the day, they weren’t just places to drink and socialize but where information was passed, where we found our chosen family, and where you could hold your partner’s hand fearlessly. Once upon a time, the only place for same sex PDA.

In researching the upcoming 1990s-set mystery series Fantabulous!, I was surprised to learn that Roosterfish, a queer bar I visited while living in Marina Del Rey at the time, opened in 1979. A forty-minute drive away, West Hollywood’s oldest gay bar was Mother Lode, also opened in 1979. While Weho’s LGBTQ+ community extended beyond the bars, including bookstores, coffee shops and community centers, all providing access to queer books, support, and history, 1979 Venice was not the artistic, touristy Venice of the nineties or today. As their history states, crime, drugs, and violence plagued Abbot Kinney. I can only imagine what a lifeline the queer bar was if you lived on their side of town. Back then, I had no idea just how important Roosterfish or any of the queer bars I frequented as a newly out gay man were in the fight just to exist, to love, and yes, laugh. So, the more things change…

We Still Need Queer Sanctuaries!

Just because we can get married now doesn’t mean everything is better. Yes, the LGBTQ+ community has had many victories we can be proud of. The history of queer people has always been about celebrating the victories, but we’ve learned, through just as many heartbreaking experiences, we never get to sit out. Today, 2025…they’re still banning books with LGBTQ+ characters…they’re still threatening marriage equality…they’re still disrupting plans for June Pride…

We still need our queer sanctuaries to be there. Whether it’s a welcoming historic hotel like the Hotel Cairo or the fabulous gay bar called (what else) Fantabulous! (coming soon in my next series!), safe spaces for the LGBTQ+community remain so incredibly important. They can be a neighborhood comunity center, an online group, or a messenger chat with the queer folks and allies you know–it’s key to our well-being and survival in a good deal of ways:

Find folks like us and form a chosen family.

Feel safe in being you and loving you.

Find essential resources and support.

To just relax, exist, and express without hiding or editing.

To embrace queer history: hard-won victories, heartbreaking failures, to just breathe in the courage of the past, to fight for the future

“This is my mommy, Pearl Aguilar, and her fiancée, Galatea Ellis,” Rosa proudly announced her parents. Straight away, Pearl Aguilar chuckled in an ear-splitting but terrific manner that froze Hughie in his tracks. “Excuse my excitement, Mr. Roman. Rosie gave me your autograph, but I didn’t think I’d ever end up meeting you before you went back to Hollywood. To think I met both Richard Hunter and Toby Hunter from Autumn of My Discontent. Today is my dream come true.” “Don’t forget you’re marrying the love of your life today too.” Gal sweated. “Forgive me, honeybunch, but Richard Hunter has been my crush since he arrived in Autumn Valley, seeking revenge on his ex-lover Kendra Kane.” “Rosa mentioned you’re an Autumn fan,” Hughie said. “I was a fan. I was furious when you went into a coma after your ex-wife shot you. I was hoping you’d wake up. If only she didn’t sleep with your doctor, so he’d pull the plug. I thought you at least deserved to win an Emmy for your last scene.” “Richard Hunter’s life sounds just as screwed up as ours.” Fabian grinned at Hughie. “That scene had me bawling. I almost threw the remote at the TV when they pulled the plug and the monitors went—” Pearl mimicked small beeps that lead up to a long, continuous one. “Can I hug you, Mr. Roman?” “Please, call me Hughie.” Hughie leaned down so she could give him a protective bear hug. “We’re family now.”

Pride is About Sanctuary Too

As we continue our Pride Prep, we can’t forget that raising our rainbow flags, gathering for the parades, and celebrating who we are as a queer whole and as LGBTQ+ individuals, is very much sanctuary too. Gay Pride has its own epic history I’ll save for a post next month. It commemorates the Stonewall Uprising but has become so much more worldwide (like I said, epic). Late nineties me first celebrated it in West Hollywood, so proud to be finally out and with my LA community. 2025+ me feels the same love on a grander, GLOBAL scale via social media.

The spirit of Fabian’s “Love is Welcome” campaign is the spirit of Pride. Every day, I write and hope to share another story, I go all out (pun intended) to capture the same spirit, including the blog post you’re reading here on GaryAlanHidalgo.com.

Let’s Keep Prepping!

June’s around the corner! Help relaunch The Hotel Cairo by reading it in time for Pride. If you enjoyed it, leave a review. If you had problems with it, I’d love to hear that too. Lets keep the momentum going:

Reflect: What spaces have become sanctuaries in your life? Share in the comments!

Sign-Up! My blog is only a taste of the LGBTQ+ content here. Get free online works, including deleted materials and new short stories direct to your inbox.

Follow Along: I’m on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky where we can continue the conversation. It’s like a 24/7 Pride celebration!

And Next Week? We’ll wrap up the Pride Prep series by talking about why we need “Love & Laughter” especially during tough times. Blog Post #1, I hardly knew thee. Are we really at #4 next week? Stay tuned!

Salamat/Thanks for being a part of this community, a virtual sanctuary we’re building together. Know that Love IS welcome here!

Love & Laughter,

Gary Alan Hidalgo