CARAVANA ORGULLO LGBT DOMINICANO, 2014
CARAVANA ORGULLO LGBT DOMINICANO, 2014 is a medium format offset press book of 135 documentary photographs of the 2014 pride parade in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The book was presented with a series of art events commemorating the fledgling festival, which was growing exponentially, though not without controversy, in Dominican Republic in the mid 2010s.
“Thanks, thanks, thanks to my new friends in Santo Domingo, who approached me at the last minute to document their (first officially sanctioned) LGBTQ pride event. I grabbed these photos on the fly, with a borrowed camera, hanging off the back of a rocket-speed moped, on a July day in the Santo Domingo.
What a wake up call for me - the jaded, urban, “post-gay,” queer that I am, who mostly skips gay pride in the USA for all its commercialism and conformity. Not so in Dominican Republic. I witnessed the social spectacle of gay pride doing what it’s supposed to do — create an enormous amount of visibility and energy in a part of the world ambivalent about things LGBTQ. For three hours and forty-five minutes, I followed the tireless Caravana through every nook and cranny of Santo Domingo, as the rainbow-clad troops invited folks on the street to a freer, more inclusive world.
It inspires. It’s a call to never, never stop...
These pictures are dedicated to the courageous folks who go out into the street to make the world safer, stronger, and freer for all of us. And they are dedicated to all the folks in the street who, in return, roar with support, joy, and good will. ”