The Manhattan Times

Yoseli Castillo Fuertes, chair of GALDE’s Board of Directors, stands with Francisco Lazala, founder of GALDE on-stage. Together, they have worked for over 15 years to keep the Health Fair and Picnic a long-standing tradition for the LGBT community in northern Manhattan.

Story by Cassandra Gallese

Photos by Catherine Fonseca

There was a party in the park this past weekend.

Thumping dance beats beckoned visitors throughout Inwood Hill Park to join the celebration of northern Manhattan’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities this past Sun., July 31st. 

The 21st Annual Health Fair and Picnic, hosted by the Gay and Lesbian Dominican Empowerment Organization (GALDE), brought together the LGBT community and their friends, family and supporters throughout Washington Heights and Inwood for a day of health awareness, entertainment, and family fun. 

“It gets bigger every year,” Yoseli Castillo Fuertes, chair of GALDE’s Board of Directors, said of the picnic, which began more than two decades ago as an informal summer gathering of gay Latino friends in Fort Tryon Park.  This year GALDE saw upwards of 2,000 people participating in the festivities, according to Castillo Fuertes.

Participants enjoyed free Latin food, traditional Dominican games, and live entertainment while learning about health issues of concern and being connected to important services provided by the many local organizations in attendance, including Columbia University’s Project Achieve, Bronx AIDS Services, New York City Department of Health, Lambda Legal, Washington Heights CORNER Project, and the Lower East Side Harm Reduction Center. 

Free HIV and STD testing was also provided on-site.

Francisco Lazala, founder of GALDE and one of the individuals who attended those early picnics in Fort Tryon Park, has been organizing the event for the last fifteen years. 

He explained that this year, with the recent passing of New York State’s Marriage Equality Act, “we have more to celebrate than ever.”

GALDE, which recently became incorporated as a 501C3 organization, provides a variety of support services for the Dominican/Latino LGBT community in Washington Heights and Inwood. 

Attendees of the Health Fair and Picnic included family members, friends and supporters of the LGBT community – of all ages.

Lazala explained, “We facilitate presentations on issues related to HIV prevention and other health related issues, sexuality, and gender equality.  In addition, we coordinate health and political forums and town hall meetings. We also work with other small Latino LGBT groups to organize social, educational and culturally sensitive activities and programs for both adults and young people.” 

GALDE currently meets at the Bronx Community Pride Center.

Several community leaders took part in Sunday’s event, including New York City Councilmembers Ydanis Rodriguez and Robert Jackson, and New York State Assemblymembers Keith Wright and Herman D. Farrell.  

Assemblyman Farrell told the crowd that he has supported the LGBT community since he first joined the State legislature thirty-seven years ago, at which time he received letters from constituents concerned about LGBT teachers interacting with children. 

Remarking on how far the community had come in its fight for equality, he said, proudly, “It was an honor to vote for marriage equality.”

The 21st Annual GALDE Health Fair and Picnic offered a full day of education and community mobilization. 

After the sun went down and the food had been devoured, there was still time to celebrate. 

Performer Tyra Allure took the stage in a skintight gold jumpsuit to perform a Beyonce song in front of a huge rainbow flag.

As Allure sang and danced, cheers broke out among the crowd of picnic-goers.