Queer eye for the DIVAs

LOS ANGELES – They’re not only proud to be Filipinos; they’re also proud to be out.

It’s true, the Filipino gays and lesbians in West Hollywood are slowly making their presence felt. Just a week after Pride March, they bonded with others like them to prove that they are also a force to reckon with... when it comes to creativity.

Last week, members, officers and guests of Diverse and Inclusive Visionary Artists (DIVA) celebrated its second year anniversary with a party at the East West Lounge on Santa Monica Boulevard in WeHo.

DIVA is the only Los Angeles-based grassroots non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the creative endeavor of multi-ethnic LGBT artists in the media. It is composed of Asian, Pacific Islander, and African-American gays and lesbians. And it is headed by a Filipino.

"I found this organization two years ago, out of my frustration because when I was working for this organization as a volunteer, I thought ‘How come there’s not many people of color in this room?’ Yes we have gays and lesbian representatives in this crowd but not much people of color," said DIVA founder and executive director Nelson Melegrito.

DIVA has succeeded in uplifting gays of color through film festivals, premiere screenings, seminars and networking events. Among those were: world premiere of Our Very Own (LA Film Festival ’05); LA premiere of Mysterious Skin (Gregg Araki), Bad Education (Pedro Almodovar), Tarnation (Jonathan Caouette), Imelda (Ramona Diaz), Eating Out (Ariztical Entertainment).

According to Melegrito, their ultimate goal at DIVA is to strengthen the presence of gays and lesbians of color, draw attention to them and what they do, so that they could ultimately blend in with the LGBT community without being singled out merely by virtue of their ethnicity.

"I’m hoping that we wouldn’t have this kind of organization to exist. Meaning that we won’t have some labels to say that DIVA exists because we need to have a niche for people of color and LGBT artists. I’m hoping it’s going to be all one and there won’t be any color lines, no divisions," Melegrito said.

DIVA’s second anniversary celebration featured several celebrities in the Filipino gay community, including Fil-Am model and host of the popular program Queer Eye for the Straight Girl, Honey Labrador.

"Sadly, though I didn’t really grow up with my Filipino roots, though I make a very good chicken adobo. It’s my specialty," said Labrador who was born in Hawaii to an American mother and a Filipino father. She grew up with her brother and sister in South Hampton, New York, with their blonde mom; but away from their dad.

"It wasn’t until I moved out here to Los Angeles 14 years ago that I met all my half brothers and sisters. I’m very close with them. They’re more Filipino than me because their mother is like me, half-White, half-Filipino. But I’m so proud to be Filipino and be out," she said.

Labrador points to Filipinos’ religious values as one factor that hinders the acceptance of gays and lesbians. She was quick to explain, however, that she’s fortunate that she didn’t have to go through the tough outing phase that most Filipinos go through with their respective families.

"My Filipino family, a lot of whom I’ve only met in the past 10 years, my aunts, my other sisters and brothers, have all been very accepting of me because they’re just so happy to have me in the family. And so I haven’t felt that in my own family," said the statuesque actress who has also produced a film called April Shower set for release in fall 2005.

In the film that’s patterned after My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Labrador hopes to show the typical scenarios that take place in the marriage of gay and lesbian couples. It presents the different perspectives of each member of the family, from the deeply religious mother who’s against the wedding because the union is supposedly against the teachings of her Catholic faith, to the modern and more liberated relatives.

"I really believe it’s the stereotypes that people have of what gay and lesbian is (that makes acceptance difficult) and so I just try to be an example. And I think that I have such an amazing opportunity in Queer Eye for the Straight Girl, which I do know is airing in the Philippines because a friend of mine e-mailed me. I think it puts a whole other face in the community," she added.

Within the next two years, Labrador hopes to go to the Philippines for the first time. She wants for her first trip to be part-vacation, part-work since she’s planning to gather materials for her next movie project. She wants to do a movie on the story of her ancestors, from the heydays of the Labradors whom, she was told, owned one of the biggest mansions in the Philippines during the Spanish colonization, to the Japanese invasion and fast-forward to the present.

"In the (Filipino) culture, stories are often just passed on verbally; and being a filmmaker, I find it so important to document everything," she said.

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