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In the past ten years, we Puerto Ricans have experienced many situations that have made us recipients of stress, anxiety and hypervigilance. The theme of Covid-19 goes hand in hand with other social problems. It is because of this that people live in a state of constant uncertainty in which they (or should I say…

The Waves Ahead community center in San Juan, run by Wilfred Labiosa, flies two flags: the trans pride flag with the transgender greek symbol encapsulated in a heart, and the flag of Puerto Rico mixed with the gay pride flag. Both stand as a beacon for LGBT+ Puerto Ricans. On 4 June 2021, Latina Republic…

SAGE is proud to partner with the New York City Department for the Aging, Thrive NYC and our SAGE Puerto Rico affiliate at Waves Ahead in a public health campaign for Puerto Rican LGBT elders in New York City and Puerto Rico. The campaign seeks to provide help via SAGE’s National LGBT Elder Hotline in the U.S.…

The coronavirus pandemic has forced HIV/AIDS service organizations and advocacy groups in Puerto Rico to change the way they work. AIDS Healthcare Foundation Regional Director for Puerto Rico Silvana Erbstein on Tuesday told the Washington Blade in an email the organization’s clinic in Trujillo Alto, a municipality that is less than 15 miles southeast of…

Hurricane season is here. In Puerto Rico, where September 2017’s Category 5 Hurricane Maria devastated the US island territory, many people are still living under blue tarps. Their homes lacking shelter from storm-force winds. Many still with spotty to no electricity and relying on assistance for food and water. “I know President Trump has said…

Thousands are expected to celebrate WorldPride 2019 in New York where the city is throwing a massive LGBTQ pride march. This year, WorldPride coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, which was the clash between police and gay bar patrons that sparked the modern gay rights movement. At New York City’s monumental Stonewall…

Black transgender women are murdered at alarming rates. They have a bleak life expectancy between 35 and 37 years old, according to Julian K. Glover, an African American Studies doctoral student at Northwestern University and receive an average annual income of $10,000 — well below the poverty line. According to the Human Rights Campaign at the time of press, at least ten of them…

In the early hours of June 28, 1969, the Stonewall Inn was raided by New York City police, sparking five nights of violent protest and 50 years of LGBTQ civil rights advocacy in the U.S. Today, the gay club located in Greenwich Village still stands as a monument for LGBTQ advocacy, and the “revolution,” as many of the veterans…

A ribbon-cutting ceremony for Puerto Rico’s first center for LGBT elders took place in San Juan on Tuesday. San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz spoke alongside Wilfred Labiosa, executive director of Waves Ahead and SAGE Puerto Rico, and San Juan Municipal Assembly President Marco Antonio Rigau before they took part in the ceremony. Representatives of Intersections International, a New York-based LGBT-affirming…

Supporting LGBTQ community, homeless, seniors still recovering from Hurricane Maria “What did you do during the hurricane?” It was a common question in Puerto Rico in the months after Hurricane Maria made landfall on September 20, 2017. Wilfred Labiosa will tell you that he hunkered down with his partner in their San Juan flat, “trying to fall…

June is unofficially recognized this year as LGBTQ Pride Month, because of a demonstration that took place in 1969. The morning of June 28, 1969, New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in Greenwich Village. Law enforcement could legally justify the raid because Stonewall was serving liquor without a license,…

Editor’s note: Washington Blade International News Editor Michael K. Lavers will be on assignment in Puerto Rico through Feb. 3. He will be reporting on the aftermath of Hurricane Maria and its continued impact on LGBT Puerto Ricans and people with HIV/AIDS. An activist from Puerto Rico who attended the National LGBTQ Task Force’s annual…

June is LGBTQ Pride month, and cities all over the world are celebrating their true colors with fabulous marches and parades. However, many people forget that Pride’s inception is directly associated with political unrest and violence against LGBTQ people.