Pride Fiesta at Club Exklusive on Sunday benefits LULAC scholarship recipients, AIDS Arms

FROM STAFF REPORTS

On Sunday, the weather promises to be hot like summer and the entertainment at the 2011 Cinco De Mayo Pride Fiesta is forecasted to be muy caliente!

The management of Kaliente and Club Exklusive will once again host Pride Fiesta this Sunday, May 8, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., at Club Exklusive’s outside premises, 4207 Maple Ave. in Dallas. The event is free and open to the public.

On the main Budweiser Stage folklorico dance troupes, live singers, drag performances of Latin America’s most famous artists, and festive mariachis will continue the Cinco De Mayo holiday well into Sunday evening.

Food, games and refreshment booths, along with local artists, will be featured at this outdoor event for the whole family.

Pride Fiesta is an annual benefit that helps raise funds for the philanthropic projects of League of United Latin American Citizens’ LGBT chapter, LULAC 4871 – The Dallas Rainbow Council. Event proceeds will go toward the group’s Jesus Chairez — LULAC 4871 scholarship and to AIDS Arms Inc.

This is the third year for Pride Fiesta, which was originally held inside Kaliente night club and raised funds through generous patrons and drag performers donating their tips.

“This year Kaliente’s management decided to kick it up a notch and make it outside during the day, like a block party,” said Jesse Garcia, president of LULAC 4871. “I’m so grateful to the staff and entertainers at Kaliente and Club Exklusive for helping the LULAC Rainbow Council make a difference in the lives of young scholars and for supporting the largest AIDS services organization in North Texas that is currently expanding its clinic to help more people with HIV/AIDS.”

Budweiser, the Dallas Tavern Guild, Bravo Groups, and local Latino social networking group Noches Latinas have also been instrumental in making the 2011 Cinco De Mayo Pride Fiesta bigger and better, according to Garcia.

Along with favorite Mexican delicacies like tacos, tamales, tostadas and elotes, booths from Lambda Legal, LifeWalk and Resource Center Dallas will be featured.

Voter registration and HIV testing will be available on site.

A special guest at Pride Fiesta will be North Dallas High School graduate and University of Texas student Joseph Zuniga, this year’s winner of the 2011 Jesus Chairez – LULAC 4871 Scholarship. Zuniga, an openly gay Latino, is majoring in business. Zuniga’s father is currently working two jobs to help put him through school where Zuniga is currently excelling in courses and tutoring others to succeed as well. Zuniga’s resources go straight to tuition and cost-of-living expenses. He has had to borrow school books and check out books weekly from the library to keep up this semester.

“We are very proud of Joseph and the obstacles he overcame to make it at UT,” said Garcia. “We are also raising money for two additional candidates whose stories were so compelling we needed to award them as well.”

Diney Hobgood, is a senior at DISD’s Irma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School. This young straight ally who left home at an early age turned her situation around by concentrating on her studies and excelling in school. Hobgood is active in her school’s LULAC Youth Council, where she got to learn more about her Latino heritage and work on community service projects. She plans to go into medicine to help others.

Another young woman going into the field of medicine is Mignote Chamiso. This young scholar born in Ethiopia is on her way to realizing her American Dream. Placing No. 2 in her class at the Irma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School, Chamiso has been very active in community service and is a proud equal rights supporter of LGBT and Latino people.

“Both Hobgood and Chamiso will be awarded $500 by the LULAC 4871 council, and if Pride Fiesta is a success, we want to fully fund these young women at $1,000 each,” Garcia said. “These young scholars will lead the next generation into a more tolerant and accepting future.”