LGBTQ news and entertainment
Some news items I thought worth your time: • LGBTQ Nation: MSNBC makes history with two out gay Black anchors – Jonathan Capehart and Eugene Daniels (above) – cohosting a new version of The Weekend. Continue reading “MSNBC Makes History With Two Black Gay Anchors + More News”
A crowd of some 5,000 music fans attended a sold-out rock concert in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday night after the entire audience was screened for COVID-19 before entering the venue. From NBC News:
Music fans in Barcelona hugged, danced and sang along at a sold-out rock concert on Saturday night after taking rapid Covid-19 tests in a trial that could revive the live music industry in Spain and beyond.
Some 5,000 fans at the show for Spanish indie band Love of Lesbian had to wear masks but social distancing was not required in the Palau Sant Jordi arena. Health controls at the entrance delayed the start of the concert, but could not dampen the celebratory spirit.
“Welcome to one of the most exciting concerts of our lives!” lead singer Santi Balmes told the crowd to a roar of cheers. Pre-concert testing at three Barcelona locations was carried out by 80 nurses wearing full personal protective equipment.
Attendees received the results of their tests on their cell phones about 15 minutes after being tested. The ticket price included the cost of the test and a face mask. NBC News says that by mid-day three people out of about 2,400 tested positive and were not able to attend the event. Those folks received a full refund for their tickets. The government approved the event as a sort of test to see if such health precautions could help bring life closer to normal.
(stock photo)
Coronavirus update: – Death toll has risen to 2,696, with 514 victims last 24 hours – More than 5,000 of Spain’s health workers have been infected with the coronavirus – Andalusia considering converting exhibition centers into “large hospitals” if needed https://t.co/GJenKkeIoc
— El País English Edition (@elpaisinenglish) March 24, 2020
L-R Alberto Gestoso, Alex Lebron Torrent
In the video, you can see Gestoso’s neighbors leaning on their balconies taking in the open-air serenade. “This made me cry with emotion,” wrote Miguel. “The video is from Barcelona, which is in Quarantine like the rest of Spain. Courage and strength to all.” Gestoso shared a post on his Instagram regarding the afternoon’s musical moment writing, “Thanks to all of you who are staying at home for the good of all,” He also encouraged others “who are going through everything” to think of others because “this is everyone’s responsibility.” The original video appears to have been recorded by his boyfriend, Roman Santana, who shared the clip on his Instagram which has been viewed over 1.4 million times. Saxophonist Alex Lebron Torrent shared the moment from his perspective as well.
If you’ve been to Barcelona (easily one of my favorite cities in Europe), you know exactly where this is with the world-famous Basilica de la Sagrada Familia in the background. Check out a few posts from the two musician’s Instagram accounts. Definitely worth perusing.
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| Me and Vanessa Williams |
So, life is funny, sometimes. As I arrived in Barcelona yesterday, I was reminded of this happy coincidence when I was here last year. In August 2018, while traveling on the Atlantis cruise from Rome to Barcelona, I got word that award-winning actress/singer/dancer Vanessa Williams would be the surprise guest star on the cruise ship. Longtime readers know I have been friends with the multi-hyphenate super-star since we were both freshman music theater majors at Syracuse University in the early 1980s. We quickly traded emails excited at the prospect of seeing each other live, in person. What happened was the bestest catch-up you can imagine as V and I, with my hubby Michael, spent just the most delicious hours laughing and smiling off the French coast near Nice, on the Atlantis cruise. We explored Mallorca together, and I even joined her onstage during her concert (more about that later). My apologies for the light posting today, as I was adjusting to the jetlag. But walking around Barcelona this afternoon, it was fun to remember the really wonderful company I got to keep just a year ago.
Some news items you might have missed: • Instagram: Hubby Michael and I (above) are traveling today to Barcelona for a few days before we head out on the Mediterranean via Atlantis Cruises. Long travel day from Sin City to Barcelona, but looking forward to playing in the ‘City of Counts’ again. I’ll be sharing the adventure along the way…:) • kenneth-in-the-212: Every Wednesday, Kenneth has the goods to get us over Hump Day – #WrestleWednesday • Twitter: Donald Trump told reporters today his administration is “very seriously” looking at changing the Constitution through executive order. p.s. you can’t…
Trump says he’s “very seriously” looking at trying to change the Constitution by executive order.
“We’re looking at that very seriously — birthright citizenship. Where you have a baby on our land … ‘congratulations the baby is now a US citizen’ … it’s, frankly, ridiculous.” pic.twitter.com/5IBNOcMXE9 — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 21, 2019
• Geekwire: LinkedIn blocked or removed 21.6 million fake accounts on its platform from January to June of this year, a sign that the Microsoft-owned social network is actively fighting some of the same issues that have plagued Facebook, Twitter and others. • Boy Culture: Matt Rettenmund has more peeks at Renée Zellweger and Finn Wittrock as Judy Garland and Mickey Deans in Judy. The film lands in theaters September 27. • Good Morning America: GMA announced the next cast of Dancing with the Stars, which includes former ‘liar in chief’ Sean Spicer, Queer Eye’s culture guy Karamo Brown, Christie Brinkley, and more. https://twitter.com/GMA/status/1164165340236001282