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On weekdays in Manila, Philippines, Al Enriquez, 86, pushes a rickety wood cart with a rainbow umbrella perched on the dilapidated wooden. He sells candies and cigarettes outdoors of a bustling commuter grocery store, the place the occasional smoker or a toddler with just a few cash stops by to make a purchase order. In these dense, chaotic streets, Enriquez — swallowed by a T-shirt and basketball shorts hanging loosely on his small, ageing physique — is commonly neglected by the gang.
On weekends, although, he goes by the stage title Carmen de la Rue and is remodeled right into a Manila showgirl, donning floor-length clothes, elaborate make-up, excessive heels and wigs.
Enriquez belongs to a neighborhood of older homosexual males that calls itself the Golden Gays. They’ve lived collectively for many years within the Philippines, internet hosting exhibits and pageant performances on the weekends to make ends meet.
The neighborhood was established within the Nineteen Seventies by Justo Justo, a Manila metropolis lawmaker, AIDS activist and columnist. He opened his dwelling to shelter the storied lolas, or grandmothers, an affectionate time period the group has adopted to seek advice from its members.
When Justo based the Golden Gays, he wished to create a care dwelling for homosexual males residing on the streets of Manila, rejected by their households and society. The neighborhood developed into a spot the place residents had been additionally inspired to embrace their gender id. Some members, like Enriquez, embody each female and male personas. Others select to take care of their female stage identities of their on a regular basis lives.
Justo sheltered the Golden Gays in his own residence till he died in 2012. With out Justo as a patron, the group, which now contains about 20 folks, was again on the road. “Many had to return to the road the place they got here from,” mentioned Ramon Busa, the present president of the Golden Gays, who goes by Lola Mon or the stage title Monique de la Rue.
One of many members, Federico Ramasamy, higher referred to as Lola Rica, discovered work as a road sweeper and was given a room in a shantytown. Lola Rica crammed her belongings and costumes within the small room and welcomed different Golden Gays who had nowhere else to go. Tragically, a fireplace burned down the condominium. Everybody was secure, however Lola Rica’s heels, robes, wigs and images had been misplaced.
“Time is proscribed. Our philosophy — as a result of we’re showgirls — is that the present should go on. The course of life should preserve flowing,” mentioned Lola Mon, 72.
It wasn’t till 2018 that the group lastly earned sufficient cash to hire a small home to share in Manila. “We see ourselves as orphans, although perhaps it doesn’t apply to us, as a result of we’re outdated,” Lola Mon laughed. “We shield every one, as a result of we now have no caregivers to lean on.”
Within the Philippines, there are few methods of assist past the normal household. Greater than half of residents age 60 and older stay and not using a pension, which routinely classifies somebody as residing in poverty, in line with authorities information. The nation’s largely Catholic society has lengthy discriminated in opposition to the LGBTQ neighborhood, which implies most of the Golden Gays had been unable to search out jobs after they had been youthful. Pensions had been out of the query.
“They had been thrown out of the home by the household of Justo, and I assume what sparked among the many neighborhood by that sort of story is the shared expertise of being disowned, of being thrown out of a house that you really want for your self,” mentioned Mela Habijan, a pageant queen and LGBTQ neighborhood organizer.
“That shared expertise will at all times be the anchor” of the neighborhood, Habijan mentioned. “We all know what it’s wish to be rejected. We all know what it’s wish to be disowned. We all know the worry of being thrown out of our personal houses.”
After they had been evicted from Justo’s dwelling, some members of the Golden Gays entered homeless shelters however mentioned they felt unsafe in males’s dorms and uncomfortable with the expectation that they’d carry out non secular rituals, as many shelters within the Philippines are run by faith-based organizations. Within the absence of a standard household construction, the Golden Gays have needed to create their very own assist methods.
Through the pandemic, the federal government prohibited older Filipinos, thought of extra susceptible to COVID an infection, from leaving their houses. The federal government additionally banned giant gatherings to forestall additional outbreaks, ensuing within the Golden Gays suspending their performances.
“The fiestas had been gone. There have been no exhibits. The bars had been closed. The place was cash going to come back from? Showgirls had been the primary to be battered by the pandemic,” mentioned Robert Pangilinan, one other member of the group, who goes by the stage title Odessa Jones.
The group survived the pandemic with donations from followers and supporters. “We had been cherished. The neighborhood didn’t abandon us,” mentioned Odessa Jones, 55.
The house of the Golden Gays is painted inexperienced, the doorway trimmed with rainbow tassels welcoming those that enter. Images of exhibits adorn the partitions. The residents share duties like cleansing, cooking and caregiving. Turning into a resident is a really casual course of that has modified through the years. Individuals may be referred by different residents, and the doorways are open to performers who’re ageing, who ask to hitch or who’re in want of shelter.
On a latest afternoon, laughter crammed the home over the crackling of heat adobo within the kitchen. Enriquez held palms with Odessa Jones. A small marble urn sat on a shelf. It accommodates the ashes of Lola Rica, the resident who generously shared her condominium after the Golden Gays had been kicked out of Justo’s dwelling in 2021. Lola Rica handed away through the pandemic.
Due to Covid restrictions, the Golden Gays had been unable to carry a correct funeral for Lola Rica. Sometime, after they have additional money, they dream of going to the seaside — maybe on a vacation — wearing black lace, and spreading Lola Rica’s ashes into the ocean.
Now that Covid guidelines have been eased within the Philippines, the Golden Gays are again onstage. On a latest humid Sunday, in a modest Manila shopping center, they ready for a present, placing on elaborate make-up and glittering robes. Today, these preparations require a little bit extra effort. Enriquez is unable to bend all the way down to placed on excessive heels. Lola Mon generally wants assist to climb onto the stage. A brand new era — the Silver Gays — has change into crucial to the present.
Golden Gays performances are normally pageants throughout which every lola exhibits off a expertise equivalent to doing cartwheels in heels or lip-syncing. Mallgoers cease to catch a glimpse. Their eyes brighten. The exhibits are paying homage to Philippine fiesta tradition, the place every neighborhood celebrates the feasts of a patron saint.
“It’s joyful,” Odessa Jones mentioned. “I missed the applause and the cheers of individuals. I’ve boundless power, as a result of I need to present those that we’re nonetheless alive.”
Because the present ended that Sunday, the Golden Gays held palms as they sang “If We Maintain on Collectively” by Diana Ross. After the present, they went dwelling to have a good time their efficiency over beer. “Residence is gorgeous, as a result of that’s the place there’s full love,” Lola Mon mentioned. “Love revolves amongst ourselves. Our camaraderie is entire, and since we’re collectively on a regular basis, our companionship is stable.”
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