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CLICK
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Junior Vasquez Arena
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London Town
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2005
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2004
Abel NYE
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NYC Gay Pride
Junior Vasquez
Alegria Xtreme
Maze Closing Party
Winter Party Festival
Alegria Crobar NY
2003
Junior Vasquez NYE
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Black & Blue
Alegria Rio
Junior's Birthday
NYC Gay Pride
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Junior Vasquez Earth
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Winter Party Questions
Winter Party Festival
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2002
Victor Calderone NYE
BillboardLive NYE
White Party
Victor Calderone
Black & Blue
NYC Gay Pride
Photo Credit :: MRNY
Nightlife
ALEGRIA 2012
Mark Thompson & Robert Doyle
30 December 2011
www.alegriaevents.com     photo-album
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Hard to imagine, but back in the days before Alegria became a circuit juggernaut, Alegria was something of an underground, after-hours party attended by the truest and fiercest "dancers from the dance" who brought a self-congratulatory awareness to the floor for being at the hottest party in New York City.

That same in-the-know feeling was in evidence again at Alegria 2012 on Friday evening of New Year's Eve weekend for the last party of 2011. For most New Yorkers, New Year's Eve is for amateurs - and producer Ric Sena wisely placed Alegria in the opening slot of a party-filled New York weekend. DJ (and Alegria stalwart) Abel was on the decks (sporting a jewel-encrusted monogrammed cap) - and as soon as he unleashed his ferocious remix of Rihanna's song du jour "We Found Love," the boys converged en masse on the floor where they remained for the next six hours.

One of the first boys we met was an Alegria newbie - and his contagious energy and infectious smile was a reminder of what it means to "bring it" to the party. "Leave the world behind ya," as one lyric had it - and Alegria 2012 was the epitome of the post-holiday release party. Say goodbye to the stress and tension - and hello to cathartic release.

A true theatrical production that unfolded in three acts, Alegria 2012 blew the roof off the Best Buy Theatre when the stage curtain parted to reveal an enormous scaffolding set in the shape of the digits 2012 that spanned the stage, reaching to the proscenium - upon which a surfeit of Alegria go-go boys writhed and roiled and moiled their sexy bodies, saying so long to Father Time and hello to 2012. "Energy" was the track - and ENERGY exploded all around the room and across the floor.

Throughout the night, it was clear that Ric, Abel, and lighting wiz Stephen Wyker were all three working at the peak of their collective power, making the whole greater than the sum of its parts. Abel's musical selections were a celebration of 2011's most propulsive hits, highlighted by Rihanna's haunting and soulful tracks. The singer (who recently tied Whitney for most top ten singles - and is right behind Madonna and Mariah) has an uncanny ability to tap into a gay man's subconscious with her luxurious, dreamy voice - and Abel remixed her "Only Girl (In the World)" into a majestic orchestral maneuver that served as a climactic opening to the party's third act. Remixed, remade, and remastered - and sealed with a sexy, hot kiss, Abel's version of "Only Girl (In the World)" is definitive.

Danish singer and performance artist, Sisse Marie, made her New York debut singing her worldwide club hits "Dirty Hands" and "Every Time (You Look at Me)" while working the stage in staggeringly high heels - and enough chains to strangle dozens of Lady Gaga wannabes. The Danish dynamo worked the boys at the lip of the stage - and had the crowd pumping the air with their "Dirty Hands" before a confetti drop exploded over the entire house. This was a two-ton confetti blizzard that dropped multi-colored mounds all over the floor in a flurry of rainbow snow - and, at that point, delirious happiness was the only response.

The crowd of party people was as gloriously ebullient as our Alegria newbie - and included Alegria loyalists such as Betto and Jonathan, Adam Weaver and Russell Roybal, Erica Gabriel (we should all look so stunning after a bout with food poisoning), Alegria head boy Abel in a ferocious Jeremy Scott ensemble, Todd and Gorm, and scores of booty boys who give new meaning to the adjective "callipygous." Circuit star Holly Goheavy and consort Gareth Handee wowed the boys and parted the crowd in a pair of ensembles that glittered and blinked with more wattage than the tree at Rockefeller Center.

Late in the morning, Abel threw down Adele's torchy "Someone Like You" with its insistent, yearning refrain, "I wish nothing but the best for you." Finger lights illuminated the dance floor as the boys joined together in letting go of one year, ready to embrace another, bonded in the embrace of an exemplary Alegria.