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Montreal loves to party. Montreal loves
to party all night long, night after
night, a fact that was made abundantly
clear throughout the nearly weeklong
21st edition of Divers/Cite, one of
Montreal's most beloved summer
festivals.
A multi-day LGBT music and arts
bacchanal with more than fifty hours of
music, outdoor dance parties, and
performance, Divers/Cite‘s motto is “All
Together Different,” which stresses the
festival’s belief in both individualism
and community.
Returning to Quai Jacques Cartier in Old
Montreal for its second year, the "New
Divers/Cite in the Old Port" celebrated
its 21st birthday with a series of
anniversary parties, including Saturday
night's Sunset Party, Edition
Def Mix,
a special 25th birthday tribute to
Def Mix
Productions that was beautifully
complemented by the grand finale
fireworks of
L'International
des Feux Loto-Québec
on the neighboring isle of Saint Helen.
Under a shimmering summer shower,
Def Mix
DJs
Frankie Knuckles,
Hector Romero,
David Morales,
and Brazilian star Memê commemorated 25
years with an incredible birthday
celebration marked by shamanistic
ecstasy.
More than merely a business,
Def Mix
is a family of musical artists (bound
together by the matriarchal Judy
Weinstein), now celebrating a quarter
century of making infectious house music
together.
With raindrops sparkling like confetti
beneath the rainbow lights, Romero
worked alongside New York house icon
Morales and the two musical legends
burned up the night with a sexy,
seductive set marked by sinuous rhythms
that slipped deep into the souls of the
passionate crowd cheering in
rafter-raising joy.
One of the most popular events during
Divers/Cite's
reign over the city is Mascara, the
annual three-hour, gender-bending
extravaganza, hosted by Montreal’s
resident drag diva extraordinaire,
Mado.
Also known as “The Biggest Drag Show on
Earth,” Mascara celebrated its 16th
anniversary with more than 100 sequined
and glittering dancers and drag queens
in a cavalcade of jaw-dropping
performances inspired by Broadway,
Vegas, and Bollywood.
Behind the inspired leadership of
General Director Suzanne Girard, and
brilliantly programmed by Ian Abinakle
and the eternally fabulous Mado, Divers/Cité
celebrated its 21st edition with a
spectacular celebration of musical and
artistic diversity in its myriad forms.
Friday night's New Society party
welcomed
Infected Mushroom,
whose wildly infectious performance was
matched by the fanatical adulation of
the ebullient crowd. Hailing from
Israel, the LA-based psy-trance duo is
currently ranked among the world's top
ten deejays, which was verified by the
crowd's fervent zeal.
Throughout the weekend, massive video
screens flanked the stage, projecting a
simulcast of the festival, radiantly
videographed by the dynamic Cameron
Brothers, videographers par excellence.
Working both Divers/Cite stages,
resident choreographer Scott Fordham led
a corps of free-style dancers in a
booty-shaking, free-for-all that incited
the crowd to utilize their higher pelvic
power and work their own moneymakers.
Divers/Cite 2013 also featured sets from
Horse Meat Disco, Will Automagic,
jojoflores, and Body and Soul legend
François K.
The climax of Divers/Cite‘s multi-day
festival is always La Grande Danse, one
of North America’s largest outdoor dance
events. After a celebratory Divers/Cite
brunch at
Les Eclusiers par
Apollo, La Grande
Danse commenced on Sunday afternoon for
a ten-hour, open-air dance marathon that
featured
Stereo! OnTour,
a traveling collective of the Spanish
label’s hottest DJs performing together.
Stereo! label founder Chus L. Esteban
and partner-in-crime Pablo Ceballos
(a.k.a.
Chus
+ Ceballos) tore up
the Grande Danse stage, alongside New
Iberican League members David Penn and
Patrick M, as well as Montreal’s Nicola
Torriero and Marciano. All through the
blissfully chill night, the Spanish
superstars Chus & Ceballos laid down an
uplifting set that combined heart and
soul with pelvic persuasion.
For the 15th consecutive year, Divers/Cite's
Friday evening event was also the finish
line rally for the
Friends for Life Bike Rally,
the six-day, 600-kilometer journey from
Toronto to Montreal that raises funds to
help support those people living with
HIV/AIDS.
In the swoon of late afternoon, the
cyclists zoomed along the quay, their
helmets bedazzled, bedizened, and
feathered as the crowd lined the route,
cheering their hometown heroes across
the finish line in a joyous celebration
of camaraderie and perseverance.
Recently designated a UNESCO City of
Design,
Montreal received the
award for its citywide emphasis on
talent, tolerance, diversity, and
technology – all factors that enable a
plurality of values and overall
inclusiveness of its citizenry.
Founded in 1993 on the principles of
diversity, solidarity, and openness,
Divers/Cite annually reaffirms that
while we are “All Together Different,”
there are also times when dancing in the
glow of love and community we are all
together one.
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