So what are you going to do when that old gal
Pride hits the big four-oh? Forty years of Pride, think about
it: 1969-2009. Forty years: that’s a ruby anniversary. A big
red…ruby—as in ruby slippers. So you know you’d better
celebrate—and if you’re producer Ric Sena, you know that 40
years of Pride merits a massive tea party. Something called
ALEGRIA IN WONDERLAND, for example, held at M2 (the former
Crobar) on 28th Street
in the heart of New York City. A Mad Hatter’s Ball, as it were,
held on Pride Sunday, commencing right after the fireworks on
the Pier—and continuing all through the night and into Pride
Monday (universally regarded as a gay holiday, after all…).
This year’s edition of Alegria Pride, the ninth
incarnation in a series of parties that have become the stuff of
legend, promises to be a return to those Alegria Prides that
linger long in the memory banks (and on YouTube and countless
websites). You know the ones. Remember the year the USS Alegria
Enterprise hovered over the floor—before disgorging a crew of
buff spacemen and aliens? And how about Spectacular
Spectacular, the year that the entire club became Moulin
Rouge, sheathed in enough red velvet and gold brocade to
out-Christo Christo and swaddle all of Manhattan?
Or the year that “Cha-Cha Heels” was that year’s anthem and the
go-go boys wore black-light outfits that revealed themselves as
skeletons when the club went completely dark? Then there was
The Greatest Pride on Earth, Sena’s big top circus, complete
with harlequins, acrobats, as well as a myriad strongmen. And,
perhaps most jaw-dropping of all, The Pride of Alegria,
when Crobar became the hold of the Black Pearl, and every
Alegria boy and girl was a crew member of Cap’n Ric Sena as the
party sailed in pursuit of Pirates of the Caribbean.
These events are not your average weekend dark
basement kegger. Instead, with a background in theatrical
production, Sena creates parties that evoke the technical
prowess of Cirque de Soleil while perpetuating the best
celebratory traditions of the circuit. And with this year’s
suggestive theme, Alegria in Wonderland, Sena implicitly
offers all of the Alegria family an opportunity to follow him
into the rabbit hole—and see what phantasmagorical delights
await.
For starters, there’ll be Abel at the helm—and what would
Alegria Pride be without the maestro? Answer: unthinkable—joined
by the remarkable Tony Moran, as well as the bodacious Mickey
Friedmann, a relentless triumvirate of beatmasters, complemented
by lighting wizard, Ross Berger’s stunningly hallucinogenic
light work. To witness Sena and his crackerjack crew of
professionals working together is to understand teamwork in the
name of a marathon good time.
For after all, in the end, that’s what Alegria Pride means most:
the joy of Pride. The joy of being able to
celebrate together on a dance floor in a massive club redesigned
for one night. And that’s why Alegria Pride parties are among
the most well-loved of them all: for these are the parties where
the joy of Pride swells the hearts and souls of everyone
in the club—and magic happens. Boys fall in love at Alegria—and
that’s just the beginning. In short, Alegria Pride is the
definitive Pride affair—and NYC Pride ain’t over until Alegria
says so—and that’s usually some time late on Monday afternoon.
So there it is, Pride’s ruby red anniversary ball. Fall into
the rabbit hole, follow the Mad Hatter, search for the Red
Queen—and celebrate the joy at Alegria in Wonderland.
