PrideScape – Details, episodes & analysis

Season 4, Episode 1: " A History of Ballroom in Portland"

Whether you’re a ballroom veteran or just curious about the world behind ballroom culture: join Debra Porta and Daniel Giron as they dive heels-first into the vibrant and resilient history of Portland’s ballroom scene. This episode explores how ballroom culture took root in the Pacific Northwest, the pioneers who carved out space for self-expression, and how the scene continues to evolve today. Hear personal stories, cultural reflections, and the legacy of voguing, houses, and community-building. This episode highlights the work and mission of The Rebound a 503(c) non-profit, devoted to ethically spreading the legacy of ballroom in the PNW through events, classes, panels and performances.

About our guest:

Originally from Veracruz Mexico, Daniel Giron is a well rounded entertainer and community leader featured on HBO Max hit show LEGENDARY Season 3.

You may recognize Daniel from being immortalized as a meme with the floor performance in the sand heard ’round the world. Daniel uses his social media not only as a platform to educate on Ballroom culture, but to activate and create change through movement. Shattering gender norms while using their engagement as a means of resistance and equity within communities of Queer people of color.

You can learn more and donate to Rebound PDX on their Website: The Rebound – Portland's Bimonthly Kiki Ball

You can also find Rebound PDX and Daniel on Instagram:  @reboundpdx / @dnlgiron

Join us as we spend some quality time with cartoonist and community-builder Rupert Kinnard, to talk about his journey and latest project "Ooops...I Just Catharted!: 50 Years of Cathartic Comics!"

Rupert Kinnard is an American cartoonist who is best known for creating the first ongoing gay/lesbian-identified African-American comic-strip characters: the Brown Bomber (a teenage superhero) and Diva Touché Flambé (his ageless lesbian partner). Originally from Chicago, aside from a seven-year stint in San Francisco, Rupert has made Portland his home since 1979. In addition to becoming the first African-American person to serve on the Portland Town Council, Rupert was instrumental in the early years of Just Out and was a founding member of Brother to Brother, a social organization for African-American queer men.

Rupert's latest project, "Ooops...I Just Catharted!: 50 Years of Cathartic Comics!", is a collection of Rupert Kinnard's long-running comic strip, Cathartic Comics. From the 1970s through the 1990s, Cathartic Comics made its way from the Cornellian, the student newspaper of Cornell College, to the queer-focused alternative weekly newspapers that popped up in communities across the country. Along the way, readers delighted to the exploits of the Brown Bomber, comics' first black and gay superhero, and Diva Touché Flambé, master of the ancient practice of Slapthology. These two satirized the political and social mores of the age, touching not only upon the divide between liberal and conservative or gay and straight, but also between Black and white in the queer community and beyond. Back this project on Kickstarter.

In this extended episode, Pride Northwest Executive Director Debra Porta talks with Dana Louis, Executive Director and Shepherd of Gather:Make:Shelter, a local organization that works with populations experiencing houselessness and poverty to engage in collaborative, skill-building creative projects. Debra and Dana discuss the origins of Gather:Make:Shelter, the collaboration between Pride Northwest and GMS at 2022 Portland Pride, and various projects completed at the C3PO villages in Portland. Dana also describes stories of those she has engaged with throughout the years, and what she would like the public to know about people experiencing houselessness. If you'd like to learn more about Gather:Make:Shelter and find ways to connect with their work, please check out their website: https://www.gathermakeshelter.org/

Executive Director of Pride Northwest Debra Porta is joined this episode by Tony Camacho Martinez, Program Director at p:ear, a local Portland organization that works with houseless youth. Started in 2002 and founded by 3 women, p:ear focuses on establishing connections and relationships with homeless youth, supporting them through art, education, recreation, mentorship, and work programs. Tony and Debra discuss the work that p:ear is doing and their mission, the current needs of homeless youth and how that has changed throughout the pandemic, our Pride Days of Service partnership for October, and how listeners can support p:ear. To learn more about p:ear and support their programming, please visit https://www.pearmentor.org. To learn more about the last Pride Days of Service day at p:ear and sign up to volunteer, please visit https://www.pridenw.org/volunteer-1.

In this episode, Debra Porta meets with Natalie Berning, Financial Advisor with OnPoint Financial Services and Raymond James at OnPoint Community Credit Union. They discuss the difference between a credit union and a bank, how to decide which financial institution to bank with, how to protect yourself financially in an economic downturn, and resources for folks needing more help with financial planning. For more information on the resources touched on in this episode, please visit OnPoint's website: https://www.onpointcu.com/financial-education/

In this extended special episode, Debra is joined by Robin Will, President of GLAPN, and Melissa Lang, Vice-President. They discuss what GLAPN does, LGBTQIA2S+ history in Portland and Oregon dating back to 1912, the 30 year anniversary of the start of “the Measure 9 years” and what we can learn from that time, as well as GLAPN’s current programming and how you can support them in their efforts to keep queer history alive. Visit their website and find out more at https://glapn.org/

Keely Helmick, President of Oregon SAIGE and owner of Connective Therapy Collective, joins us this episode to discuss all things ORSAIGE and our upcoming collaboration at Portland Pride. We discuss who ORSAIGE is, why it’s important to have a chapter of SAIGE in Oregon, their advocacy to bring a bill to legislature to ban conversion therapy in adults in Oregon, supporting LGBTQIA+ therapists and LGBTQIA+ people seeking therapy, and the new Quiet Booth we're bringing to Pride this year.

Director of the Northwest Region of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) joins us this episode to discuss the evolution of the ADL. Including how the way hate is directed at folks has evolved over the years and the ways the ADL is working on these issues, including technology and current hate laws.

Amira Stanley of Mind Core Gut Connection joins us in this episode to talk about her journey with mindfulness and self love and how she uses self compassion even during the toughest times. Amira covers how trauma can affect our ability to sit in mindfulness and the importance of therapy in addressing trauma when moving forward. The episode closes with a mindfulness exercise led by Amira. 

Join Pride Northwest's Executive Director, Debra Porta and our Program Assistant, Kari Anne Horton as they reflect on this past year's programs. While Pride Northwest is most well known for the Portland Pride Waterfront Festival and Parade, there are a number of programs that the organization works on year round. Including community organizing around housing, and food insecurity, LGBTQIA2S+ youth programs, and our commitment to using our platform to uplift the accomplishments and history of our community. Pride is more than a party, it is a starting point. Hear how Pride Northwest puts that Pride spirit into action.