Queens for a day

1. Leslie Becker, percussion, the Lesbian & Gay Big Apple Corps marching band
“If New York City is the melting pot, then Jackson Heights has got to be the flame. You’ve got every kind of culture imaginable right there within a few blocks, and then you get the Gay Pride Parade going right down the middle of it.”

2. Marita Begley, artistic director, the Lesbian & Gay Big Apple Corps marching band
“Parades have a chemistry, and we’ve always had a really positive chemistry with Queens. I get a kick out of seeing people who are maybe elderly or who look kind of puzzled by the whole thing, and then you’ll see the wheels turn. They look at the person next to them and see them clapping, and they start to clap along. I feel like I’m watching people’s minds open, watching them have a change of heart.”

3. Dan Perry, sousaphone, the Lesbian & Gay Big Apple Corps marching band
“Queens was my first parade with the group last year. I got there early, so I was kind of hanging around, and it was obvious that there were some people who were very excited, and some that were kind of wondering what the hell was going on, and some that were not very pleased that this was happening. I was actually called ‘faggot’ that day. [Laughs] So it was kind of interesting to have that experience thrown at you on Pride Day.”

4. Lorena Saint Cartier, Miss Atlantis 2008
“I don’t want to say it’s because we’re Latin, but it’s like in the soap operas: We have a little bit more spirit and flavor. We express emotion the way we want to feel it. [The crowd wants] culture, too. They want to see the costumes of Colombia, the costumes of Puerto Rico, of Dominican Republic, Ecuador. I think that’s what makes the difference, because in Manhattan, all the big drag queens have all the big makeup and all that, but in the show everything’s almost the same. You get Broadway or you get the Top 40. But in Queens, we bring a lot of variety.”

5. Eddie Valentin, co-owner, Friends Tavern, the Music Box and Club Atlantis
“Let’s put it this way: On my stage [at the postparade festival], we speak Spanish and English. That diversity alone is what brings everyone out. One drag queen will do Liza Minnelli, and the next Olga Tañon.”

6. Francheska Jones, Miss Atlantis Universe 2008
“The Queens parade is smaller than the one in Manhattan, so we get closer. The community—we all know each other, and that way it’s more fun.”

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