Out For Queer Blood: The Murder of Fernando Rios and the Failure of New Orleans Justice. Clayton Delery. Exposit, 2017. ISBN: 978-1-4766-6884-0. 220 pages. A year and a half ago I received in my inbox what at first glance appeared to be a spam email. Upon closer inspection the subject line said Rios murder / Ambush article. I opened the message and was astonished at what … [Read more...] about Out For Queer Blood: The Murder of Fernando Rios and the Failure of New Orleans Justice by Clayton Delery
Archives for March 2018
2017 Oracle Gala Highlights Transgender Rights
The 2017 Oracle Gala, the annual flagship fundraiser of the LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana, will honor BreakOUT!, a local transgender youth advocacy group. Each year the Archives Project highlights an individual or an organization that has made a substantial donation of materials to an area museum or archival repository. BreakOUT! has recently made the Newcomb College … [Read more...] about 2017 Oracle Gala Highlights Transgender Rights
Under the Gaydar
Community Spotlight As Ambush enters it’s new phase, I wanted to change some of the focus of this monthly column which used to focus the Bartender of the month. But I wanted to expand on my recognition of deserving individuals in this column. You will still see bartenders featured, but I will also feature other service industry professionals such as waiters, hotel employees … [Read more...] about Under the Gaydar
In Memoriam: Errol Rizzuto
Errol Rizzuto, a long-time beloved fixture in the New Orleans LGBT community, passed away on October 29. Rizzuto, along with his good friend Robin Malta, was a co-founder of Café Lafitte in Exile’s annual Red Party, which raises money for local charities. Rizzuto also served as the Grand Marshal of Southern Decadence in 1999. In recent years, Rizzuto became very involved in … [Read more...] about In Memoriam: Errol Rizzuto
Traveling Back to 1988 and 1971
Ambush readers of a certain age may remember blueboy. From 1974 to 2007, this glossy magazine featured pictures and centerfolds of naked men. Some people even read the articles. A friend of mine recently dug out his April 1988 issue and showed me an article about New Orleans entitled “New Orleans: Last American Refuge.” I eagerly read the article and while it was mostly … [Read more...] about Traveling Back to 1988 and 1971
Executive PR & Talent (EPR&T)
A little over a decade ago, after getting his start in the entertainment business working at OZ Nightclub as Director of Public Relations and Promotion, Michael Benedetti (California native, New Orleans resident as of 2000 / for 17 years) set out to forge his own talent agency, public relations consulting, and touring management company, Executive PR & Talent (EPR&T). … [Read more...] about Executive PR & Talent (EPR&T)
Power and Abuse
Employer, priest, pastor, director, manager and teacherall are positions of power. There are other powerful positions as well. Abuse of that power is what much of the conversation revolves around today. Here are just some of the less sensational charges: • Substitute teacher accused of bedding teen allegedly sent him nudes on Snapchat • High school girls’ softball coach … [Read more...] about Power and Abuse
The Official Dish
Ambush Still Speaking As the week unfolds, it is important to remember that there is an election day coming very soon. In New Orleans and throughout the region, it’s time to get off your ass and VOTE! It’s an exciting runoff election. While New Orleans faces many challenges going forward, the runoff election for New Orleans Mayor not only determines who will led us … [Read more...] about The Official Dish
Trodding the Boards
Orpheus in the Underworld at the Mahalia Jackson Theater In New Orleans Opera’s first-ever production of Jacques Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld, Orpheus may have wound up in Hell but, for the audience, it was pure Heaven. Hector-Jonathan Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy’s libretto satirizes the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus. Their frothy plot features Gods revolting … [Read more...] about Trodding the Boards
The Pox Lover – An Activist’s Decade in New York and Paris by Anne-Christine d’Adesky
The Pox Lover is a personal history of the turbulent 1990s in New York City and Paris by a pioneering American AIDS journalist, lesbian activist, and daughter of French-Haitian elites. In an account that is by turns searing, hectic, and funny, Anne-christine d’Adesky remembers “the poxed generation” of AIDS—their lives, their battles, and their determination to find love and … [Read more...] about The Pox Lover – An Activist’s Decade in New York and Paris by Anne-Christine d’Adesky