These NYC Pride photos from the 1970s depict quintessential queer joy
The Hispanic Society Museum and Library is featuring decades-old Kodachrome photographs of New York City Pride marches taken by artist Francisco Alvarado-Juárez.
May 24, 2025, 7:15 AM EDT
By Kaitlyn Schwanemann
There are a few Pride march staples you're likely to find every June, dating to the first such events in 1970: massive handheld fans, ornate gowns, voluminous wigs and loving embraces. But at the ' Out of the Closets! Into the Streets! ' exhibition at the Hispanic Society Museum and Library in New York, there's one thing missing — rainbow flags.
The photography collection, featuring 18 photographs taken by artist Francisco Alvarado-Juárez, depicts scenes from New York City Pride marches in 1975 and 1976 — just a few years before the LGBTQ flag was created in 1978. Alvarado-Juárez's collection is a time portal in more than one way, though: The photos were all captured on Kodachrome film, an early type of color film that is now discontinued. The exhibition is on display and will run until Aug. 31. It serves as the second installment of the museum's 'Arte en el Alto Manhattan' series, which highlights upper Manhattan artists.
Born in Honduras and raised in New York City, Alvarado-Juárez said 'Out of the Closets! Into the Streets!' is not just the name of the collection but a call to action.
'Especially as we got to areas where there were residential buildings, the people in the march would chant, would call out the people in the buildings to come down, you know, out of the closets into the street, to come down and join us, which was a very effective way to communicate with different people who were not part of the parade,' Alvarado-Juárez said in an interview.
Back then, in New York City, it wasn't called a Pride march; it was the Christopher Street Liberation Day March or the Gay Liberation Parade. It began on June 28, 1970 — exactly one year after the 1969 Stonewall Riots.
Alvarado-Juárez, a painter, photographer and mixed media artist whose work has appeared in the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Brooklyn Museum, hadn't anticipated the photos' being shown in a museum 50 years later.
'I was taking it for myself,' Alvarado-Juárez said. 'I was looking at the experience and taking photos as art for art, for the pleasure of doing art.'
The photos depict march participants donned in feather boas, floral fascinators and fringe metallic vests, posing throughout lower Manhattan with red, white and blue party balloons and banners behind them.
The exhibition is the Hispanic Society Museum and Library's first LGBTQ initiative, according to its website. While the full exhibit ends in August, selected works from Alvarado will be shown on the museum's outdoor terrace through next spring.
Alvarado-Juárez said he lives just a few blocks from the museum, which is in Manhattan's Washington Heights neighborhood, and has been going there for nearly 30 years.
'It is quite, quite different to be able to see my work at the museum, as opposed to just visiting and looking at those masterpieces on the walls in the halls,' he said.
Alvarado-Juárez said Pride Month, which is celebrated in June, has evolved over the years, with '70s marches functioning more like parades and parties and marches during the AIDS epidemic functioning more like protests against the government for failing to respond to the crisis.
'As we get into this very dark period of our history with this new administration,' Alvarado-Juárez said, referring to the Trump administration's policies targeting LGBTQ people, 'maybe people can draw some good energy from these images and enjoy them for what they were back then but also enjoy them for the energy they still communicate.'
Kaitlyn Schwanemann
Kaitlyn Schwanemann is an intern for NBC News.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
11 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Mariah Carey left 'so mad' after suffering wardrobe malfunction 'that nobody saw' at Brighton Pride
Mariah Carey has revealed she was left 'so mad' after suffering a wardrobe malfunction at Brighton Pride last week, she shared on Heart Breakfast on Wednesday. The singer, 56, took to the stage in four figure-hugging outfits as she headlined the stage for an impressive two hours. While it all seemed great on stage from afar, Mariah was left panicking after something went terribly wrong with her outfit. Though she didn't reveal what exactly happened, she told hosts Jamie Theakston and Zoe Hardman that lucky 'nobody saw it'. Mariah said: 'It was a lot of rehearsing and then we had a wardrobe malfunction, which was kind of not cool, and it was right in the front of the area of the front. 'I saved it, nobody saw it, otherwise it would have been talked about, but nobody saw it. And I turned around and walked through the dancers and I was so mad.' Jamie added: 'You were? That doesn't sound like you.' 'Well, I can get mad', Mariah said. Zoe quipped: 'You're allowed to get mad'. Her packed setlist included hits like Vision of Love and Heroes as she gave the long-awaited performance that was initially scheduled for 2020, but was cancelled because of the Covid pandemic. She later wrote on Instagram: 'Thank you so much Brighton Pride for having me tonight! A special heartfelt thank you to the LGBTQ + community for your ongoing support. I will always be there for you. Love, MC.' She took the opportunity to show her support for the trans community by embellishing her pink jacket with the phrase 'Protect the dolls'. Mariah is reportedly paying over £250,000 for her hotel stay during her time in the UK, after arriving on her private jet. The Sun revealed she is staying at one of the top-floor suites at the Corinthia hotel on London's Embankment. Featuring a large terrace, wine cellar, private spa and living room lit with a real fire, the room costs around £20,000 per night. A source told the publication: 'She blocked out two weeks in the best suite. It's only the best for Mariah. Her royal gig is a huge deal, so naturally she is living like a queen.' Daily Mail contacted Mariah's representatives for comment. Mariah is taking to the stage at Sandringham's royal estate as part of the Heritage Live's large outdoor music concerts on August 15. And it seems Mariah is one of the Corinthia's best guests after Beyoncé reportedly 'bowed down' to the singer in June and 'packed up her £25k-a-night London penthouse for the diva songstress to move in.' The Single Ladies singer, 43, had booked a 12-night stay at the Corinthia while performing at London's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. But she allegedly moved out at the weekend when self-confessed diva Mariah touched down to play at Capital's Summertime Ball on Sunday. A source told The Sun: 'Superstars as big as Beyonce and Mariah want to stay in only the best hotels. Beyonce had been staying in Corinthia's penthouses. 'But when Mariah flew in, Beyonce packed up so Mariah could take over her suites. It was like Beyonce was bowing down to another music queen.' Listen to Heart Breakfast weekdays from 6:30am until 10am across the UK and on Global Player
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
Mariah Carey looks effortlessly stylish on day out in London
Mariah Carey showed off her chic sense of style as she was spotted out and about in London, England on Tuesday after headlining Brighton Pride. The singer, 56, showed off her sensational figure in a dress with mesh panels while smiling for photos outside Global radio offices. Mariah teamed the look with a cropped leather jacket, platform heels, and oversized sunglasses. She later wrote on Instagram: 'Thank you so much Brighton Pride for having me tonight! A special heartfelt thank you to the LGBTQ+ community for your ongoing support. 'I will always be there for you. Love, MC.' The concert was a special event for fans as it was the first time that Mariah had performed in the UK since 2019. The concert was a special event for fans as it was the first time that Mariah had performed in the UK since 2019.
The Guardian
a day ago
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on Berlin's ailing club scene: a unique inheritance needs protecting
Reflecting on his burst of musical creativity in 1970s West Berlin, David Bowie reportedly said that recording albums in a studio close to the Wall gave him a 'sense of being on the edge … I need the dangerous level, emotionally, mentally and physically'. During the 1970s and 80s, Bowie was not alone. The divided, fascinating city was famously a magnet for young people drawn by a music and club scene unique in Europe. Sadly, living on the edge has these days taken on a different meaning for Berlin clubs struggling to survive in altered times. In a sobering dispatch at the weekend, the Guardian reported that one of Germany's oldest and most important gay dance clubs has just declared itself bankrupt. Founded in 1977 – the year Bowie brought out his classic Low album – SchwuZ became a pioneering presence in the development of Berlin's LGBTQ+ networks, and a symbol of the freedoms available in a city with a thriving counterculture. It will stay open until October and has launched a fundraising drive, but the prospects look bleak. More broadly, Clubsterben (the death of clubs) is becoming an unhappy fact of Berliner life. Industry organisations warn that a combination of factors is undermining a proud cultural inheritance. Some clubs have failed to recover from the impact of the pandemic. Inflation and higher electricity costs have further ratcheted up the pressure. Soaring commercial rents and gentrification – in a city once described by its mayor as 'poor but sexy' – are cumulatively taking their toll. Busche, another famous gay and lesbian club with its roots in communist East Berlin, closed last month, citing rising costs. Wilde Renate, part of a more recent wave of 21st-century household names, will close at the end of the year, after unsustainable rent rises in the down-at-heel Friedrichshain district. Changing habits among the young may also be playing a part. One recent survey of Berlin club owners found that the estimated average age of clubbers was 30, with less buy-in from those aged 18 to 21. Generation Z loves an outdoor festival, but its relish for hedonistic excess in smallish independent venues may not be as pronounced as in previous generations. Cost-of-living related issues have undoubtedly contributed to a fall in overall club attendance numbers. In October, a celebratory festival will make the case for the 'long-term visibility and recognition' of the city's clubs. A fightback on their behalf is surely overdue. Last year the federal government added Berlin's techno scene to a list of Germany's 'intangible cultural heritage', compiled for Unesco. But the dangers faced by a sector that risks tipping into sad decline are all too tangible. Regulating commercial rents for locations deemed to be of cultural importance would be one significant way to offer a lifeline. From the Cabaret-style glitz of the Weimar era to 1990s techno startups based in urban wasteland, Berlin nightlife has always known how to adapt to the times. But a history so precious should not be abandoned to the whims of market forces. In recent years, many Berliners have mourned the demise of thousands of traditional corner pubs, or Kneipen, as rents have gone up and leases have not been renewed. The city's remarkable, historic club scene deserves to be treated with more care and respect. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
