Legends and Icons, Queen Mothers and Children brought glitter, feathers, and passion to Terminal 5 on June 22, transforming the venue into one of the greatest Ballroom events of the year: GMHC’s legendary Latex Ball. Competitors from more than 26 Houses showed up to walk in at least one of the 24 categories of the 35th annual Latex Ball.
Since 1991, GMHC has collaborated with the New York Ballroom community to promote sexual health and wellness by hosting the Latex Ball, a Ballroom community event and competition offering free onsite HIV testing and sexual health resources. This year, GMHC was joined by other LGBTQ+ health and wellness organizations, such as Ballroom We Care, to hand out HIV and STI prevention supplies, including tons of free condoms, to the sold-out crowd. Gilead Sciences also sponsored the “HealthySexual as a House” category, in which houses submitted an educational video about sexual health and wellness. House of Garcon’s incredible safer-sex PSA style video won the $5000 prize.
The 2024 Latex Ball was themed “Ballroom Tapestries.” GMHC’s Latex Ball coordinator and ballroom Icon Luna Luis Ortiz explained, “[tapestries] were a form of storytelling through fabric about a culture’s past, present, and future … That’s Ballroom to me. Our blood, sweat, and tears are threaded and woven into the fabric of ballroom history.” Among categories inspired by this theme was “Face Your Roots,” a face category where competitors created looks that represented their cultural and ethnic roots, as well as special awards in honor of ballroom legends such as Hector Xtravaganza, Willie Ninja, and Octavia St. Laurent.
As always, the Latex Ball celebrates and honors the strength and resilience of the primarily Black and Latine House and Ball community, particularly in the struggle against HIV and AIDS.
Our generous sponsors allow GMHC to ensure that the Latex Ball remains a free and accessible event for the entire ballroom community. Our sincere thanks go out to: Gilead (Pioneer); Dr. Alvin Pickettay/House of Khan (Icon); Avita Pharmacy and Q Care Plus, CATS: The Jellicle Ball (Statement); and Serge Adam & Angela Ko (Star).
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