LGBTQ Asian Group Hosts Former Miss Philippines at Pre-Pride Event
Beauty queen spoke to group’s ‘#asianlove’ theme for Chicago Gay Pride Parade
CHICAGO (June 18, 2022) — Asians & Friends Chicago (AFC), an LGBTQ social organization supporting the Asian community and those who have interests in Asian cultures, hosted former Miss Philippines Maria Isabel Lopez at an AFC member’s south side Chicago home during a pre-Pride event held on Saturday, June 18, 2022.
In addition to crafting decorations and building parts of its Chicago Gay Pride Parade float, AFC members revealed many of the parade costumes they will be wearing to support its “#asianlove” theme of anti-violence and anti-hate against LGBTQ Asian-American Pacific Islanders.
The Binibining Pilipinas Universe 1982 titleholder said it was “very important to call out hate in all forms, especially in how COVID has focused that hate on our AAPI community.”
During an interview with AFC Board President Angel Abcede for the group’s social media platforms, Ms. Lopez said she experienced racism even during her days competing in the Miss Universe pageant, where local dignitaries overtly expressed distain for contestants with dark skin. “I was shocked to see it,” she said.
Ms. Lopez represented the Philippines in the 31st Miss Universe Pageant in Lima, Peru.
At the event on June 18, several AFC members revealed their Pride float costumes, which represented Asian royalty from countries like Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. Another more contemporary costume from Chicago fashion designer Kevin Vong featured a full-length, mirrored-glass dress, complete with a reflective, Laotian-inspired headdress.
Also present at the June 18 function was Pomme Sirinupong, owner of Pomme Art and Craft, who offered parade-float riders additional jewelry to wear during the Pride Parade. Another sponsor supporting the one-day, Pre-Pride event with a desert tray of bibingka was Chicago Sugar Daddy Patisserie, 3243 N. Broadway in Chicago.
The organization will enter a float with marchers in the 2022 Chicago Gay Pride Parade, scheduled to kick off at noon on Sunday, June 26. AFC event organizers hoping to draw in AAPI LGBTQ individuals, as well as “allies” to the LGBTQ-Asian community, to march with their float during the parade. To sign up, please visit: https://asianlovechicago.bigcartel.com/want-to-walk-in-the-parade.
Members of AFC also applaud the return of Chicago’s Gay Pride Parade after being cancelled two years in a row. “Over the years, we have found that working on a Pride float has galvanized our members,” said Mr. Abcede. “We missed it. And even though some say all that work for a silly parade float may seem frivolous, it connects us in a tangible way toward a common goal. And for many, the experience is liberating.”
Mr. Abcede also recognized the late Richard Pfeiffer, who organized the Pride Parade for years and passed away in October of 2019. “Richard spent much of his life continuing the legacy of the city’s Gay Pride Parade,” he said. “We know the LGBTQ community today stands on the shoulders of those who laid the groundwork. Richard was definitely one of those pioneers.”
AFC is celebrating its 37th year in 2022 and has received numerous community honors, including induction as a community group into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in 2010, being named “Best Organization” twice in the Pride Parade and for hosting an international gathering of Asians & Friends chapters in Chicago in 2016.
Photos on the AFC website and social media are from Angel Abcede, Oliver Aguilar and Valentino Zubiri.
Soon after the publishing of this post, Chicago’s Windy City Times picked up the story. To read the article, click here.
For more information, visit www.afchicago.org, write us at Asians & Friends Chicago, P.O. Box A, Chicago, Illinois 60690-3916 or call the AFC hotline at (312) 409-1573.
