Before Jamie Awad, of Club Papi Productions, introduced the concept of a Latin dance stage to Long Beach and San Francisco Pride in 1998, he’d never heard Latin music played at festivals of this kind. At first, not everyone believed in the concept. Now, organizers at Oakland Pride have tasked Valentino Presents and Club Papi Productions with bringing the biggest Latin dance stage the festival has ever seen.
The headliners for this year’s stage are Mexican pop artist FEY; Venezuelan reggaeton artist La Cruz; and Gala Varo, a Mexican drag queen who competed in RuPaul’s Drag Race Global All Stars. Varo will be joined by local drag queens Boites Befierce, La Vicky and Jacqueline Aguilar, who will host the stage.
Awad is especially interested in highlighting drag performers and trans artists because of the emotional impact he’s seen it leave on audience members amid the rise of anti-trans/drag sentiments.
A 2025 study done by the Pew Research Center found that more Americans support anti-trans legislation than oppose it. Such legislation includes requiring trans people to use public bathrooms that match their sex at birth and making it illegal for public school districts to teach about gender identity in elementary schools. This marks a shift from surveys conducted in 2022, and coincides with executive orders that banned trans women from women’s sports and ended federal funding for trans healthcare.
Due to this, many involved in Oakland Pride thought that having Wendy Guevara—who Awad referred to as one of the top three best trans artists in the world—perform on the Latin Dance Stage in 2024 would meet with more backlash. Instead, the city welcomed her with open arms, with many in the crowd crying during her performance.
“We were prepared for hateful social media stuff, and it was totally the opposite,” Awad said. “I think people really embraced Wendy.”
This year, the Latin dance stage pays homage to the history of Latino artists in LGBTQ+ spaces. At San Francisco Pride in 2004, Grammy-nominated artist FEY became one of the first Latin singers to perform at an American pride festival. Her performance followed another band dropping out after they discovered they’d be performing at a Pride event.
FEY stood her ground, even when it wasn’t the popular thing to do. Her allyship and dedicated advocacy for the queer community earned her an award from GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) in 2006. This year she returns to the Bay Area in what Awad calls a very full-circle moment.
La Cruz—who released his eight-volume EP, EL NENE, VOL 2, in June—is currently making history as a leading gay artist making reggaeton music. One of his missions this year was to perform in Oakland, a city he’s never been to but always had an interest in.
Openly gay reggaeton artists who display and embrace their sexuality as unapologetically as La Cruz does in both his lyrics and imagery are few and far between. His songs feature love interests who are explicitly identified as male, while music videos often depict him dancing with and pursuing other men. “Te Conoci Bailando,” the second track on his first studio album, starts with the lyrics: “Papi, no te voy a mentir (Papi, I’m not going to lie to you).” He believes he owes his queer fans this authenticity.
“Me encargo de mostrar el 100% lo que yo soy,” he said. It’s my responsibility to show 100% of what I am.
In 2010, Latin pop singer Ricky Martin paved a way for gay Latino artists by coming out publicly. Now, more than 15 years later, La Cruz does the same for reggaeton. Despite the long, hard road to becoming a gay artist in the scene, La Cruz feels that unique representation has brought him closer to his fans, who call his music reygayton.
“That’s what’s most beautiful about having the power to be part of the community,” he said, “and sing something that’s not usually heard everywhere.”
La Cruz says bringing the Latino community together is especially important at a time when other factors threaten to separate it. In Trump’s first year back in office, ICE detention expanded by 75%. An analysis conducted by the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs showed that nine out of 10 ICE arrests in the first half of 2025 were Latino. Awad acknowledges that the Latin Dance Stage might have additional political context associated with it in recent years, but in his eyes it’s always been just as important as it is now.
In addition to the Latin Dance Stage, Oakland Pride will also host the Mighty Real T-Dance Stage, a section dedicated to house music. This stage features Oakland-based DJs Charles Hawthorne and David Harness, Joey Trip, Blake Sol, DJ MarkFrank and house music vocalist Lady Alma.
The event will kick off with a parade starting at 21st and Broadway, followed by the festival at Frank Ogawa Plaza. This year marks the first that Oakland Pride will be a program of the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center.
Oakland Pride takes place Sunday, Aug. 16, noon to 6pm at Frank Ogawa Plaza, Downtown Oakland. The parade kicks off at 10:30am, at 21st and Broadway, and ends at noon at Clay Street. For more info visit oaklandprideofficial.org.
