The soft, rhythmic thumping sound of the gray and white pit bull/lab mix Banjo’s tail on Jessie Funes and Audy Macdonald’s living room couch underscores the chatter of the meeting, a sign of appreciation for all the attention he’s getting.
A group of volunteers and board members for the House of Pride and Equality (HOPE) fill the room to discuss one thing–Pride, scheduled for June 30 in downtown Santa Maria, which is less than two weeks away. The couple’s north Santa Maria house serves as the nonprofit’s home base, and the small group assembled here has plenty left to organize and accomplish.
Volunteer Gilberto Marquez shows the poster designs he’s prepared for the event, which are geared to the festival’s theme.
“The whole idea of this is that the theme is History of Hope, and we’re gonna have 50 people that changed history in the LGBT political scene or just history in general,” he says. “And these are gonna be hung up all over the event.”
Banjo jumps off the couch and ambles to the front door as another volunteer walks in. Funes introduces the volunteer to the group before the meeting moves forward while the newcomer finds a spot on the couch.
Macdonald scrawls the various tasks and steps left to accomplish on a large piece of paper hanging from the wall, marking down names and deadlines with a green marker.
“OK, so the pins are done,” Macdonald says.
“Any feedback on the pins?” Funes asks the group.
“They’re really nice,” a volunteer says.
“Good,” Macdonald laughs, “’cause there’s no changing them now.”
The upcoming Pride Celebration and Resource Fair will be the second ever celebration of its kind in Santa Maria. Before then, the valley’s LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer or Questioning) community had to commute to San Luis Obispo or Santa Barbara to attend a Pride festival. That all changed last year, when HOPE’s organizers decided to start a celebration in town.
That event happened in August, but this year’s Pride is scheduled for the last Saturday in June, so it’s part of LGBTQ Pride Month. The celebration is at the same venue–the Town Center West parking lot at Main Street and Broadway–and will include many of the festivities that were at Santa Maria’s first ever Pride, but the scope and scale of the event this year is already much more expanded.
For a few of HOPE’s board members and volunteers, who either grew up in Santa Maria or called the valley home for decades before Funes and Macdonald moved to town and started HOPE, the festival marks a big change for the conservative-leaning agricultural town. But from the reception last year to the amount of engagement already swelling for the upcoming event, they see it as a promising sign of achieving HOPE’s mission of growing LGBTQ visibility and serving as a beacon of positivity in the community.
New in town
Funes and Macdonald moved to Santa Maria from Sonoma County almost three years ago. Originally from the LA area, when the married couple came to town, they immediately started looking for things to do and people to meet.
They connected with a loose group of friends, mostly Spanish speakers, many of whom were either gay or lesbian.
“We were learning that a lot of people were not necessarily out or necessarily exposed to a Pride before,” Funes told the Sun. “Not even their first Pride or anything like that.”
One person they met was Eva Didion, a social worker who has lived in Santa Maria with her wife for decades and was originally born in Germany. Now a board member, Didion was happy to meet the couple for their fresh perspective and youthful energy.
“I met Jessie and Audy through an acquaintance,” Didion said. “You just look at them and you’re just interested in meeting them, especially in Santa Maria.
“The queers I met in Santa Maria–and excuse me if you’re uncomfortable with that word, but it’s easier for me–they were middle-aged, they were anglo, and upper-middle class,” she added. “And that’s not Santa Maria at all.”
They started hosting get-togethers at their home, mostly celebrating birthday parties, and continuing to meet new people. There were dinners out, karaoke nights, and friendly games at Rancho Bowl.
The first real “event” that was planned was called Noche de Jotería at their house, which included a LGBTQ-themed loteria game.
“In Spanish, ‘joto,’ it’s kind of like when people say, ‘That F-in’ queer,'” Funes explained. “It’s a slur, but just like that same way in English, you reclaim it.”
Eventually, the group of friends became an organization, or collective identity, which they dubbed HOPE. The “E” for equality was to reflect that the organization was welcoming to the valley’s Latinx (a gender-neutral term for Latino/Latina) population, which wasn’t always felt in similar groups based out of Santa Barbara or SLO.
“I think that was the other piece that other people felt, that they were not necessarily included at the table or the conversation when it comes to queerness in the bigger perspective,” Funes said. “We kind of just made the space. And to this day, it may not seem like a big deal, but this little corner is a representation of what we’re trying to create.”
The group’s membership has expanded and contracted over time as people get new jobs, new boyfriends or girlfriends, or move away, they explained. But Funes and Macdonald’s living room is the place where everyone is welcome, whether for the first time or as a returning member.
Camille Chavez is a current board member for HOPE, but she wasn’t always. She started attending meetings and became more involved over time, mostly because she found something with HOPE that she didn’t anywhere else, including LA, where she lived previously.
“I’ve lived in several places where I’ve tried to find a queer group of people where I felt comfortable with everything that I am and just to be who I am and what I am,” Chavez said. “I was raised here and I went to St. Joe’s, so I was like one gay person out of like three in our entire school, and it was a brave act to be out. So I think, for me, I was constantly joining different groups and showing up and not feeling like it was my space.”
Chavez said that Funes and Macdonald–the respective president and secretary on HOPE’s board–were “inclusive and welcoming,” and that they’re the “backbone of HOPE,” and provide a “family” atmosphere. It’s a big part of why she believes in the group, she said, and its central mission of creating space and visibility for the LGBTQ community in Santa Maria.
“That’s why I became more involved with this group than I’ve ever been with any other group,” she said. “And it makes me feel good to know that the little gay kids at St. Joe’s now can drive down and see a Pride happening. It’s cool that all these people who wouldn’t otherwise be exposed to it are now having that exposure.”
Making it happen
One of the things that surprised Funes and Macdonald about Santa Maria when they moved was that a city of its size didn’t have a Pride event of its own.
“If Santa Maria has 106,000 people, then we at least, at least, have 10,000 queer folk in the community,” Funes said. “And out of that 10,000, hopefully some are out, and some are not, but that’s a big population. That’s bigger than Santa Barbara and San Luis.”
For locals like Didion, who went years without mentioning her wife at work, it was just an accepted part of life in the valley. They always went to Pride events outside of town.
“I never would have thought, and my wife, who’s quite a bit older than me, and a lot of people in our circle, would have never thought that Santa Maria was ready for something like this,” Didion said. “And these two, being new to the community, didn’t know that, so it was not a barrier to them.”
That’s why, when HOPE organized Santa Maria’s first Pride event last year, locals like Didion and Chavez were a bit worried about the turnout.
“We didn’t know what to expect,” Chavez said. “I even woke up that morning, going to help set up, and I’m like, ‘I’m preparing for this to not go very well.’ I was doing that so I wouldn’t be emotionally let down.”
The turnout definitely defied expectations.
The group designed commemorative buttons, and ordered 300 to be made, thinking it was a generous estimate. The event began at 11 a.m., and all the buttons were gone before 1 p.m., but the event didn’t end until close to 4 p.m.
“I think it’s safe to say that more than 700 people showed up,” Macdonald said. “Some people said that we had close to 1,000 people there.”
The festivities included music, dance, a drag show, a tent with activities for kids, food trucks, and booths for various community groups and businesses.
Visitors included LGBTQ couples, of course, but also their families, friends, and straight locals who wanted to visit and join the celebration. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) made an appearance and gave a short speech before presenting Macdonald and Funes with an official recognition for spearheading Santa Maria’s first Pride.
“Pride last year, on all levels, it was overwhelming the amount of support and allyship,” Macdonald said.
For Didion and her wife, who was an original member of the Gay Liberation Front in LA, it was an emotional moment.
“My wife cried, and she’s a tough cookie,” Didion said.
After curbing her expectations, Chavez was definitely hit by the gravity of how successful the event was.
“I’m so happy for the young people who get to experience that here in their hometown, because I didn’t get to experience that,” she said. “I felt humbled and overwhelmed. Blown away I think is the feeling; blown away at the presence, all the people that came, all the people who showed up.”
Bigger and better
This year’s Pride festival is going to expand on last year’s event in just about every way, according to HOPE’s board.
The event will take up a larger footprint in the Town Center West parking lot, for starters.
“Pride is to celebrate and have fun, but a main goal of it is to create a resource fair,” Macdonald said. “Our goal is to have 50 resource booths this year. Last year we had closer to 35.”
There’s also going to be a larger stage that HOPE is renting from the city’s Recreation and Parks Department, which will feature a variety of acts. There’s going to be live music, a fashion show for youth, a drag show competition, and even a salsa dancing class.
Everything begins at 11 a.m. with a performance of a traditional Mixteco dance by a group based in LA. The opening is an embrace of Santa Maria’s significant Mixteco population, Funes explained.
“Indigenous people are left out overall, so how great that we’re having them open our ceremony,” she said. “But every ceremony is like a blessing, like a prayer, so how great for Pride.”
The event is designed to be as inclusive as possible, Funes said, whether it’s to Santa Maria’s indigenous or transgendered population. There’s no alcohol at Pride, so it’s a welcoming event for families. There’s also a whole area reserved just for youth, too.
A lot of the organization for the festival’s youth tent is done by the kids themselves, including Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) clubs from local high schools, Chavez explained. The youth will enjoy art projects, a makeup demonstration, and a chance to share their “coming out” stories.
Those experiences can be incredibly beneficial for a young person who is gay, bi, or trans, Chavez explained. Being a part of the Pride festival gives them a sense of belonging as well.
“There are all these things where there are youth being exposed to adults who are not ashamed to be themselves, where we’re open about who we are, and that’s liberating and it helps other people to be comfortable with who they are, to own it,” she said. “I think so many times people think that to be queer or gay will end in tragedy, and that isn’t the case. There’s so much happiness and vibrancy in our community.”
Another expanded attraction actually happens after Pride, a fundraiser event for HOPE that begins at 6 p.m. This year’s event is called We Are One, and includes a drag show by SLO Queerdos at Presqu’ile Winery, where there will be wine, beer, and food available.
The fundraiser is more of an afterparty, and is a 21 and older only event. Last year’s fundraiser had a greater turnout than was expected, and so HOPE needed a bigger venue this year for its fundraiser.
“Pride is completely free for everyone of all ages, but in order to keep putting on Pride, it takes money,” Chavez said. “So the afterparty is our way to hopefully get back money so we’re able to put it on next year.”
At the meeting in Funes and Macdonald’s living room, their dog Banjo moves around the circle of volunteers as they discuss the logistics of Pride and the We Are One fundraiser. Everyone takes a turn patting his head as Macdonald confirms schedules and commitments and Funes updates on things like sponsorships and progress with promotions.
The small living room has a warmth to it, and everyone sitting here appears comfortable and energetic. There’s laughter among the questions and answers, and everyone is responsible for some aspect of the upcoming event as the meeting comes to an end.
“How’s everybody feeling going into Pride?” Macdonald asks.
“Excited!”
Contact Managing Editor Joe Payne at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jun 28 – Jul 5, 2018.