In societies like the USA, Australia and the UK this is changing, albeit painfully slowly. When the owners of Pulse stood in front of the thousands who attended the Tuesday night vigil-on-the-lawn, they made clear that Pulse will live on and continue to be a safe place for the community.Nobody can seriously tell me or anyone else that there are no others – as a profession, sport just seems to create an environment where it is seen as near-impossible for a man to profess his love for other men. Cardona ended up knowing several people who died in the shooting. "When I started calling and realized their names weren't on the roster, that's when I knew we had to prepare for the worst," he said. He called local hospitals and asked for names of people he knew had been there that night. The day after the shooting, Cardona tried to find friends and loved ones who had been shot or injured. "I lost my people that were always ready to dance the next song, always ready to not care if they were sweating on the dance floor so long as everyone was smiling and having a great time," Cardona said. When I started calling and realized their names weren't on the roster, that's when I knew we had to prepare for the worst.
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What followed was a series of vigils nationwide and throughout Orlando, including one less than 24 hours after the shooting at Orlando's Parliament House nightclub. That sense of security was shattered on Sunday, June 12 when shooter Omar Mateen entered the club with an assault rifle and killed 49 clubgoers. "The people there were bubbly, fun, looking to dance the night away. "Pulse had that reputation, the place you go to have a good time and to be carefree," Cardona said. It was the first gay bar Alex Cardona, 32, ever stepped foot in. People went to Pulse to escape, to find solace on the dancefloor from the world outside. Out of all the clubs from the staff to the people there, it just felt like you were walking into your living room."Ī few days ago, Padron posted a picture of his very first tattoo on Facebook - the symbol for a pulse on a heart rate monitor over his wrist, with the club's logo tucked below. "A lot of people have been reading 'Pulse was like home.' Pulse really was home. "And by then I had in love with everybody, and I went back every single Tuesday until I got the job there." "It made me come back the next week, and then I won," Padron told Mic. Padron got second place in the talent show that night. "Axel walked on stage with his crazy club kid chest out and mohawk and I was like 'oh my god, they love everything, they accept everybody here,'" Padron said. Performer Axel Andrews, who practices a "genderfuck" style of drag - meaning he eschews typical gender roles - was hosting that night. Locals pack the room to cheer up-and-coming performers trying to make it in drag. Pulse's Tuesday nights, which staff call "Family Nights," draw huge crowds. On a whim, he donned some colorful clothes, put on some makeup and signed up for Pulse's Tuesday night talent show. At the time, Padron felt he had no creative outlet - a theatre major at the University of Central Florida, he had not stepped foot on stage in the first couple of months of his program. Adrien, began his career on Pulse's stage in 2012. It was just literally a time and place where everyone could be together and enjoy yourselves." "But on Latino Night on Saturdays I didn't feel that way. "I was too white to fit in with Latinos and I was too Hispanic to fit in with white kids," LaValle said in an interview. The diverse crowd allowed him to feel comfortable in his own skin, which had not always been easy for him. Justin LaValle, 29, said that he "practically lived" at Pulse. The club has an especially devoted following among gay Latinos, who turned out en masse for the club's Latin-themed nights. Other words that came up: "home," "safe haven," "fun," "energetic." Students at the University of Central Florida said Pulse's college night was the best one in Orlando Many said Pulse was the first gay bar they had ever attended. But several Pulse patrons who spoke to Mic described the club as "eclectic," a place where LGBTQ people and straight friends of all ages and ethnicities gathered to drink and dance. Some gay bars court a specific clientele - twinks, otters, bears or even people of a certain race.
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On Latin nights, drag queen Jasmine Jimenez performed as Puerto Rican diva Jennifer Lopez. One of only a handful of gay bars in a city with 270,000 residents, Pulse kept a regular calendar: Noche Latina on Mondays, Twisted Tuesdays, College Night Wednesdays, Tease Thursdays, Platinum Fridays and Upscale Latin Nights on Saturdays. "Pulse is the best known gay club in Orlando," Ruiz said. She wanted her brother's pulse to live on. Owner Barbara Poma opened the bar on South Orange Avenue in 2004, naming it "Pulse" in honor of her brother who died of AIDS-related illness. Before Sunday, though, it was just Pulse.