It’s your party

How to celebrate Divers/Cité’s sweet 16

LESBOLICIOUS: The Cliks

by LORRAINE CARPENTER

If Divers/Cité were a hot young human being instead of Montreal’s premiere Pride event, it would be legal to drive a car and to screw around, even with the Conservatives’ proposed new age of consent. So, as they’re lighting their 16 candles, here are some tips for taking advantage of all that D/C has to offer. Note that all shows begin at 6 p.m. and take place at Émilie-Gamelin park’s Loto-Québec stage, unless otherwise noted. And organizers of all the free outdoor shows would appreciate a $2 donation—just spot the roving drag queens with change receptacles and drop a toonie into their hole (what?!).

ODES TO LATIN NIGHTS: Tomás Jensen

As is the tradition, the festival’s first day (Tuesday, July 29) begins with 1, Boulevard des rêves, a cabaret under the stars curated and coordinated by chanteuse Marleen Menard with her musical director Robin Chemtov. Among the singers joining Menard on stage this year, as of 7 p.m., are Jonas, Johanne Blouin, Sébastien Plante of les Respectables, Yan Lavoie and the one and only Mado. DJ Mister Smith will be on hand to warm up the crowd at 6 p.m.

On Wednesday, July 30, Plastik Patrik is back with his band Patrik et les Brutes. Although Patrik’s Sex Garage series is no more, the spirit lives on with this event, called Traffic, an alternative-rock lover’s dream. Also on the bill are lesbolicious Toronto bands Hunter Valentine (see cover story, p. 16) and the Cliks, as well as electro-rawk specialist DJ Frigid, just back on his home turf after a year in Berlin.

For a decade now, delectable beats and rhythms have been served up by Marcelo Juarez (one of D/C’s musical directors) with his annual spectacular Cachondo: La noche Latina. From 6–8 p.m., Le match des étoiles’s Tomasz Pogorzelski will teach the crowd some serious (and not so serious) salsa moves, a lesson you can put to practice to the tune of the next act, Papo Ross y su Orquesta Pambiche, firing up a rich mélange of salsa, merengue, bachata and cumbia. Other performers at Cachondo include Youssi Barbara Ruiz, Cassiopée, Latin house DJ Fernando “Loco” Baldeon and local electro artist Hombre, making his debut with guest singer Tomás Jensen.

CAPTURING NEIGHBOURHOOD LIFE:
From Les Grandes Murales

On the non-musical front, nearly 500 cyclists who are taking part in this year’s Friends for Life Bike Rally will arrive at D/C’s outdoor site at 5 p.m. Their week-long trek, during which they travel roughly 100 kilometres a day, raises funds for those who live with HIV and AIDS, so come over and cheer them on. At 6 p.m., the party continues with top trance selections by DJs Wizz, Insomnia and Second Sun.

Throughout D/C’s nearly weeklong run, Les Grandes Murales will display the work of four photographers who’ve captured the colour and charm of the Centre-Sud neighbourhood, from 1936 to the present. Prints of distinct sets of photos by Conrad Poirier, Marik Boudreau, Suzanne Girard and Aydin Matlabi will be mounted on the festival site’s fencing on the Terrasse Ste-Catherine. The vernissage is on Tuesday, July 29 at 6 p.m.

For more info, see www.diverscite.org.