Honcho (August 1985), Part Two

In April of 1980, Fidel Castro rejected thousands of dissidents from Cuba, causing over 125,000 refugees, many criminals and the mentally ill, to flood the eastern coast of the United States. As public fears consumed the nation, many were transferred to Fort Chaffe in western Arkansas, where violence quickly erupted and prompted military intervention. Although a majority of the country called for their immediate deportation, others, including members of the gay community, sympathized with the refugees. In fact, the empathy of these homosexuals mirrored similar sentiments from 1965, when the New York Mattachine Society staged their Cuban Labor Camp Protest over governmental internment of homosexual Cuban migrants in labor camps. In this August 1985 issue of Honcho (which had been broken into two parts), the short story “Cuban Carne” explores these shared feelings of persecution as the narrator houses two refugees assisted by the Gay Action League. Included in the second half (see the first half here) are the short stories  “Assault by Night” (which deals with gay-bashing), “Hitched” (about a hitchhiker’s encounter with a gang of bikers), and “Tail Spin” (chronicling the narrator’s lust for his cousin) and photospreads titled “Central Park in the Dark,” “Desk Set,” “Mid-Summer Madness,” and “Strange Places, Strange Things.”

Honcho (August 1985), Part One

In April of 1980, Fidel Castro rejected thousands of dissidents from Cuba, causing over 125,000 refugees, many criminals and the mentally ill, to flood the eastern coast of the United States. As public fears consumed the nation, many were transferred to Fort Chaffe in western Arkansas, where violence quickly erupted and prompted military intervention. Although a majority of the country called for their immediate deportation, others, including members of the gay community, sympathized with the refugees. In fact, the empathy of these homosexuals mirrored similar sentiments from 1965, when the New York Mattachine Society staged their Cuban Labor Camp Protest over governmental internment of homosexual Cuban migrants in labor camps. In this August 1985 issue of Honcho (which had been broken into two parts), the short story “Cuban Carne” explores these shared feelings of persecution as the narrator houses two refugees assisted by the Gay Action League. Also included in this first half are the short stories “Avoid Sex, It Slows You Down” (about a messenger boy’s erotic adventure) and “Used by Men” (detailing the narrator's encounters while cruising the docks of New Orleans) and the photospreads titled “Fast Lane,” “Surfer Up,” and “Wild Eyes.”

Blueboy (August 1982), Part Two

Ed Graczyk’s 1976 play Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean marked many firsts: the directorial debut of Robert Altman, Cher’s first Broadway performance, and Graczyk’s premier play. The play was also among the first to explore transsexualism in a poignant and sincere manner. In this August 1982 issue of Blueboy (which has been broken into two parts) Graczyk discusses his inspirations for the play. Contained in the second half (see the first half here) are showcase of Roy Dean’s photography and Vito Tomasello’s artwork.