Very cool article about a gay Arab rave that goes on in NYC every month (except Ramadan).
The dancers included plenty of non-Arab men, many of whom Abraham said were regulars.
“Hummus queens,” a 24-year-old grocery clerk from Queens named Hilal joked at one of the parties. “That’s what you call white guys who go for Arabs.”
Some of the guests yearned for something more than just a good time. “There’s a lot of post-9/11 baggage that people want to deal with,” Hilal said during another party. “But the only option they have is to go out to a club and dance?”
Still, Hilal, wearing a “Hummus Is Yummus” T-shirt and a Mohawk haircut, took his place on the dance floor, too.
The next Habibi is this Sunday, Jan. 16 at La Pomme, 37 West 26th Street in Chelsea. More information is available from habibi@habibinyc.com Habibi e-mail address or the party’s Web site; its Myspace page or its Facebook page. There is a $10 admission charge.The article reminds me of a gay Spanish dance club I went to in Barcelona, now a good ten years ago. I think it was BCN, but am not sure if it was a different club. I was dancing with some Spanish guy who asked me if I wanted to go to the "back room." In American parlance, a back room is a dark corner where you go to have sex. I said no thanks. He said, no, come on, we can watch people dance. Curious, I went. It was amazing. About a dozen Spanish couples (all male) dancing the Flamenco in this small, smoke-filled room. It was simply wonderful. And sad. My host informed that most of these guys were not out one bit during the day. That was ten years ago, perhaps it's changed. But it was thrilling to watch everyone come out, with flaming Flamenco, if only for a few hours every Saturday night.
