.....I was invited by GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) to present the Latin Newspaper Article of The Year to Lupita Figuereiro for her stunning article in El Mensajero SF newspaper.I was nervous about my speech so I ad libbed a little bit by addressing the attendees in Spanish in the beginning of my speech and by "outing" myself as somewhat of a "Bay Area" native(I attended High School in Millbrae , a city 15 miles south of San Francisco).
I was honored to have been asked to present this special award and more importanly to use my participation in Project Runway to promote GLAAD's cause to educate , destroy ignorance and misinformation in the media.
Others attending included hostess Meghan Mullally from "Will & Grace" in a slinky navy silk charmeuse gown, Carson Kressly from "Queer Eye", who fixed my pocket square(I admitted to him that I must have missed that "Queer Eye " episode where he showed how to wear a pocket square kerchief ), "Cat Woman" diva Julie Newmar,
actress Sharon Gless from "Queer As Folk", and actress Jennifer Tilly, who was honored with a "Lifetime Achievement" award and gave one of the funniest speeches of the night in her fierce Dolce & Gabbana leopard-print dress. After the awards, my friends and I went out and Carson met up with us causing a slight surreal scene in a certain SF bar, where people were doing double takes seeing Carson and myself. Quite funny!
I had a great time during my short San Francisco visit, highlights included dinner at Lime, where the chef personally came out and greeted us and gave us a "Tasting" dinner from the menu, which was incredible! I have to give a special THANK YOU to Woody Woodbeck and his team of San Francisco Merrymen for making my 2 days incredible !
I met him while he was a producer for a segment on "PR" and we have been "pinky swear" friends since. He said he would show me a "good time" in SF, and he did not let me down!
I also, made a fashion pitstop at H & M where I did A LOT of damage and found out that almost all the SF H & M sales associates were HUGE Project Runway fans! I also met several FIDM SF students who were so kind and supportive of my designs and teaching.
I love the City by the Bay and cannot wait to return next month, where I will be doing a "Learning Annex " seminar. To learn more about the class I am teaching in SF, LA and San Diego, click HERE
