By this time in July, many Caribbean people in Toronto are ready to hit ‘de road’ for Caribana, and queer folks are creating their own safe spaces to celebrate as homophobia continues to be prevalent in the community.
There are many nuances to queer Caribbean identity, underscored by the fact that many countries in the region still have colonial-era laws that discriminate against 2SLGBTQ+ people.
The Human Dignity Trust reports that 65 jurisdictions are criminalising private, consensual, same-sex sexual activity, including the Caribbean countries of Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, as well as Guyana. In 2024, Rainbow Railroad, a North American organization helping queer people facing persecution around the world relocate to safety, received 328 requests for help from the Caribbean.
These homophobic attitudes can also exist within Caribbean groups in Canada, making it difficult for queer Caribbean people to feel comfortable in their communities.
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For more than a decade, Blockobana has created space for queer Caribbean people in Toronto to jump up and bruk it down during Caribana weekend without fear of anti-Black racism, homophobia or transphobia. Also known as the sister event of the popular Pride Toronto stage, Blockorama, Blockobana is organized by Blackness Yes!, a committee of activists, artists and DJs, and led by Craig Palmer, aka DJ Craig Dominic.
“We work towards making spaces for African, Black and Caribbean queer folks in the city, starting with Blockrama, which happened in 1999 and has continued on to become Pride’s longest and largest stage,” Palmer, Blackness Yes! project lead, explained to Queer & Now.
THE CREATION OF BLOCKOBANA
In 2005, Palmer, who was not yet out as queer or working as a DJ, was on his way home from Pride when he came across Blockorama.
“It was just a place where I felt seen, a place where I felt, even though I didn’t know anybody, that there was love in the air,” Palmer explained. “I felt the music, I felt the performances, and I was just drawn to this work from that moment.”
Several years later, he was invited to DJ at Blockorama, and then attended the first edition of Blockobana in 2010, which had a $10 admission fee and was hosted in a smaller parking lot. It was then that Palmer decided to join the committee, with the goal of making Blockobana as big as Blockorama. He also wanted it to serve as an oasis from the rest of the weekend’s activities.
“I’ve been called a few slurs during the weekend, and someone tried to run me over once,” Palmer said. “I really felt that this could be a real space for people who felt, like me, they were sort of othered in Black spaces by the straight community.”
Palmer explained that having a safe space for queer Caribbean people in the city who may not feel welcome at other Caribana events is one of the main reasons Blocko is so important.
“It’s a reminder that queer people do exist, and we don’t disappear for that week of Caribana or the month of July. I think a lot of people look at queerness, and they think it’s mutually exclusive from our Blackness and our Africanness and our Caribbeanness,” Palmer explained.
“So, the larger community doesn’t really think that we belong. I think it’s really important for us to make spaces where we do belong, but also to remind people that we are still part of your community.”
BLOCKOBANA 2025
This year’s event is set for Sunday, Aug. 3 at Barbara Hall Park, from 12-11 p.m., and will be hosted by local events curator, OhBumbaRassclot.
The host echoed the sentiment that the discriminatory views about homosexuality and gender identity held by many Caribbean communities make these events all the more important.
“It’s not fair for these people to want to celebrate their culture, but get knocked down on it due to their sexuality,” the host told Queer & Now. “So, I feel like you should have pride in celebrating your culture and celebrating yourself all in one space without feeling you’re not welcome.”
OhBumbaRassclot has curated and hosted various queer events over the last four years, including for Halloween, Pride and Caribana, making him a bit of a household name in Toronto’s queer nightlife scene.
“I am really happy the generation trusts me enough to make sure they have a good time and feel safe,” he continued, adding that if he is attending, hosting or throwing an event, it’s inclusive for all 2SLGBTQ+ people.
“I feel really happy just knowing that this young generation has spaces for them to feel accepted, have spaces for them to be themselves,” he explained, saying this is something he lacked growing up.
This year’s party will be in The Village, compared to last year when it was held at STACKT Market. Palmer says last year’s event left some Blocko attendees feeling uneasy due to another party catered to straight people happening next door, and hopes this year’s event will be a different experience.
“I think it’ll hit a little bit different, knowing that it’s completely queer,” Palmer shared. “We are hiring queer security, Black security. It’s just going to be much safer.”
BEFORE BLOCKOBANA
Among members of Blackness Yes! is iconic DJ Mykel Hall, more popularly known as DJ Blackcat. Having hosted Caribana parties since the late 1990s, Hall explained that there have always been challenges when throwing queer parties during Carnival weekend. This includes racism within the queer community.
“We did a party called Red, and it was on Caribana weekend, right beside Crews & Tangos in that parking area,” Hall told Queer & Now. “And it wasn’t received well by the community, because of it being a Black event during Caribana.”
More than 20 years later, racism in Canadian queer communities is an ongoing issue. The 2024 Back to Our Roots Report from The Enchanté Network found that 86 per cent of Black 2SLGBTQI+ people in Canada have encountered anti-Black racism within queer spaces.
There was also the issue of promoting an event targeted to the queer community during the larger Caribana celebrations.
“Promoting and trying to get people to know about the event was very hard as well, because you didn’t want to give [flyers] to the wrong person,” the DJ shared.
Hall, who was on the committee who formed Blockobana, explained that as a Black gay man, he felt that Caribana needed an event that was just as big for the queer community as Pride.
“The numbers that we do for Blockobana are staggering now. So, there’s been positive change, and I think the community appreciates that and loves that they have someplace now where they can be safe and not have to go to the festival if they don’t want to.”
MORE QUEER CARIBBEAN EVENTS
And Hall is right, there are now an increasing number of events designed by and for the Caribbean queer community during Caribana season.
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This includes Chocolate City at The Smith House on Aug. 1, the Gyal Segment party Girls are Drugs at The Drake Underground on Aug. 2, and a new event called Ting, organized and hosted by local drag queen Guy Anabella at Cake Cabaret on Aug. 3.
Anabella’s family is from Guyana, and she describes herself as a Caribbean diasporic artist who is very much in tune with her Caribbean roots after being raised by her grandmothers. As is the case in many Caribbean households, as a child, Anabella was discouraged from expressing more traditionally feminine qualities.
“I felt as a kid that I was suppressing who I was and what I wanted to be. So, to be doing drag now, and creating these types of events, kind of allows us to reclaim what we lost as kids, reclaim that sense of play, reclaim showcasing our art. That’s what I just wanted to do, create a space for our queer Caribbean people to express themselves.”
The inspiration for Ting first came to Anabella while she was a contestant on the series Drag Brunch Saved My Life.
“We had a Guyanese-themed drag brunch,” she told Queer & Now. “Caribbean-themed, super Caribana vibes. We were in kind of Caribana attire, and I saw the impact of how amazing that episode was, and the feedback from queer Caribbean people [about] how much they loved it.”
She decided to use her platform to create an event that would bring Caribbean folks who are queer together to showcase their art.
“Because our art is just so beautiful and rich and diverse, and there aren’t a lot of spaces for us.”
The showcase will feature performances from an all-Caribbean, all-queer, gender-diverse cast including Eboni La’Belle, Kingchella, Huck King Filarious, Petra Liyahn, and Joe Peach. The organizer shared that it was important to showcase a diverse group of artists, creating a safe space for both the performers and audiences, where they feel safe and represented.
“I’m really excited about the outreach, and all of the people that are going to come through and feel represented. The representation piece is huge.”
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