As a prelude to Mexican Independence Day, Bienestar opened its doors to celebrate last Friday with “Fiesta de las Americas.” The event was organized by Antonio Muñoz and Victor Pereda, health educators for Bienestar.

“We planned this event to celebrate not only Mexico’s independence in 1810, but also to recognize the diversity of cultures throughout the Americas,” Muñoz said. “We also wanted the community to realize that Bienestar is still going strong in North Park after our reorganization.”

Bienestar is a non-profit HIV services organization with the primary goal of HIV/AIDS prevention in the Latino community. Founded in 1989 in Los Angeles, Bienestar opened its San Diego center in 2001. Their facility offers group and individual counseling, medical and legal referrals, and classes in computer literacy and English as a second language. In the near future, Bienestar will be offering classes in art and folk crafts, featuring local artists and crafts persons.

One of those artists is Gerardo, a young painter from Mexico City who has made a big splash in the San Diego art scene over the past six years. With recent gallery showings in San Diego, Los Angeles and New York, he is becoming known for his use of color and abstract form in acrylics. Bienestar commissioned Gerardo to create a mural for the “Fiesta de las Americas,” called Esperanza (Hope), which was unveiled at last Friday’s event. In addition to the main mural in the entrance, Gerardo has designed two other murals for the center that will be painted by community volunteers.

In addition to providing many valuable community services, Bienestar offers support to both the Latin and GLBT communities. At both Latin Pride and San Diego LGBT Pride this year, the staff and volunteers were on hand to provide free condoms and health information. Bienestar also works with the Latino Services Program at The Center, the San Ysidro Health Center, CASA and other community health and counseling organizations.

For more information about Bienestar, contact Antonio Muñoz at (619) 295-2192.

With only vague comments, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed AB 866, which was designed to prevent discrimination against GLBT individuals in political campaigns, on Sept. 7.

Existing law establishes a Code of Fair Campaign Practices to which a candidate may voluntarily subscribe and provides a pledge by which the candidate declares that he or she will not use or permit any appeal to negative prejudice based on race, sex, religion, national origin, physical health status, or age. This Code of Fair Campaign Practices and a copy of the Elections Code provisions are required to be provided to candidates by the Registrar of Voters at the time of a declaration of candidacy, nomination papers, or any other paper evidencing an intention to be a candidate for public office are issued.

“Quite frankly, I am outraged that the governor vetoed a bill that protects gay and lesbian candidates from facing discrimination and hate during a campaign,” said Assembly Speaker Pro-Tem Leland Yee, D-San Francisco/Daly City, who authored AB 866. “It is unconscionable that the governor of California would send a message that it is ok to foster campaigns that create fear and intimidation upon the LGBT community.”

The legislation would have prohibited the use of any negative appeal based on prejudice against LGBT people by candidates or campaign committees who sign the voluntary pledge provided for in the Code of Fair Campaign Practices.

The fourth annual “Living Out Loud” gala, a benefit for Stepping Stone of San Diego, will be held from 4:00 to 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 25, at the Joan Embery Institute for Wildlife Conservation at Pillsbury Ranch. This animal’s paradise covers 50 acres and will include some 50 horses, from miniature to draft, foals to retired show horses, personal pets, wildlife ambassadors and native wildlife. Antiques also will be plentiful, from windmills, water tanks and wagons to forges, tools and an historic 100-year-old barn filled with artifacts. It will be an alcohol-free event.

“Stepping Stone is about helping the LGBT people in our community recover from the destruction caused by drugs and alcohol, and teaching them how to live life on life’s terms, one day at a time,” said Stepping Stone Executive Director Cheryl Houk. “Part of doing so is for them to learn how to experience fun in sobriety. ‘Living Out Loud’ gives you an opportunity to do this while also giving back to an agency dedicated to helping people and saving lives.”

The evening’s entertainment will include humor from critically acclaimed actor Leslie Jordan, who has appeared in several top TV shows and received numerous awards for portraying the character of Peanut Leroy – a sodden, aging homosexual – in the film Southern Baptist Sissies.

Stepping Stone operates a 28-bed, long-term residential recovery program, a day treatment program and sober living housing in addition to providing homeless outreach, referrals, recovery education, and prevention and social support programs.

A special donor-sponsored Jungle Safari VIP party takes place from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 24, and will feature food, auctions and entertainment by musicians Nathan Fry and Andy Anderson, as well as an appearance by Stephen Sloan of Sleeveless the Magician. The event takes place at the Marston Point estate of Jim Urbina, Jeff Johnston and Robert Hunt.

Stepping Stone is funded in part by County Alcohol and Drug Services; Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS; United Way; Family Health Centers of San Diego; the HIV, STD and Hepatitis Branch of the San Diego Health and Human Services Agency and California Endowment.

To purchase tickets for the Sept. 25 main event or the Sept. 24 VIP party, call Michael DaSilva at (619) 971-5757, or visit www.livingoutloud.info.

“Momentum on the Midway,” a military-themed dance party benefiting Servicemembers Legal Defense Network’s efforts to repeal the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban on lesbian, gay and bisexual personnel, takes place on Saturday, Oct. 1, at 6:30 p.m. on the U.S.S. Midway Aircraft Carrier.

More than 1,000 SLDN supporters are expected to dance the night away with DJ David Knapp, named “one of America’s six top and most influential DJs” by GQ magazine. The Momentum VIP reception also includes keynote speaker and former Air Force staff sergeant David Hall, who is one of 12 plaintiffs in Cook v. Rumsfeld, SLDN’s constitutional challenge to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Since 1993, the Pentagon has fired 10,000 men and women under the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban. SLDN is the only national legal aid and advocacy group working to repeal the ban. They have answered more than 7,000 requests for assistance; supported introduction of the first Congressional bill to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and filed a federal court challenge to the military’s ban. SLDN’s legal team has stopped witch hunts, investigated anti-gay harassment and found alongside men and women who want to save their military careers.

The U.S.S. Midway Aircraft Carrier is located at 910 N. Harbor Dr. For more information, call (202) 328-3244.

Family Matters, an educational and social parenting group for the GLBT community, hosts their annual barbecue in Trolley Barn Park from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Lunch will be served at 11:30 a.m.

Admission includes a fully catered barbecue courtesy of Sycuan Casino, jumps and slides, a rock climbing wall, games, face painters, karaoke and singing entertainment.

Bring a blanket and chair. Extended family and friends are welcome.

Trolley Barn Park is located on Adams Avenue, three blocks below Park Boulevard in University Heights. The cost is $10 for adults. Children under 13 are free. RSVP online at: http://www.sdfamilymatters.org/event_bbq.asp. Call (619) 298-5431 for more information.

Coastal Cleanup Day is a statewide beach and shoreline cleanup held throughout California each year, and is the largest such cleanup in the country.

The California shoreline is one of the most beautiful in the country, yet each year thousands of tons of garbage end up on the beaches and in the ocean. This garbage can endanger wildlife and human health. Coastal Cleanup Day provides an opportunity for volunteers of all ages to work together and make a positive impact on waterways.

The Coastal Cleanup Day group will meet on Saturday, Sept. 17, at Mission Bay High School, located at 2475 Grand Ave. in Pacific Beach. To pre-register, call (619) 291-0103 ext. 3003. The event takes place from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.