All words and images by Roopa Cheema
These events occurred during August 2012
Today was Pride! I am
so happy I was able to be here during this time to show my support for the queer community in another country! Lucky me. By total accident, I booked my trip during Pride. Serendipity!
But, oh, the rain. It
won’t stop. UGH. It has rained non-stop since I've been here
and today it finally got under my skin (as well as being on it!) and I became
grumpy. And then I remembered I was in
Iceland, living my dream, and quickly got over it.
Before the parade, I took a stroll down one of the main roads, Bankastraeti, to get lunch at Prikid, a hotspot in the heart of downtown.
The view from the 2nd floor of Prikid. I've spotted some parade-goers!
I took a stroll down the main road, Laugevegur, and made my
way to the parade route on Laekjargata. At first there
weren't a lot of people but as the hour went on it filled up to thousands! You must remember: Reykjavik’s population is
roughly 200,000 (about 300,000 reside in the whole country). My guess is that, per capita, Reykjavik is
one of the most queer-friendly places on earth.
People of all ages were present – I was happy to see so many families in
attendance. Children are taught from a
young age that being different is ok.
It’s a very peaceful city and country.
The police do not carry guns. I
saw only a handful of police at the parade.
This city is just so cool. I
highly recommend you go. My flight was
$780 round trip and I paid $120 a night for a bachelor apartment with a fully
equipped kitchenette!
Anyway, I digress…
The parade began as it does in Toronto with the Dykes On
Bikes! It was really neat to see some of
the universal themes and ideas surrounding gay pride. I felt included when I saw the rainbow flag
because that’s the very image that caused so much controversy and hate toward
me at my school as I launched the very first Gay Straight Alliance. All of the backlash, the ignorance, the
misunderstanding, the confusing, the hate - it was worth it because I know I’m not
alone in my fight for equality for all.
I have a new mantra: STAND IN YOUR POWER. Historically, as a woman, I don’t have
power. Historically, as a person of colour, I don’t have power. But I’m
straight and that holds power in this world. When men stand for women’s rights, that’s powerful! When White people stand
for People of Colour's rights, that’s powerful! When straight people stand for the queer community, that's powerful! Of course, all of the aforementioned oppressed groups fight first, harder, and longer than the privileged groups.
This is me trying to creep under a stranger's umbrella!
The anticipation!
The parade continued with people from all walks of life
being involved. Even Jon Gnarr, the mayor of Reykjavik, comes dressed in drag every year for the Pride Parade (which is much more than we can say for the mayor of Toronto). Russian punk band, Pussy Riot, were jailed for singing a song in a church that criticized Vladimir Putin. Communities all over the world implored the Russian government to release the band. Below, you'll see Jon Gnarr dressed as a member of Pussy Riot, who famously wear dresses and balaclavas during their performances. How cool is this mayor?
Jon Gnarr, the mayor of Reykjavik, protesting the imprisonment of Pussy Riot
Sports team in support of gay pride
Protecting that gorgeous make-up from the rain!
A poignant reminder...
A store-front moose joining in the festivities
At the end of the parade, the crowd joins in and walks to
the end! I got to MARCH in Reykjavik’s
Pride. I am truly honoured. The last float took us to a bandstand where a
concert commenced. I stayed for about
half of it. My favourite part was when a
musical theatre-type duo sang Don’t Rain On My Parade in Icelandic!
Brilliant…As it poured down on us. It
was a perfect ending to a great parade.
Parade finale: CONFETTI!
Happy parade-goers trying to catch some confetti
After the parade, the rain finally let up for a couple of
hours and I was finally able to take lots of pictures of the graffiti around
town! This city is covered in super rad
pieces and took about 200 photos. It’s
not something I was all that interested in back home but the graffiti here has
inspired me to start hunting down street art in Toronto. I know that’s super hipster of me and I
realize I'm late to the party on this trend but Reykjavik is so inspiring in
many ways and has resuscitated my love of photography. When the school year starts everything
becomes busy and the weather become cold and makes shooting more
difficult. I will speak to this in
another post but this past year I did too much at the school. Really, I've done too much since I began
teaching and I need to strike a better balance so I'm nourishing my soul and
filling up my cup, especially artistically.
More on that another time – I'm in freaking Iceland! Here is some wickedly rad street art:
I shopped around for a bit, picking up lovely things for my
family and myself, then headed back to my accommodations and changed to go out
for dinner and drinks. This is the only
challenge of solo travelling: Going out for drinks. Now, I’m pretty independent and do a lot of
things on my own. I go to movies, dinner, shopping, travelling
on my own. But back home I don’t go for
drinks on my own. However, I’m not going
to stay in and miss the infamous Reykjavik nightlife just because I’m flying
solo here. So off I went to Lebowski
Bar. Yes, you guessed it: It’s a The Big
Lebowski themed bar and very popular here in town. I bought myself a pint of Gull (refer to
Iceland: Day 1 to read more about that) and took a seat. Thank goodness for free wi-fi! I was chilling
out, updating Twitter and sending messages and emails to family and friends,
but keeping my eye out and up and maintaining a friendly smile on my face. I had a table to myself and the place was
filling up. I noticed two women who also
looked like travellers (we’re so obvious!) and invited them to sit down. Turns out my new friends, Tracy and Laura,
are teachers from Britain! Instantly, we
had something in common and became fast friends. We have planned to meet up for dinner tomorrow. One of my greatest traits is that you can
take me anywhere! I will talk to anyone
and everyone and find it very easy to make new friends.
We went to Den Danske Kro where I had gone the other night
and had a pint and listened to live music.
The Brits wanted to go out to the club (not my scene) and I decided to
call it a night.
Tomorrow: I will spend the day shopping and strolling through
the streets. Today was great. I'm very fortunate to be me.
Thanks for reading,
Roopa
All words and images by Roopa Cheema
All words and images by Roopa Cheema
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