NOMINEES FOR SAINTHOOD 2016

HERE are the nominations for Gay Saints of Antinous for 2016 (Anno Antinoo 1905).

The priests of Antinous are deliberating on these nominations and will announce their decision at Foundation Day ceremonies at the Hollywood Temple of Antinous on 30th October.

Then the names of the new saints will be added to our LIST OF SAINTS.

The nominees are:

DAVID BOWIE, whose death in early 2016 at age 69 stunned the world, since his battle with cancer remained a family secret until the end. When homosexuality was still considered a shameful secret to many, Bowie told the world he was gay, and music ... and the lives of many of his fans and followers ... would never be the same. "I'm gay," he declared, "and always have been, even when I was David Jones." When he uttered these now-immortal words in the Jan. 22, 1972, issue of England's Melody Maker, the fledgling starman had just released December 1971's Hunky Dory and already was giving his interviewer a taste of his glam-rock milestone, June 1972's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars. Married to Iman, a Somali-American, since 1992, Bowie let unconventionally matched and gendered ­heteros know their nonconformity would be cool too. They could all be heroes, each and every day.

JUAN GABRIEL, a superstar Mexican songwriter and singer who was an icon for millions of LGBT people in the Latin music world. He died suddenly on August 26th at age 66. His ballads about love and heartbreak and bouncy mariachi tunes became hymns throughout Latin America and Spain and with Spanish speakers in the United States. The adjectives "flamboyant" and "eccentric" followed him all his career, and he was imitated by drag queens in gay clubs throughout Mexico. He was once famously asked by a television interviewer: "People look at you and say you are homosexual. What do you say?" His answer became part of his enduring myth. "Lo que se ve no se pregunta," he answered … "Don't ask about something that is obvious."

ELKE MARAVILHA Russian-born drag artiste extraordinaire who was a superstar in Brazil and who died at 71 this year. She was an actress, musical artist, TV star, model, and precursor of an innovative, bold and unique style, who opened the possibilities of aesthetic and behavioral path wherever she went and appeared. Elke was an artistic personality whose charisma provoked strong popular impact, both the image and the message of joy, intelligence and irreverence. Because of this, she already attained legendary status Carmen Miranda and Arthur Bispo do Rosário. Merging exoticism, mysticism, joy, madness and deep knowledge of human, her infectious joy inspired hope. 

JOEY STEFANO, iconic gay porn actor. Born Nicholas Anthony Iacona, Jr., Joey Stefano would have been 47 years old today. He was born January 1, 1968, in suburban Philadelphia USA and died November 26, 1994, of a drug overdose. Over the course of his five-year career, Stefano appeared in 58 gay adult films, and two music videos with Madonna. Despite his success, Stefano did not save his earnings and relapsed into drug and alcohol abuse. In 1990, he was diagnosed HIV positive. On November 21, 1994, Stefano's body was found in a motel room in Hollywood. He was 26 years old. He symbolizes gay men who skyrocket to celebrity but who fall into disillusionment and ruin just as quickly.

JORGE FERNANDES MARTINEZ was brutally murdered by unknown assailants near his home in the the Mexico City suburb of Tultitlán. Forensic tests showed he had been tortured, raped and asphyxiated. His broken body lay undiscovered for days. Grieving neighbors who had known and loved him for nearly 20 years held a wake and asked for dignified funeral services conducted under the auspices of The Temple of Antinous in Mexico City. The rites were held at the famous Shrine of Santa Muerte (Our Lady of Sacred Death) in Tultítlan led by Enriqueta Vargas.