MC for Miami Beach Gay Pride’s TD Bank Latin Stage sits down with Hotspots
Marco Perez has become known as the King of the Go-Go Boys (I would say Queen, but he would kill me) as he has been organizing, booking and mummying the dancers for many years now. You can catch him at Score, Twist, and Floppy Rooster, or helping many other clubs when they are in need of dancers. I have been friends with Marco for over 18 years and I thought this would be a good time to sit down with him, right before he MC’s the Latin Stage at Miami Beach Gay Pride.
I heard you started out as a professional dancer, tell me more about that?
I started dancing Peruvian dances when I was just a little kid. My grandfather was a musician, so I come from an artistic family. For more than 25 years, I have been dedicated to highlighting Peruvian culture. I was even the first person to bring a Peruvian Folklore show to Twist and Score to celebrate Peruvian Independence Day.
What made you move to Miami?
I moved to Miami because of discrimination towards the gay community in Peru. It was always present there, even more for me because I have a straight brother who, when we were younger, just couldn’t wrap his head around having an identical twin who might think differently than he does. After I left Peru, I went to Argentina where I finished high school and began to work on my own personal issues. I later moved back to Peru for a stint, but then moved to the Dominican Republic in 1999. Three years later, in 2001, I decided to move to New Jersey so I could be myself and find out who I really am. I lived with family for a while but decided to strike it out on my own in Miami, where I knew no one!
How did you get into hosting events?
It was really thanks to Joel Stedman at Twist. I already had some experience promoting a few events in Peru, so it was an easy jump to start doing it here. I gave Joel the idea to do a Latin Karaoke night, they were already doing a Karaoke night but there wasn’t even ONE song in Spanish on the menu. I asked him to give it a try and just like that, I became the first to host Latin Karaoke Mondays which was a great success. A few years later, we stared “Arrasando” Latin Mondays where, together with Nicolas Torres, we would bring some of the biggest names in drag to Bar Five, the Latin room of Twist. Once this stage of my life closed, MOVA called and I did a Latin Night there for a short time and I then segued into a gig as a presenter at Score along with a team of dancers. I always say we learn from the best, so I followed the footsteps of Jerry, Pussila and Ricardito La La La. Those three provided a fundamental base of what I do as the manager of the Go-Go boys.
How is it working with the Go-Go Boys?
Hosting for me is doing what I love. Working with the Go-Go boys seems easy but it really is stressful at times. In my opinion, punctuality is very important. I really care about my job and I also care about my boys as if they were my own family members. I studied elocution and performance, so being able to do that in the LGBT community is very self-satisfying for me.
What are your plans for the future?
I don’t really like to make plans for the future. I live in the present. Sometimes the future is uncertain. I’ve got 1000 goals, but it’s better to keep them close to my heart in case they are never realized.
Where can we see you host on a regular basis?
Thanks to Luis Morera, you can currently catch me twice a week at Score. On Tuesdays at Planeta Macho I perform along with some of the sexiest Go-Go boys in Miami, and we feature special invited guests every week. On Fridays, I’m back together with Athena Dion, our MC, for The Lab Fridays at Score. About two months ago, I started at Floppy Rooster on Sunday as the MC of “Come P!ng@” night. I also work at Heart, for their weekly afterhours events.
Don’t forget to catch Marco as he hosts the Latin Stage at Miami Beach Gay Pride on Saturday and Sunday, April 8 and 9. When asked how it is to work with Marco Perez, Dave Cook, executive director, of MBGP said: “Marco is one of the hardest working people in nightlife entertainment. He knows every venue and every Latin entertainer and has worked with almost everyone in our Latin Stage line up. He’s been instrumental in taking the TD Bank Latin Stage to a new level with additional DJs, more performances and bigger production values. We’re thrilled to have him back for another year this year.”
