> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.lookoutnews.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # They Buried Their Friends. Then They Danced. - URL: https://www.lookoutnews.org/they-buried-their-friends-then-they-danced/ - Published: 2026-09-14T22:15:59.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-14T23:52:49.000Z - Description: Four days after Tucson mourned two men killed in a hate-related shooting, hundreds of LGBTQ+ people gathered to celebrate, and to grieve. - Author: Susan Barnett (she/her) - Tags: CULTURE, Tucson shooting, #donate_box_1, #trending In 2025, the Seattle-based columnist Dan Savage wrote in *The Stranger* that during the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, “we buried our friends in the morning, we protested in the afternoon, and we danced at night.” It’s become a motto in LGBTQ+ circles being screen-printed on T-shirts and tattooed on bodies. And in Tucson, the city’s LGBTQ+ community took that advice literally. Four days after more than 1,000 people gathered in midtown Tucson to mourn and call for justice for two men who were killed outside a local gay bar, hundreds of LGBTQ+ people filled another queer space across town — and danced. On Sunday, Sept. 6, POSE TUCSON hosted a Loud and Proud Queer Dance Party at La Rosa, a concert and event space in Tucson. The event had originally been planned as a “Labor Gay” weekend party. After Cameron Capara and Vincent Siqueiros were killed outside Venture-N in what police described as a hate-related attack, organizer Ray Saint-Zarek reconsidered. The party, he said, was a place for LGBTQ+ people to gather, remember the victims and survivors, and spend a few hours refusing to let fear dictate where they could go. “Having audacity is why we are here,” Saint-Zarek, also known as DJ Saint X, told the crowd during opening remarks. “Not because we're not scared, not because it won't happen again, but because through history, queer people, we have to have audacity, we have to show up, we have to march, we have to keep dancing, we have to keep gathering like nothing will stop us.” [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4c/0d/4c0d7266-d8e0-4201-8dfb-f7b14779cdc4/content/images/2025/02/MEMBER-AD--1000-x-143-px-.png)](https://lookoutphx.ac-page.com/membership?ref=lookoutnews.org) More than 400 tickets were sold for the event, Saint-Zarek said. The night included a Beyoncé birthday set, drag performances and hours of dancing. Attendees tipped performers, made friends, laughed, drank and crowded onto the dance floor. For that night, La Rosa became what queer spaces across the country have long represented, and what Savage referenced in his column: It became a place to show how a community can resist while grieving. But getting there wasn’t easy. Saint-Zarek initially considered canceling the event after hearing about the shooting. As someone who organizes queer events, he was frightened for his own safety and for the people who would come to the party. Years earlier, while preparing for West Hollywood Pride, he had undergone mass-casualty incident training in preparation for possible attacks. Still, he said he never expected Tucson to become the site of a shooting targeting the LGBTQ+ community. “I went to the vigil and I think that was the moment where I was like, okay, this is not about me anymore,” he said. “I need to hunker down and figure out how I'm going to do this respectfully, and turn it into resistance without turning it into a march or anything like that.” #### Read our full coverage of the Venture-N shooting - [Shooting at Tucson Gay Bar Venture-N Kills Two, Investigated as Hate Crime](https://www.lookoutnews.org/tucson-shooter-had-multiple-lgbtq-friendly-addresses-written-down/) - [“They Were Genuinely Who They Were”: Tucson Remembers Venture-N Shooting Victims](https://www.lookoutnews.org/tucson-gay-bar-shooting-cameron-capara-anthony-siqueiros/) - [After Tucson's Deadly Attack, Gov. Katie Hobbs Was Slow to Speak Publicly](https://www.lookoutnews.org/tucson-shooting-venture-n-politicians-speak-out-for-gun-control/) - [The Venture-N Shooting is Being Called a Hate Crime. Arizona Law Leaves a Gap.](https://www.lookoutnews.org/venture-n-shooting-hate-crime-arizona-law-hate-enhancement/) - [‘Watch my Mimosa’: The Last Moments of Two Venture-N Regulars](https://www.lookoutnews.org/vincent-siqueiros-shot-outside-venture-n-friend-account/) - [PHOTOS: Tucson Community Gathers to Mourn, Demand Action After Venture-N Shooting](https://www.lookoutnews.org/photos-tucson-gathers-to-mourn-venture-n-shooting/) - [Police Say Hate Motivated the Venture-N Shooting. The Internet Has Other Theories.](https://www.lookoutnews.org/ousman-ceesay-venture-n-shooter/) - [They’ve Been Where Tucson Is Now. Here’s What They Want You to Know.](https://www.lookoutnews.org/tucson-venture-n-can-learn-from-other-hate-crime-shooting/) - [The Hardest Part May Be the Answers Venture-N Survivors Will Never Get](https://www.lookoutnews.org/the-hardest-part-may-be-the-answers-venture-n-survivors-will-never-get/) He checked in with the DJs, performers and La Rosa to make sure everyone was comfortable continuing with the event. He and La Rosa also agreed that a portion of the proceeds would be donated to Venture-N to help financially support the owner and employees. Before a drag performance, Saint-Zarek stopped the music to acknowledge the loss and grief in the room. Then he told people to dance. “I think acknowledging we are in pain and we don't have to feel guilty about continuing our lives, we have to do it. We have to do it for Vincent and Cameron and everybody before us. That’s the way to fight this, to keep showing up,” Saint-Zarek said. “I think once that message was clear… There was a sense of relief, like, yes, okay, I can dance, I can go buy my shot, and immediately the show started.” Desiree Nguyen, a volunteer with the Party of Socialism and Liberation-Tucson who was tabling at the event, said the party offered a way to turn grief into connection. “Instead of letting our grief be a shadow or be a deterrent from us celebrating joy, it transformed almost into this fire to spark that joy that despite the grief we are feeling, we are still able to showcase that grief through joy, through connection,” Nguyen said. “Celebrating instead of becoming this shadow looming over us showed how powerful grief can be when we transform it into something that our communities rally behind.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4c/0d/4c0d7266-d8e0-4201-8dfb-f7b14779cdc4/content/images/2026/09/DSC02823-1.JPG) Sammy Beaux blows a kiss to the crowd after finishing her performance. She was named Miss Tucson Pride 2024\. (Photo by Susan Barnett for LOOKOUT.) The party came less than a week after the community gathered at Catalina Park for a candlelight vigil for Capara and Siqueiros. Friends and family of the two men stood alongside city leaders, activists, community members and religious figures. There were tears, embraces and audible sobbing. There was also solidarity. For some, the response to the shooting has meant turning grief into political action. Saint-Zarek said LGBTQ+ people need to pay attention to the people elected to represent them and hold them accountable. Nguyen sees change differently: “We cannot wait for politicians to save us. The people save the people,” Nguyen said. “Change does not come from the ballot box. It comes from the streets. It comes from people being involved and transforming that grief into a passion. To be involved in the movement, in the hearts, to fight for what is right.” That division of how to move forward was palpable, but the message was consistent among partygoers that the community needs to determine what comes next after two of its members were killed. “These spaces are more than parties, they are where we find each other,” Saint-Zarek said. “Where friendships begin, where chosen families are created, where someone who has spent their entire life feeling different can look around and realize, ‘I'm not alone’. None of us owes the world a debate about who we are. We do not have to defend our existence before we're allowed to live it.” ## Before you go... At **LOOKOUT**, we believe in the power of community-supported journalism. You're at the heart of that community, and your support helps us deliver the news and information the LGBTQ+ community needs to thrive. ### Two ways to support LOOKOUT: [Become a Member Get exclusive benefits. ](https://www.lookoutnews.org/?form=donate) [Make a Donation Make an immediate impact. ](https://www.lookoutnews.org/?form=one-time)