The third annual tribute will showcase buildings throughout Miami-Dade County in rainbow-colored lights to honor and pay tribute to the victims, families, and friends of the Pulse nightclub shooting.
Miami Beach Pride will once again pay tribute to the victims, families, and friends of the Pulse nightclub shooting through their third annual “Pride Lights the Night” event produced by Lincoln Road Bid. 2019 will be the 3rd Annual “Flip the Switch” and has become well known throughout the community. Light the Night’s goal is to light as many buildings in greater Miami in rainbow colors and graphics or flags to show support and solidarity for the LGBTQ community.
“Pride Lights the Night” is a tribute to the individuals lost during the shooting at Pulse nightclub. Buildings and structures throughout the greater Miami-Dade County will be lit with rainbow colors, fly rainbow flags, or debut LGBTQ themed window displays.
This year’s “Pride Lights the Night” Honoree is Josean Garcia, a survivor of the 2016 Pulse shooting. Garcia will “Flip the Switch” to light up the Herzog & de Meuron parking garage at 1111 Lincoln Road on April 1, 2019 at 7 p.m., officially kicking off the event.
Josean Garcia is a survivor of the Pulse nightclub shooting that occurred June 12, 2016. Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Garcia is a recording artist who has written and recorded his own music since he was a sophomore in high school. He’s influenced by the love and support he received from long time best friends Amanda Alvear and Mercedez Flores, both victims of the Pulse shooting. He also finds inspiration and drive from his mother who passed away from cancer just two months prior to the tragedy at Pulse.
“Being the honoree for ‘Pride Lights the Night’ really proves that love wins.” said Garcia. “Our community has put up with so much hate, but we still stand strong. I’m very honored to be part of ‘Pride Lights the Night’ because it’s so important to honor the victims from the Pulse shooting. We can’t let their names die in vain. We have to continue fighting for them.”
Garcia wrote and recorded a song, “Fly Away”, as a tribute to victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting.
“I wrote ‘Fly Away’ while I was in a very dark place,” Garcia said. “For a long time, I pushed all my fears and feelings away and nothing put my mind at ease except for writing and making music. One day, I let my guard down and thought about what I witnessed that night. I created the song ‘Fly Away’ in response to that.”
“We started ‘Pride Lights the Night’ as a way to honor and remember our community members that were lost in this terrible tragedy,” said Bruce Horwich, Miami Beach Pride’s board chairman. “As we commence our third annual tribute event, we hope that the rainbow-colored lights that will be highlighting buildings throughout the county will help people stop and remember the brave individuals we lost that night, and the importance of continuing our fight for equality and safety.”