JOse CAssola is feeling blessed with Magda Isabel Duque Cassola and 22 others.

5 days ago

On this Thanksgiving (2021), I have a lot to be thankful for. I also have a lot to lament over and be sad about. This has been an extremely hard year for me. After a years-long depressive episode where I couldn’t even function properly or hold down a job, I came out of my depression to face struggle after struggle and challenge after challenge. I lost dear friendships of up to 20 years, people I considered very important in my life (Jeffrey Sotolongo, Manny, Bernard and Cassandre, to name a few). The ultimate loss was my best friend and “sister from another mister” Rosy Zaccheo, who passed away last month at the age of 50. I’ve been devastated and lost without her. But thankfully, I’ve had the following people in my life to help me when I was most vulnerable and heartbroken and feeling like I was self-destructing. First and foremost, my immediate family: my sister Sandra Cassola, my father Jose Angel Viejo Cassola….and my mother Magda Isabel Duque Cassola, who I spent 10 years estranged from because she refused to accept her gay son for who he is. Today, we are amicable and enjoying the best mother-son relationship we can because she’s started to develop dementia and she doesn’t remember the cruel things she did to me as a child or as an adult. It’s very bittersweet, but I’m thankful to spend time with her, nonetheless. Then there’s Rosy’s family and friends, who I’ve bonded with all to remember, mourn and grieve our dearly departed sister, mother, daughter and friend. Zach Viltre, Nicolas Viltre, Jacob Viltre, Carmen Peña, Velier Zaccheo, Andrea Catalina, Kisenia Kunhardt and Marta Feria: you are always in my thoughts and prayers. Then there’s friends who have stepped up for me in unimaginable ways: Micaela Hood, Carlos Vega, Patricia Noorzai, Jay Heels, Guillermo Serrate, Carmen Soto, Diego Armando Cifuentes and Nathan Paul Smith and his staff at Nathan's Bar, my recent sanctuary and home away from home as of late. The friends I’ve made here are precious to me, not because they serve me my favorite drinks or perform my favorite songs…but because they have been there for me at a time of recent loss and hardship. I love everyone at Nathan’s Bar but a special shout out goes to Alexander Martello, Rovin J. Delgado, Regina Cocoa, Jimena Barrera and of course, Nathan, who if it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have met these wonderful people and found my “happy place” where everybody knows my name — my Gay Cheers 😂 So on this Thanksgiving, I am thankful for the friends and family who supported me at my lowest and didn’t once abandon me, “cancel me”, give me the cold shoulder, ignore my phone calls or close the door on my face when I wasn’t acting myself and was being disruptive and self-destructive. I’ve thankfully started grief and mental health counseling at Survivors Pathway (which was long overdue; thank you, Yahima Ocon and Linda Guillotti) and I hope to regain my peace and mental wellness soon. Until then, I wish everyone on my social media and all of your loved ones a very happy Thanksgiving and many blessings to you all — today and always. ... See MoreSee Less

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