It’s the gayest time of the year! Micheal Buble and Mariah Carey are once again filling the speakers of department stores, houses and apartments are adorned in twinkling lights, you’re resisting the urge to text your ex (don’t!), and everyone is filled with a little bit of extra cheer. And to make things even more merry and bright, it has been brought to the internet’s undivided attention that an amazing lesbian Latina couple has given us this year’s iconic Rockefeller Center.
Shirley Figueroa, a retired public servant from the Bronx, told the New York Times she grew up with “no trees on my block.” Last year, Figueroa and her wife purchased a home in Wallkill NY. There, a Norway spruce was already planted. That big, beautiful (72 foot tall!) tree was picked to be THE tree. It was lit last night in front of a crowd teeming with holiday joy. The celebration featured many celebrities performing leading up to the big moment: lighting NY’s very own LEZ Christmas tree with 50,000 lights. The tree was topped with a 9-foot-4-inches of Swarovski crystals backlit by LEDs.
“Just the fact that I have a tree that I can donate when I came from somewhere that had no trees — it’s so surreal,” Ms. Figueroa said, according to the NYT.
We can thank lesbians for all kinds of amazing things (Stone Butch Blues, fighting for our rights, looking sinfully good in leather) and now we can thank them for this year’s holiday cheer. This is the first tree in NYC’s history to be donated by a queer or Latina couple, according to a Rockefeller spokeswoman.
“That’s cool,” Ms. Figueroa said about her history-making status. “We’re happy all around. We’re New Yorkers.”
GO Mag wishes you all a happy, safe, and healthy holiday season! Now go take selfies in front of NYC’s big lesbian tree!
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