Gay Pride Philly 2026

Gay Pride Celebration has become an excuse for young straight people to get drunk and disorderly. What happened in 1969 was a push back against police raids of gay bars for something that was literally illegal. It has beome Mardi Gras belying the gravity of maintaining LGBT rights, especially the right to exist. Dancing in the street had nothing to do with the confrontation at THe Stonewall Inn in 1969. That there is a Pride Celebration at all is a blessing in itself. Police brutality in breaking up the crowd in Philly on Sunday June 7, 2026? Anecdotal evidence, i.e. those who were actually working the crowd say otherwise--that attendees were well behaved during the block party. On the other hand it is absurd to suggest that the police should not be present at all. From a perch in the Gayborhood it can be recounted that many who come down here to party at gay clubs regularly on weekends create a noise challenge. Often the police are not there at all as residents and denizens are subjected to disrepectful drunks and partyers leaving Woody's, Voyeur and other venues. Gay Pride is not Mardi Gras. Pushing back unnecessarily on police doing their jobs has nothing to do on what went on way back when. It might result in in being left alone and unguarded,

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Giano Cupizio

Giano Cupizio (born November 5, 1948) is an American songwriter, singer and record producer, and backing vocalist of the pop/rock band The Mifflins, later known as Vance Porter and The Mifflins. Cupizio was born raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where his single mother supported them as a seamstress and dressmaker. Cupizio first met The Mifflins after    meeting Vanessa Benedict of The Holidays when       the two groups starred together on a summer tour   through resorts on the Jersey Shore. He had grown   up more insulated than the other members of The   Mifflins, which caused him to feel insecure during   the  early days of his time with the group. He was at   first a roadie and then became an official Mifflin after   some departures from the group. He rose to the   occasion when he recorded a lead for the group’s   covers of Gamble and Huff’s “I Really Love You” and Bob Gaudio’s “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore.” 

By the late 60s Vance Porter and entourage had become international stars. Giano become the heart and soul of the entire legacy initiated by The Mifflins and The Holidays. As the torch bearer, so to speak, Cupizio was there when The Mifflins, The Holidays, Vance Porter and Vanessa Benedict were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He lobbied for an Oscar nomination for Porter following his cinematic turn. Cupizio’s relationship with the other three is the stuff of which great eternal romantic stories are made. Cupizio currently splits his residences with the Trastevere quarter of Rome and an undisclosed location in Bucks County outside his native city of Philadelphia. He is said to be working on his memoirs.

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Donato LaTorre

 

Donato LaTorre (July 2, 1945 – August 17, 1992) was an American singer. He was noted for being one of the founding members of the Philadelphia group The Mifflins. Along with Vance Porter, his childhood chum and later fellow South Philadelphian, Giano Cupizio. The three of them were the final line up of what became Vance Porter and The Mifflins. Failing health forced LaTorre to retire from his involvement in Vance Porter’s career in 1990. He passed away two years later as the result of AIDS related complications with bronchial pneumonia.

 

The MIFFLINS

Although LaTorre shared leads during the group’s formative years by 1965 with the intervention of Al Sabatini, the group’s manager, his role had been eclipsed by Vance Porter. Donato gladly stepped back for his best friend.

Donato remained an integral part of the group and stayed as a background singer and production for Porter along with Cupizio

Drama: LaTorre began an affair with Giano Cupizio, while being involved with Vance Porter. Ostensibly Porter was married to Vanessa Benedict. When it was later revealed that Donato was the true father of Rajah Emmanuel, the circumstances of the backstage shenanigans could well be imagined, especially after the revelation of the lifelong relationship of Donato and Vance.

In the fall of 1969, LaTorre organized and started Southwark Productions with the aid of Cupizio. The independent company benefited both Vance Porter and Vanessa Benedict. Al Sabatini was still involved but was basically a deal maker for Porter.  

In 1986, LaTorre was found to be HIV positive. His health did not begin to deteriorate until years later. He was no longer the pillar and strength of the group. In the meantime Sabatini died of AIDS and Porter backed away remaining silent. Cupizio became  LaTorre’s caretaker.

 

 

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Vanessa Benedict

Vanessa Benedict (born April 26, 1946) is an American singer who found prominence as lead singer of The Holidays and her subsequent solo career. Benedict scored further international fame once she emigrated to Italy in 1982. She is also known for her groundbreaking interracial duet with her once husband, Vance Porter. Her solo career flourished throughout the 80s and early 90s. Her son, the musician, Raj credits her as his main influence.

Personal life: Benedict was married to Vance Porter from 1967 to 1980. During which time she gave birth to a son Rajah Emmanuel Porter in 1972. It was later revealed that bandmate Donato LaTorre was actually Rajah’s father. In 1984 Benedict married Nanni Feciali, Italian movie producer, who later on proved to be an abusive spouse. She remained in Italy, however, as her main residence and became quite fluent in Italian.

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The Life and Times of Vance Porter: The Mourning Star

The issue of a Vance Porter box set has been a long time coming. It lacks very little of the exceptional career from its inception in the early 60s ensconced in South Philly, precisely the neighborhood that gave us notable teen idols from the late 50s. Philadelphia was the home of Cameo-Parkway Records, Chancellor Records, Swan Records among others, and of course American Bandstand, Jerry Blavat and Hy Lit.

Porter, born with the unlikely name of Vincenzo Jones, began his love affair with the record buying public on AM Top 40 radio. The Mifflins got their name from one of those South Philly streets, the very street where they hung out and sang street corner harmonies. Porter (an assumed surname from yet another street) had a preference for singing with the group in restrooms.The acoustics afforded him the opportunity of a "big wet sound" that he aimed for in the early recordings. He lamented that he couldn't replicate the sound or the feeling in a recording studio. He has been known to say that his favorite restrooms were those at The Sons of Italy were he often frequented in the company of Al Sabatini. Alfonso Sabatini has been credited with "discovering" the young Vincenzo in the old neighborhood.  Porter himself has yet to address it. Cozy De Ciuri, on the original Mifflins isn't certain of how the two met, except that one day they were auditioning for Sabatini and the next they had a recording contract. The Mifflins, close friends all, dubbed Porter 'Vance' from the way his father, who was from Arkansas, pronounced 'Vince'. It stuck. By the time the group became Vance Porter and The Mifflins, it was a trio with Donato La Torre, Vance's childhood friend and Giano 'John-o' who was brought into the fold by Vanessa Benedict Porter, Vance's some time wife and mother to Raj Porter, their famous musician son. Vanessa Benedict is a music trailblazer in her own right. She was lead singer of The Holidays and later on her own with a multi-platinum album, I'm Not Billie. She usually speaks glowingly of the years when The Mifflins and The Holidays performed on the same bill and sometimes together. They were an integral part of the Philly music scene and eventually the national and international scenes. The Mifflins are just the first chapter in this story. It was a vocal group, like its lead singer, Vance, which seemed more grown up than it actually was.The Mifflins survived because they progressed through the 60s along with The Holidays. They progressed without losing their urban charm. The first chapter ends on a high note with Vance and Vanessa's ground breaking duet, which not only acknowledged their relationship, but also top 40 radio's first interracial pairing. Neither career was buried but actually gave impetus to them as important and innovative. By the time the Mifflins were composed of Vance, Donato La Torre and Giano Cupizia, the music evolved. Porter always maintained his attachment to his roots and he was well served musically by the other two men. Vanessa crossed the Atlantic with her son (via Vance) Raj and established herself as an international artist based in Italy, although a disastrous second marriage nearly derailed her life. The 3 men joined her there when Vance accepted a role in the film, Agrodolce filmed in Rome. Life changed when Herc died in the late 80s and darkness prevailed. Porter for a while had nothing to say. Vanessa and Giano only spoke of it in the vaguest of terms. It eventually opened the door to the dramatic and intense web of their private lives (to be continued)

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