BLANCA: Why are we the only ones
-out here? -PRAY TELL: Who wants to come
to the most remote part of New York?
You'd think people would come to pay their respects.
Out of sight, out of mind.
(exhales) I'm tired.
I've been to three funerals this week.
Three. Where's the cure?
BLANCA: Look, we got to keep it together today, Pray.
We got a long day ahead of us.
I know.
I'm sorry, I just...
It upsets me.
(door opens, closes)
His name is... was Keenan.
Keenan Howard.
I'm here to see... his burial site.
He's a relation of yours?
Not exactly.
We dated, we broke up. Listen.
He died of pneumonia
-and I was told he was buried here. -Here's the thing.
Names don't matter here.
Just a bunch of pine boxes in a ditch.
-So no headstones? -Welcome to Hart Island.
Just a mass grave of people whose families
couldn't afford a burial
or unclaimed bodies from the morgue.
Infants are out back in Potter's Field.
We quarantine the ones that died of AIDS,
don't want them infecting anyone else, you know.
But they're already dead.
Sweetie, we don't know how this thing is spread.
Come on, Pray.
(machinery clanking in distance)
How did Keenan end up here?
-I thought he had family. -No.
Orphaned just like the rest of us.
After we broke up, I heard that he had gotten sick
and I tried to reach out.
But I think that he...
he was embarrassed...
about getting sick.
He died alone.
In that tiny studio apartment.
In the dead of summer.
Three weeks before anybody found him.
Was lying in the heat for so long,
-I heard that his body just melted into the mattress. -Mm-mmm, mm-mmm.
I'm not settling for this, Pray.
We got to do something.
-Right? -Yeah.
(sniffles)
PRAY TELL: Only way this isn't gonna be our reality
is if we help each other.
'Cause they sure as hell aren't gonna do anything. Trust.
There it is.
Judy told me about this place and I didn't believe her.
She... she said this island
used to be a tuberculosis ward.
Now it's a burial site. (sniffles)
Each one of these heart-shaped rocks
represents someone buried here,
left by someone left behind.
(kisses)
So, what now?
We pray.
(Pray Tell sniffles)
We pray for strength...
...to keep fighting.
Yeah.
(sniffles)
(door opens)
(footfalls approach)
PRAY TELL: The category is...
Live...
Work...
Pose!
*
(indistinct announcement over P.A.)
-Hi, Blanca. You want to come in? -Hi. Yeah.
Yeah.
(exhales)
This place is like the Taj Mahal compared to St. Vincent's.
You know they had me on a six-week
waiting list just to get a doctor to read my labs.
By the way, thank you for squeezing me in like this.
Anything for family, kid.
So, what does it say?
I tried reading my labs when I picked it up,
but... it all looked like Klingon to me.
Well, your red blood cells are good.
-I'm just checking out your CD4s. -See?
There you go again speaking that Klingon.
English, please?
CD4s, or T-cells, are what we want a lot of.
So... how many I gots?
'Cause I know I got a lot.
I stopped drinking,
I take my Flintstone vitamins every day.
Well, sometimes being healthy isn't enough for this virus.
Your T-cells have fallen bellow 200.
What's... So? What's that mean?
It means we have to start monitoring you once a month
instead of every three months.
And we have to move your diagnosis of being HIV-positive
to having AIDS.
What?
S...
So I have AIDS now?
Well, it's-it's just a number.
It's a way of flagging how much care a patient needs.
Nah, I've been feeling fine.
I've been feeling amazing, actually.
Last winter, when my kids got sick,
I didn't have a sniffle at all.
I mean, sometimes you can't tell what HIV is doing
-to your immune system. -So I'm dying.
No. You're not dying.
You still have plenty of T-cells to fight with,
but we can't let those numbers drop any lower.
So what do I do?
It ain't no cure for this thing.
Not yet.
But there is this.
AZT. It helps slow the progression of the virus
-and it's all we've got. -Ain't that stuff for rich folk?
Well, pharmaceutical companies are in the business
of making a profit, but there are folks
in our community who care about the less fortunate.
And they're the ones who can get us this shit for free.
When the wealthy white queens and their friends know
that the end is coming close, they call us.
It's the same thing every time.
We pay our respects.
We say our goodbyes.
And then we collect the leftover meds.
Their dying wishes are to make sure that the grief
isn't the only thing they're leaving behind.
Some of them just have antibiotics.
But the rich ones always have AZT.
BLANCA: Pray Tell told me about
a friend of his who was on these meds.
He said it was as toxic as chemo.
And once he got on 'em, his body completely gave out.
Blanca, I'm gonna be straight with you
because you need to hear this.
You're in denial of what HIV is doing to your body.
If you don't do something about it soon, you're
-gonna be dead in six months. -No.
Listen, they're working on new drugs every day.
You just got to stay alive long enough
for something better to come along.
You know...
it's moments like these that make your life
flash right before you.
Crazy thing is, it's... not my life
I'm seeing right now, it's my kids.
It's my kids.
(takes deep breath)
Everything in this life is set up to work against them.
There is still
so much in their lives that I have to fix.
We have a saying around here:
either get busy living,
or you get busy dying.
And you've got a lot to live for.
(Angel chuckles)
-(camera whirring) -LIL PAPI: Darling.
That one's gonna be good.
-(Angel chuckles) -(camera whirring)
LIL PAPI: Yeah.
-Hey, can you do me a favor? -ANGEL: Stop.
LIL PAPI: Just look this way. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Right there, right there. Give me that smile.
That one's great, actually.
Um... yeah.
* What are you looking at? *
(chuckles)
("Vogue" by Madonna playing)
(camera whirring)
*
* Strike a pose... *
(warmer beeps)
* Vogue, Vogue... *
Oh, shit. (laughs)
Y'all hear that?
(chuckles)
CHANEL: That's the new Madonna single.
It's been on constant repeat on Z100.
-(Blanca whoops) -It's gonna be the song of the summer.
The most famous woman in the world signing about us.
-Mm! (chuckles) -Strike a pose.
The category is...
Runway...
Mo-del...
-Effect. -(crowd cheering)
BLANCA: Everything is about to change.
I can see it as clear as day.
Well, your vision must be cloudy
'cause ain't shit about to change for our black asses.
Madonna is shining a bright spotlight on us, girl.
-(scoffs) -We've been underground for how long?
About 20 years. Since Crystal LaBeija lost
one too many titles to white girls.
PRAY TELL: Ha-ha! Yes, baby!
Let us have it.
These walks are turning me on, kids.
Who's next?
Oh... sookie, sookie, now.
* Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers... *
PRAY TELL: Are you gonna show us your face, baby?
* Rita Hayworth gave good face... *
(crowd cheering)
That's my baby!
* Ladies with an attitude *
* Fellows that were in the mood... *
BLANCA: Mark my words.
"Vogue" will make us stars.
Madonna lives on the edge for what's next.
And what's newer than an entire world, undiscovered,
brimming to the rim with guts,
gorgeousness...
and raw talent?
I mean, look.
CROWD (chanting): Angel! Angel! Angel...
(crowd cheering)
PRAY TELL: Get up, get up.
Oh! Booty! Booty! Booty! Booty!
(crowd cheering, chanting)
PRAY TELL: Don't, don't, don't hurt us.
Don't hurt us, baby.
Madonna's gonna want our faces and when she comes
with her spotlight, the Evangelistas are gonna be ready.
-Girl... -PRAY TELL: Judges have spoken.
The cards never lie.
The cards never lie, my darlings.
Grand prize goes to...
the most luminous girl in the room...
Miss Angel Evangelista.
CROWD (chanting): Evangelista!
(chanting continues)
-Evange... -Evange...
-...lista! -...lista!
-Evange... -Evange...
-...lista! -...lista!
* Vogue, Vogue, Vogue, Vogue. *
Hey, baby.
Girl, what are you doing out here?
We talked about this.
You said you wasn't gonna walk the piers no more.
-There are more options out there. -Like what?
Mopping floors and waiting tables? No.
No, thanks. I like being my own boss.
BLANCA: Well, I got a plan.
Get in.
Just tell me where we're going.
I was at work and I was flipping through
Elle magazine while I was on my lunch break and...
I saw this advertisement for a modeling contest.
(Angel scoffs)
Do you see her?
Yes.
I'm not the face they're looking for.
-I ain't no model. -Yes, you are.
Look at these.
That's just me and Lil Papi playing around.
BLANCA: Do you see what I see?
These photos prove you got the look.
You've got a light that shines so bright
right inside of you,
and I just wish you could see it. Plus,
we about to go mainstream with this Madonna song.
Mainstream?
-Yeah, until they find out who I really am. -Oh, girl.
All we need to get is our foot into the door.
This song is our ticket to acceptance.
Once they see that you're in the ball,
they won't even turn you away.
(Blanca chuckles)
* My Lord *
(humming)
Sing, sister Lulu.
Girl, who the hell chose those tacky-ass flowers?
All these candles and flaming homos,
surprised God don't burn this bitch to the ground.
(both laugh)
Funerals are bullshit.
(hums): Mm-hmm.
(laughs) I want a head count
of exactly how many people love me before I die.
-Mm. -And I want a chance
to defend myself, in case anyone even try
to tarnish my good name.
What's the point of spending all that money on a corpse?
Give me my damn flowers when I can smell them.
And give me a chance to read all these bitches
before I'm put in the motherfucking ground.
(laughs)
Y'all are some hard-hearted hos.
Show some damn respect.
(organ music playing quietly)
Well, she's on CP time tonight.
He's not going anywhere.
-(scoffs) -(sighs)
What's your head count? This is my 452nd memorial.
Two hundred and ten.
First one to get to a thousand gets a free toaster.
-(chuckles) Uh... -(giggling nearby)
Look at these unquenchable hos thirsting for dick.
Since when did funerals become the new cruising spot?
Oh, she's found morality.
(laughs)
Come on.
Let's pay our respects.
Interesting choice.
Why is he dressed like a flamenco dancer?
I can get over the outfit, but that makeup is terrible.
Joe always preferred a nude matte lip.
Well, red is a tough color.
Only tramps can pull it off. Shocking you never could.
(chuckles, cries)
(sniffles)
Oh...
He was so young.
Just barely started living.
I don't know how much more of this I can take.
-790, until you get your toaster. -(exhales)
(laughs)
(groans) I need a drink. You coming with me to the diner?
Not tonight. I've got someplace to be and you're coming with me.
PRAY TELL: Where are you taking me?
-I'm hungry. -(crowd chanting)
Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no.
My black ass does not need to join your group
of preppy white queens and ill-fitted Gap chinos
who have never had to fight for a goddamn thing in their lives.
-CROWD: Act up! Fight back! -Listen, there are dikes, too,
running these meetings, of all shades.
Pray, you've got to put your pain to good use,
or I swear to God, it will eat you alive.
CROWD (chanting): Fight back! Fight AIDS!
Act up! Fight back! Fight AIDS!
Welcome to your first Act Up meeting.
CROWD (chanting): Fight AIDS! Act up!
Ah, well, I was beginning to think Miss Wanda didn't exist.
I'm not the going out type.
I've got other things on my mind.
-I told you she was hot. -(chuckles)
-Act up! Fight back! Fight AIDS! -SYD: All right.
-All right. -(applause, cheering)
Listen up, folks.
Last week's fund-raiser brought in
$650,000.
(cheering)
And... and now that we finally have the cash
to meet our momentum, this Sunday's protest
up at St. Patrick's Cathedral
is an even more crucial step
in starting a global conversation around HIV
and AIDS.
(cheering)
The Catholic Church has spent
millions of dollars putting the false message into the world
that condoms don't work and that abstinence is the only way
-to fight HIV. That is a lie. -(booing)
And that is morally wrong.
So, we're staging a die-in
in the middle of that congregation
as a peaceful protest against the annihilation
-of our community! -Yes!
(cheering)
Cardinal John O'Connor has said,
"Good morality is good medicine."
He might as well say, "Let them get AIDS."
And it's not just the board of education
or the city council
that Cardinal O'Connor is influencing, no.
He has a direct line to the Pope himself.
We will not allow his racist,
sexist, homophobic ideologies to affect the health
of every single person on this planet!
(cheering)
Act up! Fight back!
ALL: Fight AIDS!
Act up! Fight back! Fight AIDS!