Jump to content

Diego Viñales: Difference between revisions

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Belanal (talk | contribs)
207 edits
m {{LGBT}} → {{LGBTQ}}
 
(37 intermediate revisions by 25 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|Former Argentinian student}}
{{Disputed title|alternate title=Snake Pit police raid|section=Creation, notability, and title|date=October 2017}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{tone|date=May 2024}}
{{more citations needed|date=October 2017}}
{{more citations needed|date=October 2017}}
'''Diego Viñales''' (born '''Alfredo Diego Viñales''') is an Argentinian student who was swept up in a police raid on the Snake Pit gay bar in New York's [[Greenwich Village]] in March 1970. The raid at the [[Stonewall Inn]] that had sparked rioting and [[gay activism]] had occurred the previous summer, but such raids were still common. Taken to the police station, Viñales, who was on an expired student visa and fearful of deportation, tried to escape by jumping out a second floor window. He landed on a spiked fence. Viñales suffered grave injuries, but survived and was arrested. Protest marches in response to the day's events were led by gay activist groups formed in the wake of Stonewall, and helped sparked greater community awareness and interest in the upcoming [[Christopher Street Liberation Day]] events scheduled for {{date|June 28}} to commemorate the first anniversary of the [[Stonewall riots]].
}}'''Diego Viñales''' (born '''Alfredo Diego Viñales''') was a former Argentinian student who was swept up in a police raid on the Snake Pit gay bar in New York's [[Greenwich Village]] in March 1970. The raid at the [[Stonewall Inn]] that had sparked rioting and [[gay activism]] had occurred the previous summer, but such raids were still common. Taken to the police station, Viñales, who was on an expired student visa and fearful of deportation, tried to escape by jumping out a second-floor window. He landed on a spiked fence. Viñales suffered grave injuries but survived and was arrested. Protest marches in response to the day's events were led by gay activist groups formed in the wake of Stonewall and helped spark greater community awareness and interest in the upcoming [[Christopher Street Liberation Day]] events scheduled for 28 June to commemorate the first anniversary of the [[Stonewall riots]].

==Life==

Viñales was born Alfredo Diego Viñales in [[Buenos Aires]] in 1946 or 1947.{{efn|According to an interview with author David Carter,<ref name=gaytoday-2004>{{cite web |title=David Carter: Historian of The Stonewall Riots |last1=Cain |first1=Paul D. |url=http://gaytoday.com/interview/070104in.asp |date=July 1, 2004 |website=Gay Today |publisher= |accessdate=October 30, 2017 |quote= }}</ref> who wrote about the Snake Pit raid in "Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution",<ref name=Carter-2010/> Viñales was 23 at the time of the raid, which would put his birthday between March 10, 1946 and March 9, 1947.}} Named after his father who deserted the family when the boy was ten, Diego chose to use his middle name instead. Growing up in one of the [[villa miseria]] shanty towns around Buenos Aires, Diego found a tattered travel book about New York City in a landfill, and carried it with him everywhere. It fueled his fantasies and desire to escape the misery around him.<ref name=Eubanks-2017>{{cite book |last=Eubanks |first=Tom |title=Ghosts of St. Vincent's |chapter=Villa Miseria (1970) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cZhtDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT64 |accessdate=29 October 2017 |date=10 March 2017 |publisher=BookBaby |isbn=978-1-4835-9612-9 |pages=64–68 |oclc=985619647}}</ref>{{rp|64}}

Diego had no schooling after age 12. He was a gentle boy, and grew into a handsome, even beautiful young man, and was teased over his long eyelashes and pouty lips. Carrying water back to his mother as an adolescent, he attracted glowing attention from women of the village. By 16, he stood {{convert|1.8|m}} tall, and topped with his dark curls, he resembled an Adonis. Diego was apolitical and areligious. More than religion, Diego believed his life would be transformed in New York. He had heard about certain boys, the ''puta-timadores''{{efn|''Puta-timadores'' – literally, "swindler-whores"; i.e., male hustlers.}} who hustled foreigners for money in exchange for their company, and there were rumors of a few who managed to parlay that into a ticket out of the country and were living in luxury in foreign capitals. Diego decided to go down to the [[Teatro Colón]], where the hustler boys hung out looking for their marks, and try his luck.<ref name=Eubanks-2017/>{{rp|64–65}}

In {{date|August 1967}} Diego bumped into a handsome and to his eyes glamorous older man near the Teatro who asked if he liked Opera, and invited him for coffee speaking in American-accented Spanish, which is something Diego had never heard before. Neither was being invited for coffee within his social skills, and he was uncertain how to respond, but he knew it was about more than coffee and Opera. At a café, Jim told Diego to order "anything", but the American's Spanish wasn't quite good enough, and it came out order "everything" which Diego proceeded to do. When the waiter tried to confirm the order with Jim, he was too besotted with Diego to pay attention, and just confirmed the order, ending up with a tableful of desserts and every drink in the house.<ref name=Eubanks-2017/>{{rp|65–66}}

Within a few weeks, Jim had arranged a student visa for Diego with the assistance of his Ivy college alma mater, and were soon living in Jim's apartment in the [[West Village]]. Diego had every intention to work out his student situation and deal with his initial visa, but the seduction of being in New York City, which far outpaced what his guide book and imagination could convey, led him to postpone it, and eventually the visa expired at the turn of the new year.<ref name=Eubanks-2017/>{{rp|66}}{{efn|According to <u>New Dawn for the New Left</u>, Viñales feared deportation "because American visas prohibited homosexuality",<ref name=Slonecker-2012>{{cite book |last=Slonecker |first=Blake |title=A New Dawn for the New Left: Liberation News Service, Montague Farm, and the Long Sixties |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xENXPbmGSvkC&pg=PA114 |accessdate=29 October 2017 |date=5 December 2012 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US |isbn=978-1-137-28083-1 |pages=114 |oclc=824599687}}</ref> but according to most other sources, it was because of his expired student visa.<ref name="Carter-2010"/>{{rp|239}} }}

In March, Jim left on one of his business trips, and Diego decided to meet up with some buddies for a drink at the Snake Pit.{{efn|The [[#cite_note-Eubanks-2017-1|source]] says that Jim left on business on {{date|March 8th}} and that Diego went to the Snake Pit the following Saturday and was arrested, but this cannot be, because {{date|March 8, 1970}} was a Sunday, and the following Saturday would be the 14th, but the raid occurred early on the 9th—a Monday.}} Although a lot of time had elapsed since patrons fought back at the Stonewall Inn after the raid there, New York Police continued to raid gay bars, and this time it was the Snake Pit's turn. Police rounded up everyone and took them to the station. Diego was more panicked about his expired visa situation than he was about being targeted as gay, because he might be deported and never see Jim again. So when they were all lined up at the station in a second-floor hallway, until sunrise, Diego spied a window with a flimsy screen, and decided to make a break for it. He hadn't counted on the fence below.<ref name=Eubanks-2017/>{{rp|66–67}}


==The Snake Pit raid==
==The Snake Pit raid==
Line 19: Line 9:
===Background===
===Background===


The police raid at the [[Stonewall Inn]] in Greenwich village had taken place nine months earlier, on June 28, 1969. Although the bar patrons who fought back and the many who rioted and protested in the days following was something new, actions by the [[New York Police Department]] against gay bars did not stop with Stonewall, and in fact continued on for months and years afterward.<ref name=b2stonewall /> So when a police raid on the Snake Pit was conducted the following March, this was nothing unusual.<ref name=b2stonewall />
The police raid at the [[Stonewall Inn]] in Greenwich village had taken place nine months earlier, on June 28, 1969. Although the bar patrons who fought back and the many who rioted and protested in the days following was something new, actions by the [[New York Police Department]] against gay bars did not stop with Stonewall and continued for months and years afterward.<ref name=b2stonewall /> So when a police raid on the Snake Pit was conducted the following March, this was nothing unusual.<ref name=b2stonewall />


===Raid and arrest===
===Raid and arrest===


In the pre-dawn hours of {{date|March 8, 1970}}, [[New York City Police]] raided the [[Snake Pit (bar)|Snake Pit]] at 213 West 10th Street in [[Greenwich Village]]. Police said that the Snake Pit had been operating illegally after hours. One hundred sixty-seven people were taken into custody in the raid.<ref name=Times-1970>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=March 9, 1970 |title=Homosexuals Hold Protest in ‘Village’ After Raid Nets 167 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/03/09/archives/homosexuals-hold-protest-in-village-after-raid-nets-167.html |dead-url=no |work=[[NY Times]] |issn= |page=29 |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=October 28, 2017 |quote= }}</ref><ref name=b2stonewall>{{cite web |title=March 8, 1970: After Stonewall, Raids Continue – The Forgotten NYC Snake Pit Bar Raid. 167 Arrested |last1=Kohler |first1=Will |date=March 8, 2017 |url=http://www.back2stonewall.com/2017/03/gay-history-march-8th-nyc-snake-pit-bar-raid.html |website=Back2Stonewall |accessdate=28 October 2017 }}</ref>
In the pre-dawn hours of 8 March 1970, [[New York City Police]] raided the Snake Pit at 213 West 10th Street in [[Greenwich Village]]. Police said that the Snake Pit had been operating illegally after hours. One hundred sixty-seven people were taken into custody in the raid.<ref name=Times-1970>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=March 9, 1970 |title=Homosexuals Hold Protest in 'Village' After Raid Nets 167 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/03/09/archives/homosexuals-hold-protest-in-village-after-raid-nets-167.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |page=29 |access-date=October 28, 2017 }}</ref><ref name=b2stonewall>{{cite web |title=March 8, 1970: After Stonewall, Raids Continue – The Forgotten NYC Snake Pit Bar Raid. 167 Arrested |last1=Kohler |first1=Will |date=March 8, 2017 |url=http://www.back2stonewall.com/2017/03/gay-history-march-8th-nyc-snake-pit-bar-raid.html |website=Back2Stonewall |accessdate=28 October 2017 }}</ref>


During the arrest, Viñales was one of the patrons held the longest inside, before being transferred to a police wagon. A friend noticed he was extremely frightened. Police at the bar were verbally abusive to employees asking about their rights.<ref name="Carter-2010">{{cite book |last=Carter |first=David |title=Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j04jLSvGNSMC&pg=PA239 |accessdate=28 October 2017 |date=25 May 2010 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |location=New York |isbn=978-1-4299-3939-3 |pages=239–240 |oclc=1003755806}}</ref>
During the arrest, Viñales was one of the patrons held the longest inside, before being transferred to a police wagon. A friend noticed he was extremely frightened. Police at the bar were verbally abusive to employees asking about their rights.<ref name="Carter-2010">{{cite book |last=Carter |first=David |title=Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j04jLSvGNSMC&pg=PA239 |accessdate=28 October 2017 |date=25 May 2010 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |location=New York |isbn=978-1-4299-3939-3 |pages=239–240 |oclc=1003755806}}</ref>
Line 29: Line 19:
===Police station and attempted escape===
===Police station and attempted escape===


There was a chaotic situation at the Charles Street station, and police hurled abusive epithets at those under arrest. Police explained that ID would not be checked, and those present would not have to post bail, but Viñales didn't hear or didn't understand. Fearful of deportation for being a homosexual, he suddenly ran up a flight of stairs, and attempted to jump out a second floor window to the roof of an adjoining building, but missed, and landed on a spiked fence instead, provoking grave piercing injury by six spikes.<ref name=lgbt-archive>{{cite web |title=Alfredo Diego Vinales, Sixth Precinct Police Station, New York City, March 8, 1970. |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |url=http://lgbt-history-archive.tumblr.com/post/140690795582/alfredo-diego-vinales-sixth-precinct-police |date=2016-03-08 |website=LGBT History Archive |publisher= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |accessdate= |quote= }}</ref><ref name="Carter-2010" />
There was a chaotic situation at the Charles Street station, and police hurled abusive epithets at those under arrest. Police explained that ID would not be checked, and those present would not have to post bail, but Viñales didn't hear or didn't understand. Fearful of deportation for being a homosexual, he suddenly ran up a flight of stairs and attempted to jump out a second-floor window to the roof of an adjoining building, but missed, and landed on a spiked fence instead, provoking grave piercing injury by six spikes.<ref name=lgbt-archive>{{cite web |title=Alfredo Diego Vinales, Sixth Precinct Police Station, New York City, March 8, 1970. |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |url=http://lgbt-history-archive.tumblr.com/post/140690795582/alfredo-diego-vinales-sixth-precinct-police |date=2016-03-08 |website=LGBT History Archive |publisher= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |accessdate= |quote= }}</ref><ref name="Carter-2010" />


With the seriousness of the injury, the police could not simply remove him from the fence. Instead, the fire department was called, and a section of fence was cut out, Viñales was taken to [[Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Center|St. Vincent's Hospital]] in critical condition, still attached to the fence. Surgeons operated on him, with fire department personnel asked to scrub in and assist.<ref name=Times-1970/>
With the seriousness of the injury, the police could not simply remove him from the fence. Instead, the fire department was called, and a section of fence was cut out, Viñales was taken to [[Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Center|St. Vincent's Hospital]] in critical condition, still attached to the fence. Surgeons operated on him, with fire department personnel asked to scrub in and assist.<ref name=Times-1970/>
Line 35: Line 25:
===Immediate reaction===
===Immediate reaction===


By that evening, 200 people had gathered in [[Sheridan Square]] to demonstrate against police repressions of gays in Greenwich Village. Made up of members of the [[Gay Activists Alliance]], a splinter group of the [[Gay Liberation Front]], and of [[Second-wave feminism|feminist organizations]], they protested the arrest of the bar patrons. They headed towards the hospital, where they conducted a "death vigil". By late evening, the protesters had left the hospital area and were marching peaceably through the [[West Village]].<ref name="Chan-2009">{{cite web |title=Revisiting 1969 and the Start of Gay Liberation |last1=Chan |first1=Sewell |url=https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/08/nypl-stonewall-post/ |date=June 8, 2009 |website=NY Times |archiveurl= |archivedate= |accessdate=October 29, 2017 |quote= }}</ref><ref name=Times-1970/>
By that evening, 200 people had gathered in [[Sheridan Square]] to demonstrate against police repression of gays in Greenwich Village. Made up of members of the [[Gay Activists Alliance]], a splinter group of the [[Gay Liberation Front]], and of [[Second-wave feminism|feminist organizations]], they protested the arrest of the bar patrons. They headed towards the hospital, where they conducted a "death vigil". By late evening, the protesters had left the hospital area and were marching peaceably through the [[West Village]].<ref name="Chan-2009">{{cite web |title=Revisiting 1969 and the Start of Gay Liberation |last1=Chan |first1=Sewell |url=https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/08/nypl-stonewall-post/ |date=June 8, 2009 |website=The New York Times |archiveurl= |archivedate= |accessdate=October 29, 2017 |quote= }}</ref><ref name=Times-1970/>


The intense interest by news media in New York City on the Snake Pit raid and Viñales' injuries was the most of any event relating to homosexual issues since the raid on the Stonewall Inn, and was a consequence of the increased activism of the gay community in New York following Stonewall.<ref name=Carter-2010 />{{rp|242}} The [[New York Daily News|Daily News]], a tabloid and New York's top-selling daily newspaper, published a front-page photo the next day of Viñales with the caption "Spiked on Iron Fence".<ref name=lgbt-archive-dnews>{{cite web |title=Spiked on Iron Fence, New York Daily News, March 9, 1970. |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |url=http://lgbt-history-archive.tumblr.com/post/146313158137/spiked-on-iron-fence-new-york-daily-news-march |date=2016-06-22 |website=LGBT History Archive |publisher= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |accessdate=October 29, 2017 |quote= }}</ref>
The intense interest by news media in New York City in the Snake Pit raid and Viñales' injuries was the most of any event relating to homosexual issues since the raid on the Stonewall Inn and was a consequence of the increased activism of the gay community in New York following Stonewall.<ref name=Carter-2010 />{{rp|242}} The [[New York Daily News|Daily News]], a tabloid and New York's top-selling daily newspaper, published a front-page photo the next day of Viñales with the caption "Spiked on Iron Fence".<ref name=lgbt-archive-dnews>{{cite news |title=Spiked on Iron Fence, New York Daily News, March 9, 1970. |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |url=http://lgbt-history-archive.tumblr.com/post/146313158137/spiked-on-iron-fence-new-york-daily-news-march |date=2016-06-22 |newspaper=Tumblr |publisher= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |accessdate=October 29, 2017 |quote= }}</ref>


===Aftermath===
===Aftermath===


The gay community had already seen a surge of organizing activity following the events at the Stonewall Inn the previous summer. The protest march following the Snake Pit raid played a role in galvanizing interest even further among the community in time for the upcoming [[Christopher Street Liberation Day]] events already planned for {{date|June 28}}. This event, scheduled to commemorate the first anniversary of the [[Stonewall riots]] was the first [[Pride march]] celebration in the United States.<ref name=lgbt-archive/><ref name=b2stonewall />
The gay community had already seen a surge in organizing activity following the events at the Stonewall Inn the previous summer. The protest march following the Snake Pit raid played a role in galvanizing interest even further among the community in time for the upcoming [[Christopher Street Liberation Day]] events already planned for 28 June. This event, scheduled to commemorate the first anniversary of the [[Stonewall riots]] was the first [[Pride march]] celebration in the United States.<ref name=lgbt-archive/><ref name=b2stonewall />


There were political repercussions as well. Democratic [[Congressman]] [[Ed Koch]], the future mayor of New York City, accused [[New York City Police Commissioner]] [[Howard R. Leary]] of approving raids and arrests against the gay community. Leary <!--and Seymour Pine who directed the raid on Stonewall, as well as the Snake Pit raid, were--> was reassigned to [[Flatbush, Brooklyn|Flatbush]].<ref name=b2stonewall />
There were political repercussions as well. Democratic [[Congressman]] [[Ed Koch]], the future mayor of New York City, accused [[New York City Police Commissioner]] [[Howard R. Leary]] of approving raids and arrests against the gay community.<ref name=b2stonewall />


== See also ==
== See also ==


{{Portal|1970s|LGBT|New York City}}
{{Portal|LGBTQ|New York City}}
* [[LGBTQ culture in New York City]]
* [[LGBTQ culture in New York City]]
* [[List of incidents of civil unrest in New York City]]
* [[List of incidents of civil unrest in New York City]]
Line 54: Line 44:
* [[Timeline of LGBT history]]
* [[Timeline of LGBT history]]
* [[Zap (action)]]
* [[Zap (action)]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}


== References ==
== References ==
Line 62: Line 49:


== Further reading ==
== Further reading ==
* {{cite book|last=Bell|first=Arthur Irving|title=Dancing the gay lib blues: a year in the homosexual liberation movement|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GjoEAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA40|accessdate=29 October 2017|year=1971|publisher=Simon and Schuster|location=New York|pages=40–41|oclc=190215}}
* {{cite book|last=Bell|first=Arthur Irving|title=Dancing the gay lib blues: a year in the homosexual liberation movement|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GjoEAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA40|accessdate=29 October 2017|year=1971|publisher=Simon and Schuster|location=New York|pages=40–41|isbn=9780671210427 |oclc=190215}}
* {{cite book |last=Duberman |first=Martin |title=Stonewall |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j74GwY2WnekC&pg=PT362 |accessdate=29 October 2017 |date=28 May 2013 |publisher=Open Road Media |location=New York |isbn=978-1-4804-2384-8 |pages=362 |oclc=846679981}}
* {{cite book |last=Duberman |first=Martin |title=Stonewall |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j74GwY2WnekC&pg=PT362 |accessdate=29 October 2017 |date=28 May 2013 |publisher=Open Road Media |location=New York |isbn=978-1-4804-2384-8 |pages=362 |oclc=846679981}}
* {{cite book |last1=Jay |first1=Karla |last2=Young |first2=Allen |title=Out of the Closets: Voices of Gay Liberation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l9AVCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA12 |accessdate=29 October 2017 |date=May 1992 |publisher=NYU Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-8147-4183-2 |pages=12 |oclc=861471497}}
* {{cite book |last1=Jay |first1=Karla |last2=Young |first2=Allen |title=Out of the Closets: Voices of Gay Liberation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l9AVCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA12 |accessdate=29 October 2017 |date=May 1992 |publisher=NYU Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-8147-4183-2 |pages=12 |oclc=861471497}}
Line 72: Line 59:
{{LGBT in New York}}
{{LGBT in New York}}
{{LGBT history}}
{{LGBT history}}
{{LGBT}}
{{LGBTQ}}
{{Early U.S. gay rights movement}}
{{Early U.S. gay rights movement}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Viñales, Diego}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Viñales, Diego}}
[[Category:LGBT people from Argentina]]
[[Category:20th-century Argentine LGBTQ people]]
[[Category:1970s in LGBT history]]
[[Category:Argentine emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:1970 in New York (state)]]
[[Category:1970 in New York City]]
[[Category:20th century in New York City]]
[[Category:People from Greenwich Village]]
[[Category:People from Greenwich Village]]
[[Category:History of LGBT civil rights in the United States]]
[[Category:History of LGBTQ civil rights in the United States]]
[[Category:History of Manhattan]]
[[Category:History of Manhattan]]
[[Category:History of the United States (1964–80)]]
[[Category:LGBTQ civil rights demonstrations]]
[[Category:LGBT civil rights demonstrations]]
[[Category:LGBTQ history in New York City]]
[[Category:LGBT history in New York City]]
[[Category:Police brutality in the United States]]
[[Category:Police brutality in the United States]]
[[Category:1970 in LGBT history]]
[[Category:1970 in LGBTQ history]]
[[Category:March 1970 events]]
[[Category:March 1970 events in the United States]]
[[Category:1940s births]]
[[Category:1940s births]]
[[Category:Possibly living people]]
[[Category:Possibly living people]]

Latest revision as of 06:32, 29 September 2024

Diego Viñales (born Alfredo Diego Viñales) was a former Argentinian student who was swept up in a police raid on the Snake Pit gay bar in New York's Greenwich Village in March 1970. The raid at the Stonewall Inn that had sparked rioting and gay activism had occurred the previous summer, but such raids were still common. Taken to the police station, Viñales, who was on an expired student visa and fearful of deportation, tried to escape by jumping out a second-floor window. He landed on a spiked fence. Viñales suffered grave injuries but survived and was arrested. Protest marches in response to the day's events were led by gay activist groups formed in the wake of Stonewall and helped spark greater community awareness and interest in the upcoming Christopher Street Liberation Day events scheduled for 28 June to commemorate the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots.

The Snake Pit raid

[edit]

Background

[edit]

The police raid at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich village had taken place nine months earlier, on June 28, 1969. Although the bar patrons who fought back and the many who rioted and protested in the days following was something new, actions by the New York Police Department against gay bars did not stop with Stonewall and continued for months and years afterward.[1] So when a police raid on the Snake Pit was conducted the following March, this was nothing unusual.[1]

Raid and arrest

[edit]

In the pre-dawn hours of 8 March 1970, New York City Police raided the Snake Pit at 213 West 10th Street in Greenwich Village. Police said that the Snake Pit had been operating illegally after hours. One hundred sixty-seven people were taken into custody in the raid.[2][1]

During the arrest, Viñales was one of the patrons held the longest inside, before being transferred to a police wagon. A friend noticed he was extremely frightened. Police at the bar were verbally abusive to employees asking about their rights.[3]

Police station and attempted escape

[edit]

There was a chaotic situation at the Charles Street station, and police hurled abusive epithets at those under arrest. Police explained that ID would not be checked, and those present would not have to post bail, but Viñales didn't hear or didn't understand. Fearful of deportation for being a homosexual, he suddenly ran up a flight of stairs and attempted to jump out a second-floor window to the roof of an adjoining building, but missed, and landed on a spiked fence instead, provoking grave piercing injury by six spikes.[4][3]

With the seriousness of the injury, the police could not simply remove him from the fence. Instead, the fire department was called, and a section of fence was cut out, Viñales was taken to St. Vincent's Hospital in critical condition, still attached to the fence. Surgeons operated on him, with fire department personnel asked to scrub in and assist.[2]

Immediate reaction

[edit]

By that evening, 200 people had gathered in Sheridan Square to demonstrate against police repression of gays in Greenwich Village. Made up of members of the Gay Activists Alliance, a splinter group of the Gay Liberation Front, and of feminist organizations, they protested the arrest of the bar patrons. They headed towards the hospital, where they conducted a "death vigil". By late evening, the protesters had left the hospital area and were marching peaceably through the West Village.[5][2]

The intense interest by news media in New York City in the Snake Pit raid and Viñales' injuries was the most of any event relating to homosexual issues since the raid on the Stonewall Inn and was a consequence of the increased activism of the gay community in New York following Stonewall.[3]: 242  The Daily News, a tabloid and New York's top-selling daily newspaper, published a front-page photo the next day of Viñales with the caption "Spiked on Iron Fence".[6]

Aftermath

[edit]

The gay community had already seen a surge in organizing activity following the events at the Stonewall Inn the previous summer. The protest march following the Snake Pit raid played a role in galvanizing interest even further among the community in time for the upcoming Christopher Street Liberation Day events already planned for 28 June. This event, scheduled to commemorate the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots was the first Pride march celebration in the United States.[4][1]

There were political repercussions as well. Democratic Congressman Ed Koch, the future mayor of New York City, accused New York City Police Commissioner Howard R. Leary of approving raids and arrests against the gay community.[1]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e Kohler, Will (March 8, 2017). "March 8, 1970: After Stonewall, Raids Continue – The Forgotten NYC Snake Pit Bar Raid. 167 Arrested". Back2Stonewall. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b c "Homosexuals Hold Protest in 'Village' After Raid Nets 167". The New York Times. March 9, 1970. p. 29. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c Carter, David (25 May 2010). Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 239–240. ISBN 978-1-4299-3939-3. OCLC 1003755806. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Alfredo Diego Vinales, Sixth Precinct Police Station, New York City, March 8, 1970". LGBT History Archive. 2016-03-08.
  5. ^ Chan, Sewell (June 8, 2009). "Revisiting 1969 and the Start of Gay Liberation". The New York Times. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  6. ^ "Spiked on Iron Fence, New York Daily News, March 9, 1970". Tumblr. 2016-06-22. Retrieved October 29, 2017.

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Diego_Viñales&oldid=1248384940"