McCoy had her back to the entrance when Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old self-appointed lone warrior, walked in. Among them were Hansen, Santiago, Luis Burbano, Patience Carter, Janiel Gonzalez, Jeannette McCoy and Orlando Torres. The club was calling last orders and preparing to close but an estimated 320 people were still inside. “We just were having a good time, dancing, talking, and toward the end of the night we moved toward the rear bar,” he later recalled, from his hospital bed. Angel Santiago, 32, arrived with two friends. Hansen’s friend had gone home but he continued to party. Photograph: Joe Burbank/AP Sunday 12 June, 12.30am Three hours later, it would be awash in blood.Ĭhristopher Hansen, who was inside the Pulse nightclub during the massacre, in Orlando, Florida Monday. “Very chic,” said Kirk Hartlage, a restaurant manager who used to work there.
Pulse had come be renowned locally as a place of freedom and self-expression, a compact, upscale venue with chandeliers, mirrors and waterfalls among gold and metallic tones. The name was “for John’s heartbeat”, its website said. This was Pulse, co-founded in 2004 by Barbara Poma to honour her brother, John, who died from Aids in 1991. In the back room, used for performances and drag shows, there was a hip-hop soundtrack and provocatively dressed men and women. In the dance room, he recalled, there was Latin music. White boy’s got moves!’ We were drinking and making friends of strangers.” There was a group of four women and they were saying things like, ‘Oh papi, look at you, you’ve got moves. “Gay and straight, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers.
“We were dancing with people from all walks of life,” Hansen said. Many patrons were of Puerto Rican descent. Inside he discovered it was Latin night, a delirious mix of bachata, reggaeton, merengue and salsa. He used valet parking, got to the entrance and checked the time. The late Elizabeth Taylor even gifted a portrait of herself to The Abbey - the bar being a favorite of hers.Hansen, an unemployed 32-year-old, drove to the club with a friend, aiming to arrive before 11pm so entry would be free, he told the Guardian. Last year, Lady Gaga celebrated the 10-year anniversary of her album "Born this Way" there. The bar has played host to numerous dignitaries, politicians and celebrities. Cooley also considers The Abbey a community center and town hall. The Abbey works for other charitable causes, like annual fundraisers for Children's Hospital LA. SUGGESTED: WeHo, LA Pride celebrations prepare for pre-pandemic crowds There's 49 individuals that were killed innocently going out to have a nice, fun night out, and it's sad." That was hitting our community, killing our brothers and sisters. "I think entire community was totally affected. "It really affected all of us," Cooley said of the 2016 shooting. And in 2016, after a gunman opened fire on LGBT people at the Pulse Night Club in Orlando, Florida, The Abbey raised money for victims and families. What began with advocating for those suffering during the AIDS crisis evolved into being front-and-center in the struggle for same-sex marriage. Over the years, Cooley's activism and charitable outreach also grew. SUGGESTED: More than 50 years of LA Pride Parades: How it all started
Now, the faithful come in droves to the bar on North Robertson Boulevard for its high-energy music, signature cocktails and scantily-clad dancers. Since then, it's expanded five times to its current 18,000-square-foot space. Three years after opening in 1991 The Abbey moved across the street.