BROOKLYN —
Middle Eastern- and North African-focused parties are riding a new wave, with DJs and party-goers celebrating their roots—and creating spaces to feel safe to be themselves.
The Halloween edition of Yalla!, a queer MENA-focused party was in full swing in Bushwick’s Deep End bar when a masked costume-contest contender, capped with the Lebanese flag, rose to the stage. “I am the revolutions that are going to take over the world!” they said. The room erupted in shouts and chants.
Yalla! was started a year and a half ago by Assia, a filmmaker and professor originally from Morocco.
