The end of this seemingly endless year of bad news and pain is at hand and there is probably going to be no better party to celebrate that than Susanne Bartsch's yearly bash. Her parties are legend in New York, being part circus and part study of sociopath behaviour. She is one of the main reasons I moved to this loony island; starting in 1990 she flew her stable of freaks down here regularly in winter to turn the place upside down and I photographed those parties at the infamous Warsaw Ballroom. I had witnessed hedonistic behaviour on a grand scale for some time in New York, but never with so many Latinos; it mesmerised me. Here were all these boys wearing as little as they could and having so much fun; I fell in love with the place.

There is always a trade in a situation like this. I gave up the culture so taken for granted in New York for the tropical weather, the super-relaxed way of life, and--of course--the Latinos. It wasn't so bad of a deal.

Susanne's theme of burlesque will assure all who attend and endless amount of visual entertainment.