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27 Pulse survivors, family members and first responders share their stories

By Orlando Weekly Staff on Sat, Jun 11, 2022 at 8:15 pm

The Dear World project is an interactive portrait series that combines storytelling with written messages on skin. Organizers of the project came down to Orlando to document stories of those affected by the mass shooting that killed 49 people at the gay nightclub Pulse on June 12, 2016. The result: Dear World Orlando, a photo series that captures survivors of that night, families of the 49 victims and first responders as they reflect on their healing and recovery process.

"Dear World honors the people who passed away, saved lives, comforted the injured and buried loved ones a year ago," says Robert X. Fogarty, Dear World founder, in a statement. "I cherish the opportunity to listen and share these deeply personal stories from people who are bound by a nightmare that nobody should ever have to endure."

The portraits are accompanied by full-length stories that you can read at Dear World Orlando.

June 9, 2017

Photos by Dear World / Daymon Gardner https://dearworld.org/orlando

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27 Pulse survivors, family members and first responders share their stories

Dear World / Daymon Gardner

"The last person that I saw was Anthony Laureano. I saw him and I kissed him hello. I was in the hospital bed when I saw his picture pop up as one of the 49. Us guys in the gay community, we kiss each other on the cheeks hello. That's what us Latin people do. I was happy to see him as I was going to the bathroom with my friend. 'Hey, how you doing, Anthony?' We hugged, I gave him a kiss. 'Hope you enjoy your night and have a good night.' I went to the bathroom. Within minutes, I started hearing all those gunshots. I said hello, but I didn't get a chance to say goodbye. That's what gets me."  Orlando Torres, survivor of the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting.

Dear World / Daymon Gardner

"The last person that I saw was Anthony Laureano. I saw him and I kissed him hello. I was in the hospital bed when I saw his picture pop up as one of the 49. Us guys in the gay community, we kiss each other on the cheeks hello. That's what us Latin people do. I was happy to see him as I was going to the bathroom with my friend. 'Hey, how you doing, Anthony?' We hugged, I gave him a kiss. 'Hope you enjoy your night and have a good night.' I went to the bathroom. Within minutes, I started hearing all those gunshots. I said hello, but I didn't get a chance to say goodbye. That's what gets me." – Orlando Torres, survivor of the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting.

"That night at Pulse, he was missing. We were celebrating our birthdays together. I didn't know where he was. When I got outside of that I ran like crazy and I forgot I was with Chris. I went back. I didn't care. I went back and I found him in the middle of the road, screaming. We hugged each other like we never hugged before."  Ramses Tinoco, survivor of the Pulse nightclub shooting, friend of Chris Brodman.

Dear World / Daymon Gardner

"That night at Pulse, he was missing. We were celebrating our birthdays together. I didn't know where he was. When I got outside of that I ran like crazy and I forgot I was with Chris. I went back. I didn't care. I went back and I found him in the middle of the road, screaming. We hugged each other like we never hugged before." – Ramses Tinoco, survivor of the Pulse nightclub shooting, friend of Chris Brodman.

"I was closing out my checks and about to collect my tips. It was 2:00 a.m. I was talking to my friend and I remember it sounding like a broken speaker. It was crazy how loud everything was. Once we realized it was gunshots, we hit the floor and just prayed that it would stop."  Rodney Sumter, Pulse bartender and survivor of the Orlando shooting.

Dear World / Daymon Gardner

"I was closing out my checks and about to collect my tips. It was 2:00 a.m. I was talking to my friend and I remember it sounding like a broken speaker. It was crazy how loud everything was. Once we realized it was gunshots, we hit the floor and just prayed that it would stop." – Rodney Sumter, Pulse bartender and survivor of the Orlando shooting.

"On the day of my wedding my son was so happy. He did my hair and makeup. It was his plan to make me look 'spectacular' on my wedding day."  Magda Soto, mother of Luis Conde, who died in the Pulse nightclub shooting.

Dear World / Daymon Gardner

"On the day of my wedding my son was so happy. He did my hair and makeup. It was his plan to make me look 'spectacular' on my wedding day." – Magda Soto, mother of Luis Conde, who died in the Pulse nightclub shooting.

"Before Pulse, some people that knew I was gay, but it was still a sensitive topic for me. I was very protective of myself. There was always the fear of being treated differently. Not only did I have nowhere to hide that night but now in general in my life, this very personal, sensitive subject, its out there for everyone to know. Thats why that just kept ringing in my head. Nowhere left to hide. I could no longer hide who I am."  Angel Santiago, survivor of the Pulse nightclub shooting.

Dear World / Daymon Gardner

"Before Pulse, some people that knew I was gay, but it was still a sensitive topic for me. I was very protective of myself. There was always the fear of being treated differently. Not only did I have nowhere to hide that night but now in general in my life, this very personal, sensitive subject, it’s out there for everyone to know. That’s why that just kept ringing in my head. Nowhere left to hide. I could no longer hide who I am." – Angel Santiago, survivor of the Pulse nightclub shooting.

Luis Roldan, survivor of the Pulse nightclub shooting

Dear World / Daymon Gardner

Luis Roldan, survivor of the Pulse nightclub shooting

"I told Jean everything. I told him my first kiss. I told him everything before my mom because my mom is harder to talk to. Jean, he would tell me straight up. That's one of the challenges I've been facing, that he's not here because when you go from seeing somebody every day, sharing the same bathroom, waking up every morning, eating with him, it's weird now because now you go to the house and it's quiet. I'm never home."  Valeria Monroig, sister of Jean Carlos Nieves Rodriguez, victim of the Pulse shooting.

Dear World / Daymon Gardner

"I told Jean everything. I told him my first kiss. I told him everything before my mom because my mom is harder to talk to. Jean, he would tell me straight up. That's one of the challenges I've been facing, that he's not here because when you go from seeing somebody every day, sharing the same bathroom, waking up every morning, eating with him, it's weird now because now you go to the house and it's quiet. I'm never home." – Valeria Monroig, sister of Jean Carlos Nieves Rodriguez, victim of the Pulse shooting.

Dimarie Rodriguez, mother of Jean Carlos Nieves Rodriguez, victim of the Pulse nightclub shooting.

Dear World / Daymon Gardner

Dimarie Rodriguez, mother of Jean Carlos Nieves Rodriguez, victim of the Pulse nightclub shooting.

"You can probably tell by the bags under my eyes, I have a hard time sleeping. Honestly, it's been a rough year. I go to counseling. I think it's more the fact that I don't take anything for granted anymore."  Ray Rivera, DJ at Pulse who was playing the night of the shooting.

Dear World / Daymon Gardner

"You can probably tell by the bags under my eyes, I have a hard time sleeping. Honestly, it's been a rough year. I go to counseling. I think it's more the fact that I don't take anything for granted anymore." – Ray Rivera, DJ at Pulse who was playing the night of the shooting.

"She had a dress on. That night she was joking with us and she said, 'Im going to change my clothes. Ive got a bad feeling something might happen.' Me and my brother went out so she said, 'I love you guys so much.'"  Robert Pressley, son of Brenda Lee Marquez McCool, a victim of the Pulse nightclub shooting.

Dear World / Daymon Gardner

"She had a dress on. That night she was joking with us and she said, 'I’m going to change my clothes. I’ve got a bad feeling something might happen.' Me and my brother went out so she said, 'I love you guys so much.'" – Robert Pressley, son of Brenda Lee Marquez McCool, a victim of the Pulse nightclub shooting.

"It's almost like being infamous, because it's not what I asked for. I'm always going to be the owner of Pulse. I'm just always going to be that person. I'm always going to be her. I've had that conversation with them. 'We're always going to be those ... We're going to be that family forever.' Not that it's a bad thing, but it changes your life."  Barbara Poma, owner of the gay nightclub Pulse.

Dear World / Daymon Gardner

"It's almost like being infamous, because it's not what I asked for. I'm always going to be the owner of Pulse. I'm just always going to be that person. I'm always going to be her. I've had that conversation with them. 'We're always going to be those ... We're going to be that family forever.' Not that it's a bad thing, but it changes your life." – Barbara Poma, owner of the gay nightclub Pulse.

Javier Nava, survivor of the Pulse nightclub shooting.

Dear World / Daymon Gardner

Javier Nava, survivor of the Pulse nightclub shooting.

"I come upon this massive scene. Hundreds of police officers. Hundreds of emergency vehicles. My commanders briefed me, 'Hey, this guy went in here, started shooting right away. We have multiple, multiple people getting shot, maybe as many as 15 or 20.' That's what I was told at the time."  Orlando Police Chief John Mina.

Dear World / Daymon Gardner

"I come upon this massive scene. Hundreds of police officers. Hundreds of emergency vehicles. My commanders briefed me, 'Hey, this guy went in here, started shooting right away. We have multiple, multiple people getting shot, maybe as many as 15 or 20.' That's what I was told at the time." – Orlando Police Chief John Mina.

"I was in a coma for three weeks. On July 3rd, I woke up. The first person I saw was my mother. She was right there next to me because my mother never left my side. I remember seeing her and she started crying. 'Where's Javier?' That was the first thing I asked. She didn't say anything. She just stood quiet. A nurse came, other people came. We didn't talk about Javier until the next day. I asked her again. That's when she told me. 'You have to be strong. Javier is gone.'"  Leo Melendez, survivor of the Pulse nightclub shooting. He went to Pulse that night with a co-worker, Javier Jorge Reyes, who died.

Dear World / Daymon Gardner

"I was in a coma for three weeks. On July 3rd, I woke up. The first person I saw was my mother. She was right there next to me because my mother never left my side. I remember seeing her and she started crying. 'Where's Javier?' That was the first thing I asked. She didn't say anything. She just stood quiet. A nurse came, other people came. We didn't talk about Javier until the next day. I asked her again. That's when she told me. 'You have to be strong. Javier is gone.'" – Leo Melendez, survivor of the Pulse nightclub shooting. He went to Pulse that night with a co-worker, Javier Jorge Reyes, who died.

Samuel Maldonado, survivor of the Pulse nightclub shooting.

Dear World / Daymon Gardner

Samuel Maldonado, survivor of the Pulse nightclub shooting.

"I remember I was carrying somebody's shoes and shirt because I didn't want them to get left behind. For whatever reason. I remember looking down and they were covered in blood. I just dropped them. I remember carrying Stanley (Almodovar) to the pickup truck where they were shuttling people to the hospital. He's a regular of mine. He came in every Saturday. Drank gin and tonic every week. I said, 'Keep your eyes open, keep your eyes open, keep your eyes open.'"  Kate Maini, Pulse bartender and survivor of the shooting. Stanley Almovodar was killed in the massacre that night.

Dear World / Daymon Gardner

"I remember I was carrying somebody's shoes and shirt because I didn't want them to get left behind. For whatever reason. I remember looking down and they were covered in blood. I just dropped them. I remember carrying Stanley (Almodovar) to the pickup truck where they were shuttling people to the hospital. He's a regular of mine. He came in every Saturday. Drank gin and tonic every week. I said, 'Keep your eyes open, keep your eyes open, keep your eyes open.'" – Kate Maini, Pulse bartender and survivor of the shooting. Stanley Almovodar was killed in the massacre that night.

"I went to sleep. 2:06 a.m., I got a text. I love you Mom."  Mina Justice, mother of Eddie Justice, victim of the Pulse nightclub shooting.

Dear World / Daymon Gardner

"I went to sleep. 2:06 a.m., I got a text. I love you Mom." – Mina Justice, mother of Eddie Justice, victim of the Pulse nightclub shooting.

"The music was cut off, just the disco lights. No sounds. Just us talking, our radios going and we had to lower them. My radio didn't work. Now phones just start ringing all over the place. The one that gets me is the one iPhone that was kind of next to my feet that just kept going and going and going. I'm looking at the wall, I'm looking at the opening and I looked down, I looked back up, looked down, looked back up. I knew what it was. It was a phone but it just kept catching me off guard. I would see the caller ID, the picture. I was like, 'I know this person's never going to be able to pick up this phone again.'"  Eatonville Police Officer Omar Delgado, who responded to the club that night.

Dear World / Daymon Gardner

"The music was cut off, just the disco lights. No sounds. Just us talking, our radios going and we had to lower them. My radio didn't work. Now phones just start ringing all over the place. The one that gets me is the one iPhone that was kind of next to my feet that just kept going and going and going. I'm looking at the wall, I'm looking at the opening and I looked down, I looked back up, looked down, looked back up. I knew what it was. It was a phone but it just kept catching me off guard. I would see the caller ID, the picture. I was like, 'I know this person's never going to be able to pick up this phone again.'" – Eatonville Police Officer Omar Delgado, who responded to the club that night.

"Leslie, one of our lead volunteers. 'I don't know how to handle this call. It's a mother asking where her son is. Have we heard from her son?' I took the phone. 'Ma'am, I apologize, but at this time we have not heard from your son. But if we do, we will take down your number and call you back immediately.' Of course, we never did. And that haunts me."  Rob Domenico, board member of The GLBT Community Center of Central Florida in Orlando.

Dear World / Daymon Gardner

"Leslie, one of our lead volunteers. 'I don't know how to handle this call. It's a mother asking where her son is. Have we heard from her son?' I took the phone. 'Ma'am, I apologize, but at this time we have not heard from your son. But if we do, we will take down your number and call you back immediately.' Of course, we never did. And that haunts me." – Rob Domenico, board member of The GLBT Community Center of Central Florida in Orlando.

"We were friends since the seventh grade. We used to write our initials on everything. JAM. Josean. Amanda. Mercedes."  Josean Garcia, survivor and friend of Amanda Alvear and Mercedes Flores, who died in the Pulse nightclub shooting.

Dear World / Daymon Gardner

"We were friends since the seventh grade. We used to write our initials on everything. JAM. Josean. Amanda. Mercedes." – Josean Garcia, survivor and friend of Amanda Alvear and Mercedes Flores, who died in the Pulse nightclub shooting.

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