The annual holiday street pole banners went up this week throughout the city of West Hollywood. The City’s WeHo Arsts unveiled the new holiday artwork by artist Sophie Morro along Santa Monica Boulevard, San Vicente Boulevard, and Melrose Avenue.
A total of 29 of the new banners were produced this year and will become part of the annual collection of holiday street pole banners on display in WeHo to celebrate the holidays. Banners include past holiday artwork by Shag (Josh Agle) and Mosa Tanksley.
The city has also installed annual holiday lights on street poles and around trees lining Santa Monica Boulevard to make the city festive around the holiday and New Year’s celebrations.
Sophie Morro is an artist based in Los Angeles. Her oil paintings are largely informed by an autobiographical narrative with nods to spirituality, dreams and the otherworldly. Visit sophiemorro.com to learn more about the artist.
In April, 2022, the City of West Hollywood Arts Division made a call seeking a visual artist to provide artwork for the city’s annual winter / holiday card and street pole banner display. The deadline to submit their work to WeHo’s Performing Arts and Cultural Affairs Subcommittee was May, 2022.
Photo courtesy of the City of West Hollywood – Photo by Jon Viscott
The new artwork will also be used on the City’s annual end of year Winter / Holiday card, social media promotions along with the printed street pole banners. Artists were invited to submit existing work samples to demonstrate their style and technique.
The Request for Qualifications was open to artists who live in California. Artists who live in West Hollywood and artists of color, women, artists with disabilities, and LGBTQIA+ artists were highly encouraged to apply. The artists who applied will remain eligible to be selected as semi-finalists for 3 calendar years without needing to reapply.
Photo courtesy of the City of West Hollywood – Photo by Jon Viscott
The City of West Hollywood’s Arts Division and Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission believe that all people in the City of West Hollywood have the right to celebrate and engage in meaningful and relevant arts and cultural experiences.
Each member of the community should have access to the arts which reflect and nurture individual identities, affirm personal value, and foster belonging in the community. The right to participate freely in the cultural life of the community is recognized as a basic human right.
The Division and Commission’s definition of diversity includes all ways in which people differ, including but not limited to, race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, education, age, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, ability, geography, citizenship status, religion, language, physical appearance, and the
Nightlife patrons at the Abbey Food and Bar in West Hollywood had a gun scare after West Hollywood Sheriffs stormed the popular bar in search of an alleged armed man inside.
Deputies from the West Hollywood Station launched an investigation after a security guard called alleging a man had a gun. Deputies evacuated The Abbey and swarmed the club but did not find him. Authorities said surveillance video captured images of the suspect in the bar with the weapon.
“We do have our EPT team, which is our entertainment policing team — they’re always doing patrol checks at all the businesses on Sunset and Santa Monica, so that’s why we got here within seconds,” LASD spokesperson Sgt. Joana Warren told KABC 7 Eyewitness News.
Media footage of the incident shows multiple units and a swarm of deputies in protective gear surround the bar and they cleared the location on Robertson Boulevard.
A number of other businesses in the area were informed about the incident when it happened and they were given a description of the man.
The scare is very close to the deadly mass shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub, Club Q, in Colorado Springs, Colorado in which at least five people have been killed and dozens more were injured in the incident which occurred on the eve of Transgender Day of Remembrance.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a terror threat bulletin November 30, warning that domestic extremists have posted online praise for the fatal shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado earlier this month. and have called for copycat attacks.
In its bulletin, DHS officials noted that several recent attacks, plots, and threats of violence demonstrate the continued dynamic and complex nature of the threat environment in the United States:
“Some domestic violent extremists who have conducted attacks have cited previous attacks and attackers as inspiration. Following the late November shooting at an LGBTQI+ bar in Colorado Springs, Colorado—which remains under investigation—we have observed actors on forums known to post racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist content praising the alleged attacker. Similarly, some domestic violent extremists in the United States praised an October 2022 shooting at a LGBTQI+ bar in Slovakia and encouraged additional violence. The attacker in Slovakia posted a manifesto online espousing white supremacist beliefs and his admiration for prior attackers, including some within the United States,” DHS warned.
The City of West Hollywood is working with the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Block by Block Security Ambassadors program to expand patrols in the City’s Rainbow District.
If you see something, say something. Anonymous tips can be called into Crimestoppers at (800) 222-TIPS (8477), or by texting 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most keypads) with a cell phone. If you see something, say something. Anyone with information can also drop a tip at https://www.lacrimestoppers.org.
Your identity is always encrypted and anonymous. No personal information, phone number, e-mail, IP address or location is ever requested, saved, traced, tracked or monitored. Period.
Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) released the following statement after receiving a bomb threat targeting his home and office:
“Early this morning, I was informed by the San Francisco Standard and the police that someone had issued a bomb threat against me, listing my specific home address and also threatening to shoot up my Capitol office. The email said ‘we will fucking kill you’ and called me a pedophile and groomer.
“This latest wave of death threats against me relates to my work to end discrimination against LGBTQ people in the criminal justice system and my work to ensure the safety of transgender children and their families. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and MAGA activist Charlie Kirk recently tweeted homophobic lies about me, falsely accusing me of supporting pedophiles and child ‘mutilation.’
“The extreme homophobic and transphobic rhetoric that has escalated on social media and right wing media outlets has real world impacts. It leads to harassment, stalking, threats, and violence against our community. People are dying as a result. Responsible political leaders on the right must call it out and stop tolerating it.
“I will always fight for the LGBTQ community — and for the community as a whole — and will never let these threats stop that work.”
A death threat was made against State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, on Tuesday morning. The Standard received the threat via email and reported it to the police and Wiener. San Francisco police responded to Wiener’s home at roughly 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning.
Sent by a person using the name Zamina Tataro, the email said that they placed bombs at Wiener’s San Francisco home and threatened to shoot up his Sacramento office “in 20 minutes, I am willing to die.”
The subject line read “Scott Wiener will die today,” and the author called him a pedophile and accused him of grooming children. SFPD searched Wiener’s home but did not locate any explosive devices.
According to the linked outlet, a person using the same name has made other LGBTQ-related bomb threats.
TUESDAY DECEMBER 13this a Three-in-One Day! A collaboration between the Social Committee &The Spahr Center LGBTQ+ Senior Program
Pride Flag Raising11:30 to noonat Novato Community Hospital Holiday Potluck12:30 to 1 pm&Bill Jones Book Reading1 to 2:30 pmat Margaret Todd Community Center see flyer here:
Pride Flag Raising Novato Community Hospital invites our community to participate as our flag is raised over the hospital, proclaiming their support for us. Scheduled11:30 to noon, it will be attended by hospital officials and the press. It is at 180 Rowland Way (beyond Staples.)
Holiday Potluck In place of our usual brown bag lunch at the monthly Second Tuesday in-person event at the Mgt. Todd Senior Center in Novato, the Social Committee and Spahr Senior Progam are inviting the community to bring food or a beverage to share for a potluck celebration of the holiday season. Please arrive on time if you want to participate in the potluck so we can then focus on Bill Jones & his book!
Bachelor Father: Bill JonesA Book Reading Join the Spahr Center Senior Program and the Social Committee as we host Bill Jonesreading from his memoir, Bachelor Father: The first single man to legally adopt a child in America. Bill was an early member of Gay Men of Marin (GMOM, 23 years!), a teacher in Novato, owner of Sutro Baths in SF and he has hosted gay folks, families and kids in his home for many years to view the San Rafael Lighted Boat Parade at Christmastime. There will be plenty of time for questions and discussion. Watch for more details.
The potluck and book readingtake place at our regular monthly Second Tuesday in-person event at the Margaret Todd Senior CenterDecember 13,12:30 to 1 pm socializing and 1 to 2:30, book reading.
Again this year, Bill has invited the community to his home on the San Rafael Canal on December 17 at 6 pm for the annual Lighted Boat Parade.Watch for more details.
Check out the Community Notices section below for new entries about prescriptionless hearing aids and the new bivalent covid booster.
UPCOMING EVENTSall events are free December 1World AIDS Day **A Gathering of Love & LossThe Spahr Center5 to 6:30 pm December 2Men’s Brown Bag Lunch **at Spahr Center’s Conference Room100 Nellen Ave. #100, Corte Maderasemi- (ramp and elevator but no automatic door)noon to 1:30 December 13Pride Flag Raising11:30 to noon Novato Memorial Hospital Holiday Potluck12:30 to 1 pm Bill Jones Book Reading1 to 2:30 pmMgt Todd Senior Center, Novato see details above
*Social Committee event, RSVP required;to RSVP or get on their email list, write to them atsocialcommittee@comcast.net;find a link to their calendar and flyers below ** See flyer below
To join the Spahr Senior Groupon ZoomMondays, 7 to 8 pm, &Thursdays, 12:30 to 2 pm,click the purple button below the Butterfly Heart or here:
New participants are warmly welcomed!If you’re zoom-challenged, let me know and I’ll work with you!
Topical Thursdays12:30 to 2 pm December 1World AIDS DAYHow did the AIDS epidemic impact your life? This day, December 1, is World AIDS Day, marking the impact of the epidemic on the lives of virtually every member of our community and countless others around the world of every nation and identity. Even those of us who were not yet out or may never have known someone who died from AIDS has had their lives inexorably altered from it’s effects. The worst of it was a time of profound loss and grief and terror yet also a time of courage and love and community. Our lesbian sisters rallied to support the gay men’s community. We marched in the streets, lobbied in DC and state capitols, and demanded collaboration with our medical providers, forever changing politics and the healthcare system. And the epidemic is not over yet. Let’s honor this day by considering the many ways HIV/AIDS impacted us and the work we have yet to do.
Living Room Mondays7 to 8 pm We share with each other about how we’re doing and have unstructured conversations focused on listening from our hearts and deepening community.
As noted above, the Brown Bag Lunch is postponed to December 2 because the Spahr Center was closed for the holiday weekend.
The Northbay LGBT+ Senior Social Committee has been consistently offering fun events to offset the boredom of the pandemic. Everyone born in any month will be celebrated in that month’s email – including your birthday if you’ll let them know when it rolls around! To sign up for their emails or register for events, clickhere.
Coronavirus Updates A new Bivalent Covid Vaccine is availableand it is recommended that most seniors get that shot. Contact your health provider for more information. The Spahr Center has coronavirus rapid home test kits& masks and they are available for free in the office – 150 Nellen Avenue, Suite 100, Corte Madera 94925; 415/457-2487. The office is open 10 am – 3 pm weekdays. Only vaccinated people may come to the office and masks must be worn inside the building. Any staff person can direct you to the kits. This is a great resource we are pleased to offer, please don’t hesitate to get these kits! In order to keep track of new infections, the County asks that we report self-test resultshere. To see Marin County’s latest pandemic information, click here. The mask recommendations of the Mask Nerd – an aerosol scientist who studies mask effectiveness – are featured in this article and highly informative video. May we all be safe and well!
Community Notices
A recent “bivalent” covid booster is available and is especially advised for older people and those with immune-compromised conditions, etc. Contact your health provider for more information. Hearing Aids will now be available without prescription at places like Costco, Walmart and Walgreens at a saving of upwards of $3000. You can learn more by clicking here.
The Spahr Center’s Food Pantryis open to seniors who need support in meeting their nutritional needs. We want to help! Items such as fresh vegies, fruit & meats, eggs and dairy, prepared meals, pasta, sauces, and canned goods are delivered weekly to people who sign up. Glen & Robert, our Pantry Managers, do a terrific job in trying to meet the individual needs and preferences of the people we serve.
Vivalon Resources for Seniors Whistlestop, now renamed Vivalon, offers many resources for us seniors, now listed in this easy-to-print one-page guide. Access to rides, food, classes, activities, resources, referrals, and more. Membership not required for most classes and services during the pandemic. Some in-person events are being planned. To get Vivalon’s listings, click here. They also provide access to resources including rides for older adults. Please note: there is a 3-week registration process for the ride program so register now if you think you may need rides in the future. Click here for their website. The Jackson Cafe has great specials, a roomy dining room, small tables and big round tables for groups. Open 11:30 to 1:45; $8 for members, $10 for guests, with takeout readily available. You can find their daily changing menu and more information here.
Building Community in the Midst of Sheltering-in-PlaceSee old friends and make new ones! Join us!The Spahr Center’s LGBT Senior Discussion Groupscontinue everyMonday, 7 to 8 pm& Thursday, 12:30 to 2 pm on zoom
To Join Group by Video using Computer, Smart Phone or TabletJust click this button at the start time, 6:55 pm Mondays / 12:25 pm Thursdays:Join GroupAlways the same link! Try it, it’s easy!
To Join Group by Phone CallIf you don’t have internet connections or prefer joining by phone,call the following number at the start time,6:55 pm Mondays / 12:25 pm Thursdays:1-669-900-6833The Meeting id is 820 7368 6606#(no participant id required)The password, if requested, is 135296#If you want to be called into the group by phone, notify Bill Blackburn at 415/450-5339
California Department of Aging ResourcesThe CDA has a website that is packed with information and resources relevant to the lives of seniors in our state. From Covid-19 updates to more general care for age-related health issues, access to legal assistance to getting home-delivered meals to help with housing, you may well find answers to your questions by clicking: here.
Adult and Aging Service’s Information and Assistance Line, providing information and referrals to the full range of services available to older adults, adults with disabilities and their family caregivers, has a new phone number and email address: 415/473-INFO (4636) 8:30 am to 4:30 pm weekdays473INFO@marincounty.org
Questions? Assistance? Suggestions? We have resources and volunteers for:grocery deliveryfood assistanceproviding weekly comfort calls to check in on youplus more!
A 35-year-old bookstore was set on fire in North Hollywood in November and is believed to be a target of an alleged arson attack.
LA Fire responded to the call, seeing the front of the rear entrance of Iliad Bookshop, located at 5400 Calhuega, fully engulfed in flames after an unknown person or persons stacked up books and items left out by the store, according to the Los Angeles Blade.
Bookstore owner Daniel Weinstein told multiple news outlets that a flyer was left at the scene of the blaze, considered “terrorist.”
The extent of damage to the store’s inventory is unknown, according to the Blade.
“We were very lucky: neighbors saw the flames and flagged down a passing fire truck; had the firefighters arrived mere moments later, the entire store would probably have gone up. As it is, we suffered heavy damage to the main entry. The doors (which are metal) are still functional, but will need to be either replaced or fixed. We lost lighting fixtures, signage, and wood framing; we also suffered damage to the mural on the right side of the doors. Smoke filled the interior of the store, but we were able to rescue our two cats Zeus and Apollo and we’re hopeful that the damage to the books and fixtures is minimal,” said Weinstein.
“We have high insurance deductibles, so we need to cover the cost of replacing the exterior lights, sign, and trim, and touching up the mural. We expect the funds we’re looking for to be divided between repair costs and a mural artist,” he continued in the GoFundMe description.
Iliad is known for its cozy mix of “librarial reverence and old lore magic,” according to magazine writer Augustus Britton.
“Weinstein’s 10 employees are awesome. There are no better poetic words to describe them. One could say they all look like fictional characters. Grateful Dead fans, Philip K. Dick spies or Stendhal savants eating Chinese food at the counter while the shop’s spunky cats Zeus and Apollo — more nods to Greek mythology — climb over their shoulders,” Brittan said about the bookstore.
LAFD’s arson investigators are currently looking into what caused the fire, according to the Blade.
While LGBTQ candidates and their supporters celebrated several milestone victories around the nation in this year’s midterm elections, California quietly reached its own: At least 10% of its state lawmakers identify publicly as LGBTQ, believed to be a first for any U.S. legislature.
The California legislators, all Democrats, are proud of their success but say it underscores the hard work that remains in their own state and elsewhere, such as handling the fallout from measures such as Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, which bans some lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity, or laws in other states limiting transgender students’ participation in sports or blocking gender-affirming medical care for youths.
The milestone was further shrouded by the Saturday night shooting at a gay nightclub in Colorado, which killed five people and wounded many others. The suspect was charged with murder and hate crimes. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, who just won a second term, was the first openly gay man elected as a state’s governor when he won in 2018.
“When it comes to LGBTQ people, we’re on two tracks: One track is that societally we’re winning. People by and large are totally fine with LGBTQ people, they support us, they are accepting and willing to vote for LGBTQ candidates,” California state Sen. Scott Wiener, a member of the LGBTQ Caucus, said Monday.
Yet, he said, “despite the fact that we are winning the battle in society at large, you have a very vocal, dangerous minority of extremists who are consistently attacking and demonizing our community.”
At least 519 out LGBTQ candidates won elected office this year, in positions ranging from school board up to Congress and governor, said LGBTQ Victory Fund press secretary Albert Fujii. That’s a record, well up from 2020, when 336 LGBTQ candidates won, according to the group, which along with Equality California calculated that California is the first state to pass the 10% threshold.
Of the 12 current or soon-to-be members of the California Legislature, eight were already part of its LGBTQ Caucus, including the leader of the Senate and three other senators whose terms run until 2024. Four current Assembly members won reelection Nov. 8, with two new Assembly members and two new senators joining them, increasing the caucus’s ranks by 50%. The AP has not yet called one remaining race that could add an additional LGBTQ lawmaker.
The lawmakers will be sworn in for their new terms Dec. 5; between both chambers there are 120 total legislators.
The U.S. census has found that 9.1% of Californians identified as LGBT — compared with 7.9% for the nation overall — so the Legislature will have roughly reached parity in sexual orientation and gender identity. Meanwhile, the Legislature has not yet reached parity in gender or in race and ethnicity, according to statistics from the California State Library.
New Hampshire and Vermont have each had more LGBTQ legislators, according to the institute, but their legislatures are bigger than California’s and so have not reached the 10% threshold.
The 2022 elections are a landscape of firsts for LGBTQ people, including Corey Jackson, the California Legislature’s first gay Black man, who noted that African Americans — particularly Black trans people — are especially marginalized.
“I think this is an opportunity just to say that number one, we are here, we do have something to contribute and we can lead and represent with the best of them,” said Jackson, a school board member from Riverside County.
Alaska and South Dakota elected their first out LGBTQ legislators, and Montana and Minnesota elected their first transgender legislators, according to the Human Rights Campaign. In New Hampshire, Democrat James Roesener, 26, became the first trans man elected to any U.S. state legislature.
He said he was motivated to run after a state bill that would have required schools to notify parents of developments in their children’s gender identity and expression failed only narrowly. Opponents of such requirements say they invade children’s privacy and can put them at risk of abuse at home.
Leigh Finke, who was elected in Minnesota, also was driven by growing anti-transgender rhetoric.
Finke hopes to ban so-called conversion therapy in Minnesota and, like California, make the state a sanctuary for children, and their parents, who can’t access gender-affirming health care elsewhere.
“I just thought, ‘This can’t stand.’ We have to have trans people in these rooms. If we are going to lose our rights, at least they have to look us in the eye when they do it,” she said.
Charlotte Perri, a 23-year-old voting organizer in Portland, Oregon, said she got emotional hearing Gov.-elect Tina Kotek talk at a campaign event about young people thanking her for running.
“It’s hard to feel optimistic as a young queer person with everything that’s going on,” Perri said.
Though the newly elected LGBTQ officials are overwhelmingly Democrats, at least one gay Republican — George Santos, a supporter of former President Donald Trump — won a U.S. House seat in New York by defeating another gay man, a Democrat.
The increase in LGBTQ lawmakers contrasts with efforts in some states led by members of Santos’ party to limit the influence, visibility and rights of LGBTQ people.
In Tennessee, leaders of the state’s Republican legislative supermajority said the first bill of the 2023 session will seek to ban gender-affirming care for minors. Tennessee has one LGTBQ lawmaker, Democratic Rep. Torrey Harris.
The state already has banned transgender athletes from participating in girls middle and high school sports and restricted which bathrooms transgender students and employees can use.
The Human Rights Campaign tracked what it identified as anti-LGTBQ bills introduced in 23 states this year and said they became law in 13: Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and Louisiana.
By contrast, “as California’s Legislative LGBTQ Caucus has grown, the state has led the nation in passing groundbreaking legislation protecting LGBTQ+ civil rights,” said Equality California spokesperson Samuel Garrett-Pate.
Wiener carried California’s sanctuary bill for transgender youths, which has been copied by Democratic lawmakers in other states. He and a fellow Assembly member teamed up in 2019 to expand access to HIV prevention medication. Other laws pushed by LGBTQ legislators over the years gave foster children rights to gender-affirming care and allowed nonbinary gender markers on state identification.
It’s too soon to have a solid plan for new legislation, California caucus members said, but Wiener noted realms to consider include employment resources for transgender people; homelessness and crime among at-risk LGTBQ youth; and sexual health services.
Jackson said he found hope in the election returns not only in California, but also nationwide.
“We have U.S. senators now, we have governors now, we actually have trans legislators now in this country,” Jackson said. “So in the midst of stories of hatred and stories of demonization, you still see rainbows of hope throughout our nation.”
In the aftermath of the tragic shooting at an LGBTQ bar in Colorado Springs that left five people dead and 18 injured, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said MAGA Republicans are to blame for anti-trans violence.
“Whether spouting dangerous rhetoric from cable news desks or openly bullying schoolchildren from the halls of power, MAGA Republicans are cruelly undermining the safety and well-being of our transgender community,” Pelosi said in a statement released on Sunday to mark the Transgender Day of Remembrance.
She also touted House Democrats’ work enacting “fully-inclusive federal hate crimes protections with the historic Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.”
She concluded, “Heartbroken for so many beautiful souls murdered by hate and guided by relentless activists across the country, let us renew our resolve to build the future that our children deserve. Together, we will forge a safer, more just America – one where all of its people can freely and proudly exercise their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
In a separate statement focused on the Club Q shooting, Pelosi called the attack “despicable.”
“Our hearts break at the senseless slaughter of… five beautiful souls and the many more injured or forever traumatized, at what was a sanctuary of safety and solidarity.”
Pelosi said the attack contributed to “further shattering the sense of safety of LGBTQ Americans across the country.”
“While Democrats have taken important steps to combat gun violence this Congress, this deadly attack is a challenge to our conscience and a reminder that we must keep fighting to do more.”
“Thank you to the heroic individuals who stopped the gunman and to the brave first responders at the scene. May it be a comfort to the loved ones of those murdered and the Colorado Springs community that all of America mourns with them during this devastating time.”
Pelosi is far from the only one who has been calling out the dangerous anti-LGBTQ rhetoric the Republican party has been spreading.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) also criticized the GOP’s “anti-LGBTQ campaign” from this past year in connection to the shooting.
“After Trump elevated anti-immigrant & anti-Latino rhetoric, we had the deadliest anti-Latino shooting in modern history,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted on Sunday. “After anti-Asian hate w/COVID, Atlanta. Tree of life. Emanuel AME. Buffalo.”
“And now after an anti-LGBT+ campaign, Colorado Springs. Connect the dots, GOP.”
Ocasio-Cortez also attacked Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), who has been one of the most anti-LGBTQ members of Congress this past session and is also a staunch opponent of gun control legislation. Boebert has spent her first term in Congress attacking LGBTQ people and portraying them as a danger to children. She has opposed all gun control legislation and even rose to fame from the gun-themed restaurant she owned where the waiters carried guns.
“The news out of Colorado Springs is absolutely awful,” Boebert wrote over the weekend. “This morning the victims & their families are in my prayers. This lawless violence needs to end and end quickly.”
“Lauren Boebert, you have played a major role in elevating anti-LGBT+ hate rhetoric and anti-trans lies while spending your time in Congress blocking even the most common sense gun safety laws,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote. “You don’t get to ‘thoughts and prayers’ your way out of this. Look inward and change.”
In a separate tweet, Buttigieg explained his position more: “Republicans continue to run on and spread anti-LGBTQ ideology and hatred while refusing to lift a finger on gun violence. This is preventable, but only if they start seeing LGBTQ people as equals, and themselves as leaders.”
“You encourage this type of hatred,” he responded. “Get off Twitter and start looking inward.”
Cheryl King is producer of the Wednesday Weirdness performance series at The California, the latest new nightspot in Santa Rosa.
She recently interviewed Hector Zavala about his new solo show, Buscando al Último Hombre Gay (Seeking the Last Gay Man) prior to his upcoming performance at The California on November 30. Hector’s answers provide not only a great preview for the show, but also a thoughtful examination of many hot-button issues in current culture.
CK: First a question about the title – What does it mean? Who is doing the seeking? And who is the last gay man?
HZ: When I first wrote the show I wrote it based on the experiences of five of my closest friends and myself. We began talking about our recent break-ups and questioned what it meant to be in a relationship, what we gave up during our relationships and what we wanted from a relationship. After all, we all wanted the same thing, to be gay–happy. After several workshops and rewrites I came to the conclusion that I wanted to talk about the search for happiness. All of us humans want to be happy, gay. In this story, I take humanity as a whole as seeking that last moment of happiness.
CK: In your show you share some of your first experiences as a gay man – actually as a gay 16-year- old. At what point in your life were you aware that you were different, that you liked boys more than girls? How did that manifest itself?
HZ: I always knew I was different, I know it may sound/read cliche, but it’s the honest truth. I still feel different. But my complete awareness came after my coming out, which is a story I talk about in my show. I was “pushed out” of the closet after a night of romantic exploration with another young man my age. That night I knew I was different, I wasn’t gay, I didn’t know what that was, but I was pointed out as different.
As for my attraction to boys, I can say that I’ve always been attracted to both boys and girls. I wanted to be around girls all the time, play with them, dance with them… with boys, I felt my sexuality was more intrigued by them. Since I was very young. My first exploration was at the age of six with a boy my age.
CK: Your show compares the desire for sweetness and intimacy with the desire for sex. How do those two drives work together? How do they conflict?
HZ: Yes, my show also touches on the search for validation. Sex is a big motivation for acceptance and validation in the gay community and culture. In the story, this character is conflicted by his yearning for a love that is sweet and intimate, yearning for a successful romantic relationship, but as we all know, we do not have many positive examples of successful gay couples in media. So in his search, this character is trying very hard to fit to the standards of a community that has been outcast, ridiculed, and marginalized.
CK: Like many people in our culture, you seem to have reached out for the rebound relationship. Do you think there is a value to taking more time after the ending of a relationship to get on solid emotional ground before seeking out a new partner?
HZ: I truly believe that we all have our own journey and we each do the best we can in our search for happiness. A rebound relationship, for me, was the best thing that could happen after my separation.
Imagine believing in a fairy-tale idea of marriage, add the Catholic belief that “marriage is forever” imposed by a matriarchal family and words like “You wanted to get married; now suffer the consequences”. I felt like the worst human after deciding to leave my husband; I needed that human interaction I got from a rebound relationship.
CK: How can self-love heal the wounds of too-casual sex?
HZ: Self love allows for space to make decisions based on what the self truly wants. Sometimes he/she wants casual sex, sometimes he/she wants a burger. Casual sex with out self love can be fogged by the external search for validation and that’s where the troubles begin.
CK: You recently performed this show in Mexicali. What was your audience response there? Did you make any changes to the show based on that Mexican tour?
HZ: Well.. my first run was back in 2019. It was in English and I had a very limited budget. It was produced in the Bay Area and performed at the Marsh, SOMArts and the Queer Arts Fest in SF. For the Mexicali performance, which was part of my tour throughout Mexico, I was able to increase the production value with sets, costumes, props and original music, with the same budget I had in the Bay Area performances. I also translated into Spanish with the aid of a dramaturg and added a whole new concept to the piece by hiring an up-and-coming director in Mexico City.
Many people in the audience waited for me at the end of the show to hug me and talk to me about how the show spoke to and about them, both female and male. I had to go back and schedule three more shows.
CK: What do you see as the differences between how the Mexican culture treats homosexuals versus how they are treated in the US?
HZ: I’ve been a resident of the US since I was very young. I grew up in San Jose, CA with my mother, which is where I accepted my queerness. I saw Heklina in drag on TV on the Ricky Lake show at the age of 12. Queer folk were begining to take a space in media and the community. MTV released “My So-Called life”, a reality show, with a young gay Latinx man who had HIV. Space was being carved out in the US for folks like me. When I moved to Mexico to continue with my higher education, I was faced with a brick wall. I “had to hide” my gayness. Two of my dearest friends were un-a-lived for being gay. Three others were beaten and taken to the hospital. I can not compare, it would be unfair, because I can also say that Mexico has legalized same sex marriage in every state in the last two years.
CK: How can parents support their homosexual children’s life dreams and hopes in a world that still has difficulty accepting homosexuality?
HZ: How? I’m not a parent. Nor do I want to be. Lol. But maybe I can speak for what I wish I had. My father was such an understanding, trusting and playful Dad, he sadly was un-a-lived in a tragic accident. I think back on the Christmas before he passed. He asked me what I wanted. I told him I wanted a boombox. He then said, “Are you sure, I know you get up late at night and use your mother’s sewing machine to make dresses for your sister’s dolls. Do you want your own? If you keep using your mother’s you may break it and she won’t be happy”.
Allow space for children to dream, imagine and play. Don’t judge. Life it’s just a game. We are all here to have fun and be happy.
CK: What message, if any, do you want your audiences to take with them after seeing Seeking The Last Gay Man?
HZ: Enjoy life. Life is but a series of stories we create in our mind. It’s much more fun when we play with others, live in the present with awareness and we share our experience and desires with our “cast members”.
Showtime is 7:30 pm. Tickets are $19-$22 at https://www.caltheatre.com/wednesdayweirdness
The California State Historical Resources Commission (Commission) will hold a virtual meeting next Friday, October 21 to consider seven nominations for federal historic designation and one nomination for state historic designation.
A property being considered for nomination is Compton’s Cafeteria in San Francisco; its ground floor was the focus of a landmark 1966 incident of collective resistance against harassment by police that targeted members of San Francisco’s transgender community. Another nominated property is the Fort Ross Landing Historical and Archaeological Districts for its association with the doghole ports transportation network and associated maritime commerce.
Here are the nominated properties:
National Register of Historic Places Nominations
Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation Hospital
San Francisco, San Francisco County
The property was designed by well-known San Francisco architect Frederick H. Meyer as a company hospital for employees working at Bethlehem’s nearby Union Iron Works shipyard. Designed in the Italian Renaissance Revival style, the building served as a company hospital until 1931, until its acquisition in 1948 by the Kaiser Permanente Foundation to serve as the HMO’s first full-service hospital in San Francisco.
Compton’s Cafeteria
San Francisco, San Francisco County
Located in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood, the 1908 Italian Renaissance Revival style residential lodging house was designed by architect Abram Edelman. The cafeteria on its ground floor was the focus of a landmark 1966 incident of collective resistance against harassment by police that targeted members of San Francisco’s transgender community. The site is remembered as a turning point toward militant resistance in the LGBTQ, and particularly transgender, community.
Gottfried Maulhardt Farm
Oxnard, Ventura County
The nominated property is the surviving remnant of a much larger farm belonging to Gottfried Maulhardt, a German immigrant, and his family, early settlers of the Oxnard Plain in Ventura County. The 1872 farmhouse, 1876 winery/storehouse, 1890s carriage house and 1876 Canary Island Date Palm are the major contributing features of the remaining farm. The property is significant for its association with early settlement and farming in Oxnard and with early settler Gottfried Maulhardt, and for its architecture.
James Kleiser House
Arcata, Humboldt County
The 1858 Gothic Revival residence built by merchant James Kleiser consists of a thick frame of overlapping redwood planks, finished with 1-inch-thick horizontal plank siding. Unlike most of the surviving homes from this era in Arcata, Kleiser added Gothic Revival exterior trim and interior decorations imported from New York City, marking a turning point from the vernacular buildings in early settlements to the high Victorian styles in the newly established city. Kleiser only lived briefly in the house. From 1861 to 1971, the house was the home of the Nixon family, who purchased the home from its previous owners with 500 sacks of potatoes from the Nixon farm in lieu of cash.
Fort Ross Landing Historical and Archaeological District
Northern California Doghole Ports Maritime Cultural Landscape MPS
Jenner (vicinity), Sonoma County
The district encompasses 830 acres along the Sonoma County coast within Fort Ross State Historic Park and adjacent waters within the state historic park and Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. As a property type associated with the doghole ports transportation network and associated maritime commerce, the district meets the registration requirements of the Northern California Doghole Ports Maritime Cultural Landscape Multiple Property Submission. The district includes Russian period resources repurposed and expanded by subsequent European and American landowners to support their business ventures in agriculture, ranching and timber—businesses that were the backbone of the doghole port’s success and longevity.
Miracle Mile Apartments Historic District
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County
The district, composed almost entirely of multifamily residences, is located in the Miracle Mile neighborhood of central Los Angeles’ Mid-City/Mid-Wilshire area. Two distinct scales represent the same time period. The smaller-scale apartment buildings (most commonly eightplexes and sixplexes) are two stories in height; the larger-scale apartment buildings (10 units or more) are three or four stories in height. The district represents an excellent collection of Period Revival architecture in the form of multifamily residences, associated with automobile-centered multifamily residential development tied to the growth of Wilshire Boulevard’s Miracle Mile. Architectural styles include Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival, French Renaissance Revival, Italian Renaissance Revival, Mediterranean Revival, Chateauesque, and Tudor Revival.
Ramelli Dairy Ranch
Chilcoot (vicinity), Sierra County
Located in Sierra County’s Long Valley, near the border of Washoe County, Nevada, the ranch includes a stone milkhouse (creamery), a wood granary and a concrete cistern. While no information specifically identifies Caesar Ramelli as the builder, the buildings’ construction and/or alteration reflect the farming and utilitarian building experience of Ramelli, who originated from northern Canton Ticino, an Italian Swiss cultural region. The property is associated with immigration patterns of the Italian Swiss to Sierra County and its early industry, and the Ramellis provided competitive local cheese products to Reno, Nevada, and the surrounding area.
California Point of Historical Interest Nomination
Hollister Hills Ranch
Hollister Hills State Vehicular Recreation Area, San Benito County
Hollister Hills is California State Parks’ first off-highway motor vehicle park. Located in the Gabilan Mountains, approximately one hour south of San Jose, the park covers over 6,800 acres and has nearly 200 miles of trails in scenic and varied terrain. The ranch is associated with David Pierce and Howard Harris, two individuals separated by nearly a century significant to San Benito County history. Hollister Hills is also the location of a significant experimental walnut orchard, as well as a late 19th century one-room schoolhouse.
(ramp and elevator but no automatic door)noon to 1:30
