Jotos will knock your pants off!

If you missed “Jotos” before, now’s your chance to catch it in it’s final run this weekend at the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center just north of Downtown.

Jotos del Barrio is a collection of poems, monologues, and vignettes about young male Latinos coming to terms with being gay or transgendered in a society that cannot fully accept the lifestyle.

It was written by Jesus Alonzo. Jotos began as a paper Alonzo wrote in 1995 while taking a media studies course at Carleton College.The paper was primarily a response to his professor who taught the class, which explored queer iconography in the United States, yet entirely omitted the Chicano factor.

The paper had it’s first reading in front of an audience in 1995 at EPJC, and was then adapted for the stage with it’s first production at Jump-Start Performance Company in San Antonio in 2002 with great success.

In fact, I remember hearing about the show, which at the time starred Erica Salazar (or Andrews as most of us knew her). For those of you who are not Latino, the term “joto” is a term used for homosexual. It can almost be compared to the word “faggot.” I’m sure you can see my hesitance in seeing it the first time around. The title alone seemed to have somewhat of a negative connotation, but it isn’t the case at all.
br> I had the pleasure of seeing the show last weekend at the EPJC, and Alonzo explained it in a way I cannot even begin to do it justice. His explanation prior to the show, the performance itself, the stunning cast….it blew me away. It was powerful and moving.

Many of us who are Latino and grew up in the 70s, 80s, and even 90s can relate most. Those were different times when it came to the topic of homosexuality. I can see how this relates to a lot of people I knew growing up (even myself), but I honestly think the performance may have had a much harder impact its first time around. Not to say Jotos is any less moving now, but although there is still much intolerance, the gay movement (whether in the Latino community or not), has come further than it ever in the last decade.

If you haven’t had a chance to see it, I highly recommend it during its final run this weekend at the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. It’s playing write now as I’m finishing this blog, but you can catch it again tomorrow Saturday June 21, and Sunday June 22. Sundays show will include a fabulous drag brunch. You definitely don’t want to miss that!

Jotos del Barrio’s current cast includes Maximo Anguiano, Lynn Copeland, Manuel Barraza, Toni Sauceda, Jaime Gonzalez, and Kenneth Miles Ellington Lopez. I have to give those guys a shout-out! They were awesome.

For more information, check out the EPJC website, www.esperanzacenter.org, or call (210) 228-0201. EPJC is located at 922 San Pedro Avenue, across from VIA headquarters.

Gay youth today

As I sit and wonder why I often feel for today's gay youth, I realize that it takes me back to when I was that age, and I recall how difficult it was not having someone to talk to about the things I was feeling at that time in my life.

We've all been that age, but let's face it, we haven't all been gay. Being a teen, and having someone to talk to about gay issues is really difficult. Young girls have their mothers or even other girlfriends to share with, while young boys often turn to their dads or brothers. But if you're a gay teen, it's harder to find someone to identify with you and your feelings.

I'm not going to lie. I was just like any other young boy. I was a horny little bastard. But while my male friends were all talking about the girls they wanted to screw and my girlfriends were asking me if I thought certain guys were interested in them, it just didn't seem right for me to inquire as to whether or not I should be drooling over the bear I saw working at the mall (not that I knew what that was back then, but just to give you some clue).

What a lot of my friends now don't realize is that I wasn't always as loud and out as I am today. I was a pretty quiet teen, very relaxed, and very chill. While I was never attracted to anyone I went to school with (that would have been awkward), I did often see guys at the store, or the mall, or the movie theater that I conisdered attractive. It seems to me young gays are coming out so much sooner than back when I was a teen. I'm still not sure if this is a good thing or not.

Sometimes I look at the pros and cons of this. PRO: Being comfortable in your own skin shows a sense of individuality and self-strength. CON: Many kids coming out at such a young age are showing they can't handle this type of pressure, hence the "It Gets Better" campaign.

Personally, I'm glad I waited until I was a young adult and post high school to come out. I did it on my own terms, and I did it when I knew I was ready. I only wish I could get the word out to more young gay teens about how life will get better for them, and there's not need to rush out of the closet, until they feel a sense of comfort, and find someone they can trust to do so.

Get tangled up in WEBB Party this weekend

Fiesta San Antonio kicks into full force this weekend, and nothing screams Fiesta louder than a bunch of queens getting free shots. All kidding aside though, the WEBBB party has become among one of the must-do events when celebrating this long city tradition.
This year's theme is "A Grand Menagerie," and event coordinators invite you to come out in your favorite animal print, or animal masks or face paint. WEBB Party is this Friday, April 11 from 7:30pm to midnight at the Lambermont Estate located on 950 East Grayson Street.
WEBB is the single largest fundraiser for the San Antonio AIDS Foundation (SAAF), according to the organization's website. The event name came from an Ethiopian proverb stating, "When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion." The founders were so moved by this, they named the event after it. Sadly, the word "web" was misspelled on the invitation, but the extra letter "be" somehow managed to stick around.
Although on person I asked referred to the event as "pointless and overpriced," attendees should keep in mind that 100-percent of the proceeds go to client services for SAAF. One San Antonio man, Enrique Garza, described his past experience at WEBB a great deal of fun.
"It was heartfelt to see so many gather together to help an incredible organization," Garza said. "You have your queens, drag queens, gays, lesbians, and those who don't know what they are, all there for a good cause, and to get fucked up."
Advance general admission tickets will be available online or at SAAF until noon on Friday for $75. You can expect to pay $90 at the door. You shouldn't feel bad about what seems like a steep price. The money raised goes to a good cause, and for those of you party animals, there's a full open bar, cuisine tasting from some of the coolest places in town, and live guest DJ's.
This party is only for ages 21 and over, so all you kids best get to scootin. So if you're going to have an awesome time, remember to drink responsibly. For more information on WEBB, you can go online to www.webbparty.net. See you kids there!

If good help is hard to find, better help must be damn near impossible.

I had to start questioning customer service after hearing things like a friend of mine say he got some pizza from Pizza Hut, but when he called to notify them the pizza was cold, they merely suggested he warm it up. I've also had some recent issues with Taco Cabana when it came to asking for something that should have already been included with my order. There is one incident that totally takes the cake though. It's funny how I enjoy telling this story at a party or to a friend here and there when the issue of customer service arises. This particular story takes place back in 2008 with a young hopeful who decides he wants to go to graduate school. Yes, the young hopeful is me, in case you haven't guessed that part yet.

Perhaps I didn't have the right questions prepared, or perhaps I should have done some research ahead of time so that I'd be a little more prepared. Silly me, when I enter an institute of higher learning, I guess I just expect to be welcomed with open arms and have information willingly thrown at me; afterall, this is the place I may decide to give my money to in exchange for an education. So it's spring 2008, and I decided since I was in the area, I would go onto the campus of this institution and get some information on their graduate programs, particularly something as it related to mass communication, as that was what I had majored in as an undergrad, but at a completely different university.

I walked into the admissions office and asked to speak to someone. I was told to have a seat, and that someone would be with me shortly. I looked around the office and noticed there were not other students around at that time. Maybe it was finals, maybe it was just late in the day. I remember it being sometime close to 4:00pm. Finally, a young woman comes out and calls my name. I didn't see another student walk out, so I know she wasn't helping anyone face-to-face. She had her own office and a name tag, and although her hair was a hot mess, I figured I'd trust her.

Big mistake....HUGE!

She began by asking what she could do for me. I told her that after almost four years in the workforce, I was considering graduate school to hopefully open more doors for me. I went over what I studied as an undergraduate and gave her an idea of what I was looking for in a graduate program. She didn't have much to say, but she was quick to throw a couple of websites at me and push me out the door. I can't quite say what the rush was. Maybe she had a hair appointment (her hair looked like shit, remember?), Maybe she had to get ready for a party (I had the unpleasant experience of actually running into her at a party once, and even there she looked like she could have used some advice from a stylist). Maybe she was just tired and wanted to get the hell home. Who knows, and who cares, right? Wrong. I cared.

It just really struck me. For someone who was supposed to be there to help and guide students, she really sucked at her job. Why was she there? Why did this institute think she was even qualified enough to talk to students, because frankly, in my opinion, she wasn't. She wasn't even qualified to be seen in public with that hair. If your job makes you miserable, perhaps its time to go. I left my last job for that same reason: I was miserable, I was rude, I couldn't take it anymore. But unlike the bitch at that university, I knew it was time for me to go.

From what I understand, that rude, unhelpful, messy person is still employed at the university where I finally graduated in 2011. Many of you who know me, know what institute I'm referring to, and you probably know the story well. I'm not going to name names, but if you're THAT curious, contact me and I'll give you all the details, which are sure to include every profane word you can think of. I recently heard a similar story, second hand, but I'm almost sure it's the same person because I know for sure it's the same university. It sucks that if good help is so hard to find, better help would be damn near impossible to get.

Can anyone say they were a slut at one point?

You see them all the time, at the club, in the bar, around school, even in the work place. We always know that one person/s who talk about their sexcapades or their crazy adventures, and we're quick to label them "sluts." But are they really? Or are we just quick to judge a book by it's cover and partial table of consex? (I know, not a word, but I thought it sounded cute)

I know a lot of people who like to talk the talk. I'm never bothered by it at all, and I prefer not to judge, even if I have seen them in action first hand. I remember a time way back when I had just gotten out of what I considered a devastating breakup. We were all young once, and we know how that goes. At the time, I thought "I'm so over this relationship thing!" Seriously? I was only 25. What did I know, right? Exactly.

For the next few months I lived the single life...wow, did I live the single life. There were times I couldn't keep up with my own schedule. The way I saw it, I was having fun, and what I did on my time, was my business....except when people saw me in public. Yikes! I hadn't really thought about this period of my life in a long time until a friend of mine said to me one night, "I've been a big time slut lately." He's about the same age I was back then. I looked at him, and I knew exactly what he meant.

I looked at my friend and nodded my head. I simply said to him, "You're not a slut. You're single and you're having fun. There's nothing wrong with that. You have no one to answer to, and what you do is your business. It's ok, but you don't have to tell people that." And with that, all I could think was "people will talk, and he may have a reputation, so he just needs to watch how he handles himself now."

I remember being younger and trying to be really coy about it. I knew people talked. People like to talk. Hello?! Reality TV! That's why we watch. It gives us water cooler gossip. But does being a slut really mean you're just bed hopping and taking score? Or are some actually looking to just hop into the next relationship. Maybe that's how some handle it. They're looking for the next LTR (long term relationship). Maybe it's not the way to go about it, but maybe it's easier for some.

I understood exactly what my friend was feeling at that point. He often talked about finding someone he could spend time with, go out with, and just all around have fun with. I don't think he was necessarily looking simply for sex. I think he was looking for the next boyfriend. But in retrospect, I think he looked at himself and thought he was being a slut. I knew better.

So while some may look at themselves as sluts, or even look at others as sluts, I don't think it's what they were intending. Somewhere within them always lies some kind of relationship issue. Then again, I'm no expert, on the matter. I'm a journalist, not a therapist.

We should never judge a person by what they've done or whom they've done. I think they want the same thing most of us want. LOVE. I do know one thing for sure. Getting out of a bad relationship, no matter how good you thought it was, really opens one's eyes to many possibilities you were missing out on. I went on to finish school, and later on grad school. I know it sounds cliché to say things happen for a reason, but maybe sometimes you have to believe that some things really do have their reasons.

My POV on HBOs True Blood

I saw it early on, but it didn't hit me until the latter part of this season. Vampires really are gay, metaphorically speaking. For those of you not familiar with the cable tv series, it's a show based on Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire Mystery books. It takes place in the fictional town of Bon Temps in the southern part of Louisisana, and tells the story of the coexistence between humans and vampires.

So there's the first revelation. Vampires = Homosexuals. Get it? Vampires are often thought of as monsters. For many, gays are still considered monsters. If you don't believe me, ask the fuckers of the Westboro Baptist Church. They wouldn't give a second thought to staking us in the heart. Then again, the jerks who run WBC are monsters in their own right. Vampires are creatures of the night. Gays enjoy the nightlife. Do you see a pattern forming. It's like they're telling the story of homos and heteros coexisting, right? Right.

"Maybe we should be scared. There's more of them than us, and they're pissed!" -Pam Swynford De Beaufort

Pam is an interesting character but has seemed more vulnerable as of late. Her character is snarky and not afraid to hold back how she really feels about someone. She's the perfect gay man: style savvy and successful. I pulled her quote from season six because there was a time when it was scary to be gay. In some places it still is. In fact it's this season that really had me thinking about how much of a correlation I see between this show and real life.

Anna Camp plays the role of Sarah Newlin. Her character is cold blooded and heartless, even I'm afraid of her (and this is a fictional character I'm talking about). She's not even a vampire, but she's dead-set on destroying every last one of them. Think of her as any pastor who's believes that God is telling them to do anything in their power to do away with homosexuality. In the series, she is a pastor's ex-wife. Not only do we later discover in the show that her ex is gay, but he also becomes a vampire himself....uh-oh! Only difference is, Sarah is a character we love to hate on tv. In real life, we would just hate her.

In this latest season, the government comes so close to doing away with vampires, which made me think of people trying to over turn the decision of many states allowing homosexual marriage. Yeah, it's not quite the same, then again it kind of is. It was such an eerie scene when Sarah Newlin nearly escapes death to slowly climb up the stairs as she's citing Psalms 23:4 and 23:6 (King James version) with the intention of killing almost half of the main cast. It's like watching the news when some conservative literally thinks it's God's will to end the homo lifestyle, and you say to yourself: "This bitch gone crazy!" Imagine Michele Bachmann, but with real balls.

Of course the gays are going to be big fans of this show. The vampires are hot (lots of nudity in this show), they dress immaculately, and they'll glamour you. This sunday is the season six finale. Follow the link below to watch the teaser for last week's episode. Just this clip alone gets me all wet. Enjoy :)

http://youtu.be/a3xwfoGkxoo

Goodbye to one of the last of San Antonio's finest.

Photo taken by Stephanie Campos in Dallas, TX, July 2011

I've always said, Erica Andrews was one of the last of the real showgirls in San Antonio. Granted, she lived the last years of her life up in Dallas, she made San Antonio a staple in the drag circuit. If you are a gay man in Texas, it was almost a given that you knew the Andrews name. It's a gay household name, and now the last "real" Andrews is gone.

I considered Erica a Texas icon. She held so many titles as a performer, including Miss Gay Texas USofA 1997, Miss Gay USofA 1999, Miss Texas Continental 2001, Miss Florida Continental 2004, and Universal Show Queen 2004, according to a fan-made Facebook page.

But Erica was more than a performer, she was a genuine person. She was one of the first "showgirls" (as they are known at The Saint in San Antonio) I ever saw perform, and she was one of the last greats of my time, mid to late 90s, the time when I first came out. And I don't mean to sound disrespectful to the craft, but she isn't like the performers today, who seem more obnoxious and loud than anything. Many of the queens today also seem to feel entitled for some reason. Respect and love wasn't just something Erica earned on stage, it was something she earned from her everyday personality.

The first time I met Erica was for an interview in Spots Magazine, September 2004. She would pose as Wonder Woman for the cover that issue. From the knee-high boots to the golden tiara, she would have brought a twinge of nostalgia even to Lynda Carter's eye. She talked about performing in San Antonio for the first time.

"I think that was like in 1988," Andrews said. "It was a place called Phazez. I hadn't gone through my transition yet, so I was like a little young gay boy in drag. I was (impersonating) Cher back then. It was horrible, but the audience loved it. I felt like a star. It was the best feeling."

She worked magic with makeup. It's no wonder she was so successful working for MAC Cosmetics. Erica may not have been born male, but many women I know could have learned a thing or two from her. Many friends were devastated by the news of her passing, but many of them had a story to share.

My best friend Mary quickly recalled the days of hanging out at another friend's place, Michael, for Melrose Mondays back in the late 90s. Yes, Erica could often be found there tanning, along with other friends and fellow performers such as Melissa Crawford, and Henrietta (aka Hot Henrietta). Melrose Mondays were tradition, and at the time Melrose Place was a really good show.

Another friend, Conrad, said he was grateful to know her. In fact, one of the things he loved about her was that she remembered him immediately after they first met. Being the icon she was, he said he never would have expected her to even remember his name, but she did...everytime thereafter. But that's who Erica was. She had this way of letting you know she was acknowledging your presence. My acknowledgement from her was always a wink and a smile. It's something I will always remember.

Rest in peace, beautiful lady. You worked hard to get where you were, and now it's time to go home. Your time here will never be forgotten. Goodbye Erica Andrews (1969-2013).