In 1961, Sarria ran for a San Francisco Board of Supervisors seat. During Sarria’s performances, she started to encourage patrons to stop living double lives and to come out of the closet. (San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library) Her Royal Majesty, Empress of San Francisco, José I, The Widow NortonĪt The Black Cat Club, another North Beach hot spot, Jose Sarria was a cocktail waiter turned drag queen who sang operatic arias. This 1958 photo shows the cast of the floor show. Finocchio’s nightclub was known for its “female impersonators” who entertained patrons nightly. None of the heavy stuff and definitely no politics. “It traditionally has meant a cis man who dons women’s clothes, for entertainment purposes, usually pretty fabulous and flamboyant.”įinocchio’s Club was an institution for 60 years in the North Beach neighborhood and featured “female illusion.” This was light-hearted fun. “Early drag in San Francisco was presented in a way that was safe for straight audiences,” Christ said. But how did it get that way?ĭrag has been an active part of the entertainment scene in San Francisco since the 1930s. “Straight people have wigs in this town!”ĭrag has been breaking ground and creating a community for San Franciscans for almost a century. “Drag is as crucial to the identity of this city as the cable car,” said Peaches Christ, a San Francisco drag performer, director and provocateur for the last three decades. In San Francisco, this debate over drag is long settled.
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