Esta Noche (gay bar)
Esta Noche (English: Tonight) was the first Latino gay bar in San Francisco and notably contributed to queer Latin culture.
It was attractive to many Latino individuals in the community because it provided a space to drink, party, engage in hookup culture, organize and perform.
[1] Esta Noche was also a place where people of other races and ethnicities could embrace Hispanic culture and engage in interracial relations.
[1][2] After 30 years of operation, Esta Noche closed in 2014 as a result of increased rent and property taxes caused by gentrification.
The pair hired an attorney to dispute the unconstitutional practices and were able to secure the needed permits to open Esta Noche.
[2] GALA and Esta Noche worked together in advertising the space as the gay Latino bar of the Mission District in San Francisco, which ultimately resurfaced tensions that the organization was dealing with.
Esta Noche has been defined as a "community organizing center and host to many fundraisers for health clinics, people with AIDS, and other lower-income populations.
"[7] The bar gave room for comedy nights where famous Latina comedian Marga Gomez starred.
The bar served as a site that encouraged the mixing of gender, age, and class favoring discussions about similarities and differences for these topics among the visitors.
He explains his frustration being surrounded by the anglo gay lifestyle and his attraction to the exotic and sexual energy provided by Esta Noche.
In total, the nightclub distributed more than 17,700 condoms which helped promote the practice of safe sex and limited the spread of AIDS.
[5] After being crowned Miss Gay Latina, Adela Vazquez quickly began her outreach surrounding health disparities among the trans community.
Vázquez collaborated with other drag queens to form Las AtreDivas, which organized and performed at Esta Noche.
The goal of the event was to raise funds to help the patients at Ward 5B at the San Francisco General Hospital.
[24] The film, "Viva 16" highlights the LatinX queer culture that was built in San Francisco against what was otherwise predominately white neighborhoods.
In 1982 the club hosted a Star-Spangled Variety Show which featured multiple gay latino artists such as Daniel Genera.
[27] Esta Noche hosted New Years Eve parties where they offered free champagne from 8 pm to 2 am for the visitors.
[28] In 2013, Esta Noche was threatened with closure, after the San Francisco Board of Supervisors adopted new laws related to licensing and permit fees.
[31] The closing was treated as a significant loss to community members, and the bar was generally perceived as another victim of gentrification.
In 2017, Esta Noche was part of an urban project by Xandra Ibarra, The Hook Up/Displacement/Barhopping/Drama Tour was an effort to revive 5 sites of queer displacement and gentrification in San Francisco.
Closer to the opening of the club, a visitor named George Jalbeert expressed their distaste for losing their jacket that they checked in before entering the building.
[38] Also, the female bartenders and lesbian visitors faced harassment at the club causing them to be further excluded from GALA meetings held at Esta Noche.
