If there is one show you really don’t want to miss its Monica Palacios’ San Francisco, Mi Amor! Playing this weekend at Brava Theater Center, San Francisco April 28 & 29, 2023. 7:30PM.
I saw the show and was rolling in the aisles at the hilarity of Monica’s take the early days in SF when we were all baby dykes trying to be badass lesbians. Not to mention the moment when she names me and my ex, claiming we were trying to get a three-way going with her ex- Marga Gomez. in the 1980s..Is it true? You be the judge, HAHA!
In Monica’s own words — the show is about “The 80s: Queer Comedy, Taquerias, The Castro, The Mission, Mullets & Shoulder Pads So Wide You Can Fly!”
From The Brave Theater website:
Renowned Chicana lesbian writer/performer Monica Palacios presents her solo show: San Francisco, Mi Amor!, about the start of her queer comedy career and activism in San Francisco during the 1980s. A challenging decade to be an out Chicana lesbian comic as AIDS is front page news, causing mass hysteria and shining a negative light on the LGBTQ community. Monica takes this bleak time in history and shares her triumphant story about being one of the first Chicana lesbian comics performing at the Valencia Rose Cabaret, the first gay comedy club in the nation. She’s also a Film Student at San Francisco State University trying to figure out how to take social justice courses from Angela Davis. Monica is happily living with her lesbian sister, Eleanor—double dyke familia! Palacios is enchanted by and lusts after the women making her burritos at Taqueria La Cumbre. Her day job is waitressing at a funky Mexican restaurant at the tourist trap Pier 39 and she reminisces about birthing the comedy troupe Culture Clash. Monica meets and auditions for actor Edward James Olmos on 24th Street during a Dia de Los Muertos festival and also shares stories of grooming her lesbian mullet and mucho mucho mas! Throughout the play, projected images will be shown from this time period: funky first hand-made flyers, headshots, business cards, newspaper clippings and other memorabilia.
San Francisco’s Latino Mission District was a hot spot for this blossoming lesbian comedian performing at what are now historical queer and queer friendly venues such as the Valencia Rose Cabaret, ground zero for the Queer Comedy Movement; Artemis Cafe, a lesbian restaurant and space; Amelia’s, a lesbian bar and the Galeria de La Raza, an art gallery. Monica and a handful of LGBTQ comics were bravely performing despite the homophobic atmosphere. Palacios stood out amongst her peers with her unique brand of Chicana lesbian humor focusing on nationality and sexuality in one breath.
San Francisco, Mi Amor!, is a comedic look back at a pioneering career during a remarkable time in LGBTQ and Chicana history.
Buy tickets ASAP. Limited seating.
TIX: https://www.brava.org/all-events/sf-mi-amor
