Where machismo is a wallflower
Tony Colpera is the director of the Friday- and Saturday-night shows at Plaza nightclub. When asked if his performers identified as female or male, the white-sequined-T-shirt-clad Colpera replied with a laugh, “They identify as drag queens.” He went on to say they are boys by day and girls by night.
Historically speaking, the term “drag queen” likely came about from the hoop skirts worn in the 18th century that dragged on the ground. The derogatory term “queen,” meant to describe homosexuals, is thought to have originated in the 19th century, owing to the affected speech of both royalty and gay men. In general, a modern-day drag queen is not transgender or transvestite – but a man who dresses up as a woman for the purposes of performance and entertainment.
Info
Address 739 N La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90038, +1 323.939.0703 | Getting there Metered and unmetered street parking | Hours Daily 9pm–2am; shows at 10:15pm and midnight except Tue & Wed| Tip There’s nothing like late-night eating in LA. Grab a hot dog at the iconic Hollywood food stand, Pink’s (709 N La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90039), just a few doors down from Plaza.
Plaza lets visitors experience a micro-culture unique to Los Angeles. The nightclub has been around for 40 years and for most of that time the stage has been graced by not just drag queens, but specifically Latino drag queens. This bears mentioning, since being perceived as gay in what’s known to be a very machismo culture can be tough at best and life-threatening at worst. (Latinos and LGBTQ are top recipients of hate crimes in LA, according to the 2014 Los Angeles Hate Crime Report.)
The performers are earnest and put on a very committed show, full of hyper-feminine, glamorous gusto, strutting in front of, sparkly curtains. The club is spacious, with an unusually long wooden bar. The musical choices range from Latino love songs to 1970s pop. While the music can be raucous, the crowd tends to be chill and full of both men and women. Audience members sip on incredibly reasonably priced drinks, and with the cash saved, might slip a bill or two into the ladies’ tops. Many of the performers have day jobs at fast-food chains, but come nightfall, they transform themselves into sequined, made-up, exuberant divas.
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