Pageant for Gay Latino Cowboys

Gay cowboys have been strutting their stuff in Oakland, CA, since long before Brokeback Mountain made it cool.

This week, Mr. Gay Vaquero 2007 was crowned in a downtown Oakland club after a month-long pageant.

The Oakland Tribune wrote about the final stage of the contest, which has been organized for the last seven years by Bench and Bar, a popular gay Latino club that draws large numbers of immigrants, mainly Mexican.

The pageant aims to continue the rodeo spirit through cultural traditions such as ballet folklorico and cow-roping that originate from the rural Mexican states of Jalisco and Michoacan, said Munoz. It is unique, however, because Mr. Gay Vaquero contestants are free to serenade their boyfriends and have drag queens do backup as well.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am predisposed to love just about anything coming out of Oakland, having lived there for many years. I knew Bench and Bar as a place immigrant friends of mine discovered as a safe space for them to be “out” whether or not they were out in other areas of their lives (i.e. at work or with family).

Tribune reporter Alison Satake found the same thing:

“Antonio Rios is 24,” said the worker from the avocado orchards of Michoacan, Mexico, who is actually 21. He assumes this fake identity when he goes to gay clubs.

“I don’t like using my personal name because my family and straight friends don’t know I’m gay. And, people might come looking for me at work too.”

…

As the only gay Mexican cowboy pageant in the Bay Area, the club’s owner, Alex Loera, said of the contestants, “(It) helps them be who they want to be.”

Here’s a link to Bench and Bar’s website for more information.