To mark the 50th Anniversary of Stonewall Inn Riots, gay historian/academic and author of Welcome to Fairyland : Queer Miami before Julio Capó Jr. has curated a new exhibit at HistoryMiami Museum . Queer Miami : A History of LGBTQ Communities traces our community from its roots to the current day.
Queerguru took a trip to the Museum to check out this stunning exhibit during Miami Beach Pride Week and talked to Prof. Capo about what Queer Miami means to us all.
The interview was conducted by Roger Walker-Dack and filmed by Richard Bolton at History Miami Museum
ZORITA was an American burlesque performer in the 1940s/50s whose act included two boa constrictors. She became very well known for pushing the limits of acceptable nudity and for her unique and controversial numbers, such as the ‘Half and Half’. She dressed one half of her body as a groom and the other as a bride, and, keeping one side to the audience, began to undress each other, leading to the ‘wedding night romp’. In another, an unseen ‘spider’ removed her clothes whilst she danced in front of a rhinestone-covered spiderweb.
Although she was queer she was however married, the first time at 15, and divorced three times. A famous quote of hers is that she stripped for men, but preferred women. Her fascinating and compelling story may not have the gravitas of many more conventional queer historical figures, but it still makes a significant contribution as to how the LGBTQ+ community would evolve
“Zorita Takes Miami” ExhibitionCurated by Julio Capó Jr.
UNTIL MAY 9thStonewall National Museum, Archives & Libraryinfo @stonewall-museum.org
Author queerguruPosted on Categories queerguru.tv
Queerguru took a trip to the Museum to check out this stunning exhibit during Miami Beach Pride Week and talked to Prof. Capo about what Queer Miami means to us all.