Episode 4: Chela Plush

I first heard about Chela Plush and her club The Plush Pony several years ago. I never got the chance to go to the plush pony but I was reminded of her again when the Los Angeles Times wrote an article about Chela, the Plush Pony and photographer Laura Aguilar in November of 2017. She was a trailblazer that opened one of the only latina lesbian bars in the 90s. I wanted to interview Chela because she's an icon in the Chicana/Latina lesbian community with a history that spans over 30 years of creating a latina lesbian queer culture in LA. I went to her club Cancun Ole in East L.A. to invite her and she warmly agreed to be part of the Latina LesBi y Que podcast. She had one condition though, which was to be interviewed in Spanish. I loved this idea because it represents the diversity in age, language and immigration experience of Latina Queer women in L.A. This interview is conducted in Spanish and will not be translated to English because I don't have the budget for that right now, so this is a shout out to anyone that would like to volunteer to transcribe and translate this recording, we need your help. You can email us atlatinabilesbian@gmail.com. Interviewing chela in Spanish was a real treat because we become teary eyed and choked up at times when we talk about love and friendship and working for your community. Conversations in Spanish somehow strike at a part of our hearts and minds that are formed by the love that we learned in Spanish. Most of us were raised in Spanish and we learned how to love in Spanish, so when we communicate in Spanish it takes us there, to that part of our soul that can only be reached con el amor y en espanol. It was my honor to hear and document her story. Resources for further reference: Latina Lesbian & Bi Amigas Meetup Link Stories of the Plush Pony: Artist Laura Aguilar's portraits capture a lost era at a working class lesbian bar Chela Plush Social Media Instagram @plushchela

You can listen to Episode 4: Chela Plush online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Episode 4: Chela Plush is an episode from Latina LesBi y Que Podcast by Veronica Obregon.

This episode is 51:14 long.

This episode was published on Aug 31, 2018.

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