Esta Noche was founded by two openly gay community members, Anthony Lopez and Manuel Quijano. It is historically placed as the first gay Latino gay bar, and it has significance due to the discrimination LGBT people of color faced in traditionally popular white gay bars, especially in the Castro district. LGBT peopleof color often experienced racial slurs, microaggressions, and fetishization, as the bars where LGBT people were able to socialize and party were mostly dominated by white men. LGBT people of color were often asked to show multiple forms of identification in these spaces. In addition, Latino men in those spaces would experience racist remarks as well as being overly fetishized for their culture. These experiences led to the creation of Esta Noche. The co-founder of the group Gay American Indians, Randy Burns, said that the frustration at this discrimination was also what led his group to form, and members often met at Esta Noche. Esta Noche also has its roots in the Gay Latino Alliance, as one of the GALA members sold their house to buy the bar. GALA and Esta Noche worked together in advertising the space as the gay Latino bar of the Mission District in San Francisco, which ultimately resurfaced tensions that the organization was dealing with. With the establishment of Esta Noche came the shift of gay Latino representation from GALA to the bar life.
Culture
Esta Noche is defined as a "working-class" bar. The bar served more than people looking for a good time and party; it also provided an important space for those seeking to network with other LGBT people of color. Esta Noche has been defined as a "community organizing center and host to many fundraisers for health clinics, people with AIDS, and other lower-income populations." The bar gave room for comedy nights where famous Latina comedian Marga Gomez starred. Esta Noche was also famously known for their drag shows; there were sometimes even six shows a week. A popular drag show was the Selena nights, in which drag queens dressed and performed as Selena. Another notable person that Esta Noche collaborated with was Diane Felix. People who went to the bar recalled it as a space where people of color, Latinos in particular, could come together and have a space where they would not receive racist discrimination or homophobia.
In 2013, Esta Noche was threatened with closure, after the San Francisco Board of Supervisors adopted new laws related to licensing and permit fees. The club launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo, but it was unable to secure enough funds to stay open. In early 2014, it was announced the club was closing down. The closing was treated as a significant loss to community members, and the bar was generally perceived as another victim of gentrification. Many efforts were made to stop the closing of the bar; for example the "queens of San Francisco drag queens, Heklina and Anna Conda spearheaded a fundraiser to try to save the venue in May 2014. However, they were unable to save the bar. The closing of the bar has been tied to the increasing of property tax in the area, which has caused gentrification. Gentrification has also affected many other Latino bars, which have had to close. By 1997, Esta Noche was the only Latino-owned bar standing in 16th Street. Bond, another night club, now sits in place of Esta Noche.
