ABSTRACT
Introduction July 20, 2000, was a Thursday, often a slow night for entertainment. But at Chamizal in Los Angeles, a sizable audience of male-female couples, groups of friends, and even a family celebrating a child’s birthday had turned out and stayed late for the floorshow. As a female impersonator who had just finished a bawdy send-up of the singer Paquita la del Barrio glided off the dance floor, the master of ceremonies introduced the next artista (“performer”) as “la más jota-digo la mascota de cuanto cuesta el show. BETO” (“The biggest faggot-I mean the mascot of the show … BETO”). As “Beto el Chistólogo” (“Beto the Jokologist”) entered from a narrow hall that led to restrooms and the kitchen, he threw his head back, opened his mouth wide, filled his lungs with air, and called out in a voice that could be heard at the restaurant’s farthest end.
