In a dark world over a decade before Stonewall, the State, Police, and Military entrapped, arrested, and beat gays, lesbians, trans* people, and drag queens on a daily basis. One tiny Latinx sissy stood in high heels and fought the police with a song.
Development Art; The Black Cat Cafe at Night, a 3D rendering by Jomai DeHaven.
A noire-styled feature-length anime, The Widow Empress tells the real-life history of how a tiny brown sissy and a Holocaust survivor stood together against the Governor of California, the Mayor, and the Police Department of San Francisco, setting the place for a world where LGBTQI2S+ people could congregate freely and without fear. Too large-for-life to be a queen, José declared himself to be the Empress, widow of the Emperor Norton (an extravagant San Francisco figure who actually died well before José was born).
Development Art; José in a blue dress with a sequined purse, illustration by Jomai DeHaven
José set the tone for San Francisco’s gay community (and the LGBTQI2S+ culture of the United States in general) with his joyous, irreverent drag shows that parodied popular operas of the day. He encouraged people to stand up and fight in court when they were arrested for being Gay, Lesbian, or Trans, when most people just pled guilty to make the scandal fade away quietly.
José's boss, Sol Stoumen, helped make that possible. A Holocaust survivor himself, Sol provided legal protection to the patrons of his bar. The two of them together changed the LGBTQI2S+ community forever, setting the scene for a brand new concept that the community would eventually call Pride.
José's boss, Sol Stoumen, helped make that possible. A Holocaust survivor himself, Sol provided legal protection to the patrons of his bar. The two of them together changed the LGBTQI2S+ community forever, setting the scene for a brand new concept that the community would eventually call Pride.
José's parody anthem, “God Save Us Nelly Queens,” was his ultimate weapon, as he united the community, holding hands and singing, in defiance of the police and their brutal tactics. The community said, “no more,” standing behind this tiny Latinx man in drag.
José went on to become the US’s first openly gay candidate for office, before Harvey Milk. He also founded one of the world’s largest LGBTQI+ organizations, the Imperial Court, a decentralized, nonprofit fund-raising system that still thrives today around the world.
