On a more amusing note, my Sunday cartoon above, written by my comics partner, Wayno, and illustrated by me, metaphorically describes a funny story that happened to me in Mexico many years ago.
I lived in Texas in my twenties, and my best friend was a Mexican-American. He invited me to go to Mexico City with him for a few days, and I accepted. It was my first visit to this country.
We wandered the city and visited many of the fascinating historical and cultural spots, including Chapultepec Park, the world-famous Museum of Anthropology, the enormous central plaza (El Zócalo), under which they had only just discovered and begun excavating the Templo Mayor, now an amazing underground museum of the main Aztec temple that the Spanish destroyed and replaced with a Catholic cathedral. (Imperialism at its worst.)
A major highlight of the trip was a visit outside the city to the great pyramids of Teotihuacan.
Another major highlight occurred later that night…
Because we were in our twenties and still had energy after dark, we decided to look for a club to go to after dinner.
Wandering the crowded streets, we spotted a nightclub with large posters outside advertising elaborately dressed chorus girls. It looked like something from the early days of nightclub floor shows, so we decided to give it a try.
Seated at a small table near the front of the stage, we sipped our cocktails, chatted, and waited for the show to begin. As curtain time approached, I looked around at the other audience members—well-dressed couples mostly—and began to sense something odd. As I looked more closely, I realized that everyone in the audience was male. Including the “women.”
I leaned over and whispered this to my friend just as the show began, and yes, it was a drag queen club. We got a terrific laugh out of our naivete, settled in, and enjoyed the show.
I can’t help but wonder if anyone else in the audience was watching us as we figured it out. It must have been hilarious.
Olive Oyl and I love Mexico City and have visited at least once a year since we moved here. I think of it as a tropical New York City. We still haven’t experienced all there is to see and do there, but we’ll keep at it.
When Wayno suggested this comic to me decades later, he knew nothing about my drag show story, but the memory of it, combined with my love of Tiki culture, made this a terrifically fun comic to draw.
English (US) · 