The Silver Platter may be the oldest existing Latinx bar for LGBTQ+ people in Los Angeles, but it\u2019s not just a bar; it\u2019s a living piece of local history.<\/p>\n
Established in 1963, the Silver Platter has served as a sanctuary for Spanish-speaking gay Latinos, transgender Latinas and working-class immigrants in the Westlake district. There, customers find community and acceptance for who they are.<\/p>\n
Yet now, after many years of supporting this diverse community, the bar faces demolition.<\/p>\n
On a typical Friday or Saturday night, the bar can expect up to 200 patrons, many of whom are longtime regulars. They catch up on neighborhood gossip, or sing along to pop, disco and Latin rock. Owner Margarita Xatruch not only cooks for her customers, but also acts as a surrogate mother of sorts.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor [many in] this community, they don\u2019t have family here, some [members of] our trans community don\u2019t have a family that accepts them,\u201d said Xatruch\u2019s daughter Martha Vasquez, who runs the bar with her mother. \u201cIt is a very hard and sad time, but to share a place or have somewhere to go, that you\u2019re not by yourself, brings a feeling of acceptance.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like the Hispanic [version of] \u2018Cheers\u2019 where everybody kind of knows everybody, but it\u2019s also a very welcoming space,\u201d Vasquez added, referencing the American sitcom.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Bar owner Margarita Xatruch, left, and her daughter Martha Vasquez at the Silver Platter, which has been named an Endangered Latinx Landmark by Latinos in Heritage Conservation.<\/p>\n
(Jill Connelly \/ For De Los)<\/p>\n
Last August, Vasquez was going to help her mother at the Silver Platter as usual, when she saw a note stating that the building would be demolished. She later learned the landlord intended to build affordable housing there. <\/p>\n
Vasquez was told she would be given an update at a later date, and in January, her family\u2019s business received an official eviction notice. Although they originally settled on a Nov. 30 move-out date, the landlord has extended their stay until March 1.<\/p>\n
Roussin Capital Group<\/a>, who owns the building, did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n Vasquez said the news of the demolition and eviction came as a shock to her and her mother. The bar had survived the Civil Rights movement; the Olympics in 1984 and the L.A. riots in 1992. The bar also helped sponsor the Lavender Left demonstration against police harassment in 1988. <\/p>\n The Silver Platter even endured a shutdown during the first 18 months of the COVID-19 pandemic; as well as the occasional spikes in crime, followed by the rampant ICE raids<\/a> this summer.<\/p>\n While the owners signed a lease to another location in Westlake, they are still looking to City Council, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Neighborhood Council to grant them a conditional use permit in order to reopen, which requires up to $22,000 for a nonrefundable application fee and up to 18 months to get approved. <\/p>\n The Silver Platter has ample support in the community, including from the Los Angeles Conservancy, the Latinos in Heritage Conservation, the Museum of Neon Art, the TransLatin@ Coalition and a local school, in addition to their loyal patrons.<\/p>\n \u201c[The] Silver Platter is the fabric of the community,\u201d Vasquez said. \u201c[Our] neighborhood is really a first-generation immigrant community. They\u2019re basically telling us what Trump is saying: \u2018You don\u2019t belong in these spaces. If you want to get relocated, or if you want to stay in this neighborhood, you better get in line like everybody else.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n LAPD Rampart Station Sgt. Anthony Kong said that the space where Vasquez and her mother are trying to relocate Silver Platter has been vacant for three years and has had no problems during that time \u2014 nor have there been any issues with the Silver Platter.<\/p>\n Vasquez said she is hoping to preserve some aspects of the Silver Platter by bringing them to the new building. She is working with the Museum of Neon Art to restore the iconic \u201cSilver Platter\u201d sign that is perched just above the building\u2019s entrance, as it has taken some damage over the years. They hope to move the sign and the bar table itself to the new bar.<\/p>\n Rosalie Rodriguez buys a hot dog outside the Silver Platter.<\/p>\n (Jill Connelly \/ For De Los)<\/p>\n The demolition was recently approved by the City Council. Vasquez said that, although they have the authority to waive the application fee or public hearing, the City Council declined. Waiving the hearing would have allowed the Silver Platter to reopen in its new location in four months, instead of what could be 18 months. Vasquez said she hopes they will redeem themselves by approving the permits for the Silver Platter to reopen.<\/p>\n \u201cThey can really deny us, they can say, \u2018No, we\u2019re not going to allow you to relocate,\u2019 and that\u2019s it,\u201d Vasquez said. \u201cThat\u2019s the end of an era. That\u2019s the end of the oldest Latinx LGBTQ+ bar in the Westlake district, and it\u2019s done.\u201d<\/p>\n Recognizing the Silver Platter\u2019s historic legacy within the Latinx and LGBTQ+ communities in Los Angeles, the Latinos in Heritage Conservation<\/a>, which was established in 2014 to help support Latinx preservation, got involved and named the Silver Platter one of the top 13 endangered Latinx landmarks<\/a> in the country.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we lose a landmark, we\u2019re not just losing a brick building; we\u2019re losing a history, we\u2019re losing a memory,\u201d said Sehila Mota Casper, executive director of the Latinos in Heritage Conservation. \u201cWe\u2019re losing stories, we\u2019re losing community identity.\u201d<\/p>\n Mota Casper said there are many sites across the country that are being demolished, like the Silver Platter, because the history and value isn\u2019t recognized. In the National Register of Historic Places<\/a>, less than 1% of sites listed there are representative of Latino heritage, despite Latinos making up 20% of the U.S. population.<\/p>\n In addition to the Silver Platter, the Latinos in Heritage Conservation also included the the Elgin Mexican Cemetery<\/a> in Texas, which is where many Latinos who migrated during the early 20th century are buried, but the area is threatened by flooding, and Las Barracas<\/a>, a World War II-era building where bracero workers would stay as they supported the troops, but is now abandoned, facing deterioration and vandalized.<\/p>\n \u201cIf our sites aren\u2019t designated, if they\u2019re not protected, then they will be demolished,\u201d Mota Casper said. \u201cSo the designation of it, or the overlooking of this history and the valuation of it, creates threats every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n Aracely Cruz dances with Angel Garcia at the Silver Platter.<\/p>\n (Jill Connelly \/ For De Los)<\/p>\n For Cris Davila, a regular patron at Silver Platter, \u201cthat bar is like my home.\u201d<\/p>\n When Davila first started coming to the Silver Platter five years ago, she instantly felt welcome. She was drawn to the bar because she knew it supports the Latinx LGBTQ+ community, and as a bisexual immigrant from Honduras, she was seeking community. She doesn\u2019t have family in the U.S., but she says her family in Honduras didn\u2019t accept her either.<\/p>\n After long work weeks, Davila likes to go to the Silver Platter to relax, sing and enjoy time with friends. While everyone in the bar has been very welcoming, Davila said it is especially the owner, Xatruch, who makes the place special.<\/p>\n On Holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving, Xatruch cooks for the patrons. Davila said that Xatruch also cooked her barbecue ribs at the Silver Platter for her birthday.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve made many friends, I\u2019m accepted by everyone who goes there,\u201d Davila said. \u201cI feel very welcome and loved by the people who have visited, by the owner and by the staff.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs a person alone in this country, it makes me really sad that this place will be demolished,\u201d Davila added.<\/p>\n Julio Castillo works his way across the dance floor at the Silver Platter.<\/p>\n (Jill Connelly \/ For De Los)<\/p>\n Julio Castillo, who has been a regular for 10 years, also enjoys spending the holidays at the Silver Platter. He particularly likes the fiesta Xatruch throws at the bar on Nochebuena, as she cooks a feast for everyone. At midnight, they all embrace.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m glad they are attempting to relocate, but we were already used to being in that business location that treated us good,\u201d Castillo said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very important to preserve the bar; it\u2019s a place where we can be ourselves in this moment. I wish it wouldn\u2019t get demolished so we could keep going there.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Silver Platter may be the oldest existing Latinx bar for LGBTQ+ people in Los Angeles, but it\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":385570,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[19958,9102,1582,276,718,184212,246,184215,2961,27382,86339,224,5337,60448,6566,184211,184214,49020,184213],"class_list":{"0":"post-385569","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-bar","9":"tag-building","10":"tag-ca","11":"tag-california","12":"tag-community","13":"tag-cris-davila","14":"tag-family","15":"tag-heritage-conservation","16":"tag-la","17":"tag-latinos","18":"tag-local-history","19":"tag-los-angeles","20":"tag-losangeles","21":"tag-many-year","22":"tag-place","23":"tag-silver-platter","24":"tag-surrogate-mother","25":"tag-vasquez","26":"tag-xatruch"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115565971207861805","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=385569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385569\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/385570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=385569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=385569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=385569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} <\/p>\n
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