Cafe con Leche (Sunday party)

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Cafe con Leche vintage invitation

Cafe con Leche was a weekly Sunday night party held at various nightclubs in New York City. The party's span as a weekly event was over seven years and continues to be celebrated, with its 28th anniversary having taken place at The Q Club in New York City on Sunday, June 27, 2021.

Cheetah
(formerly Sound Factory Bar) on July 11, 1999.

History and legacy

Cafe con Leche was famous in New York nightlife for its iconic latin house and tribal house music and for its notorious, seductive "mixed crowd," which attracted all sexual identities and heritages.[2][3] Many top producers, DJs, promoters, artists, celebrities, and personalities frequented the party.[4][5] In addition, the night is recognized by many New York and non-New York nightclub veterans as the "best party" or "legendary" because of its lifespan, diverse crowd, and music.

Nightclubs

The party was best known when it was at

Cheetah (formerly Sound Factory Bar), Twirl, and Carbon
.

Music and dance

From the inception, Cafe con Leche hosted many renowned DJs including Lord G, Derrik Foxx, Kris Spirit, Merritt, Junior O,

R&B
community. This legion had a separate dance area at locations and usually blended with the main room congregation.

The dance floors of Cafe con Leche were often filled to capacity with dancers who excelled in Dance: Professional dancers,

percussionists
, and local house music entertainers.

Demographics

The demographics of the crowd consisted of both young and older gay, straight, bisexual, and transsexual peoples. Although many races and ethnicities were present, a disproportionate number of

Puerto Rican Americans
patronized the party.

Creators and key people

Cafe, as many called it, was started by Joseph Sheridan (Joey Sheridan or Joey S.) and Naudio Feliz. Numerous promoters and hosts affiliated with the party and helped maintain the unusual diversity, in particular, Lisa Collins and Diane Lloyd (production managers),

Angel Melendez, Dalila, Asia, Bob Tillary, Steve Rodriguez, and Jason (Alvarez). The fashion illustrator, Alvaro, collaborated with the party from the beginning, and his artwork appeared on most of the invitations.[11] Other visual artists that contributed to the party included Andre Charles and Alex Arcadia. Robert Hawkins
, famously created a haunted house.

The Night had drag queen hostesses documenting and supporting the crowd via microphone; the original hostess was Perfidia (Steven Kirkham), followed by Joey Rolon.[12] An example of this style of hosting can be obtained through the Cafe con Leche production entitled, "A Night At Cafe Con Leche," which released on April 29, 1997, on RCA, International.[13] Guest drag hosts included Delores, Codie “Ravioli” Leone and HRH Princess Diandra. Guest door personalities included Jose Xtravaganza and Chanel Xtravaganza.

Mission and support

From the beginning, Cafe con Leche's cultural mission was to create diversity and tolerance within the existing club scene. According to press interviews, the founder, Joey Sheridan, a

Buddhist, believed he was responding to the spirit of Keith Haring, artist, when establishing the event. He saw in the Latin culture (that Cafe's partner, Naudio brought to the event,) a perfect cultural bridge.[14] Also, the party associates its success from the support of the House of Xtravaganza and the House of Field. The party presented and supported diverse cultural arts, from dance troupes to spoken word artists, such as Emanuel Xavier
.

The last years

In the last years, Cafe con Leche divided into two parties: Cafe con Leche and Cafe Futuro. On July 21, 1998, a deadly scaffolding collapse on 4 Times Square (the

Kit Kat Klub until September 1998.[15] This same week, Cafe Futuro was born, holding its first event at the Carbon
nightclub.

In the month of September 1998, Cafe con Leche ensued its weekly party at the

Kit Kat Klub
, facing restructuring obstacles and later moving to Speeed, a defunct nightclub located on 20 West 39th Street.

The new Cafe Futuro opted for

Cheetah
after Cafe Futuro's demise and held its last party on July 11, 1999.

Cafe Futuro traversed many venues during the Summer and Fall of 1999. It ended its last party on December 31, 1999, at the Spa nightclub (formerly System) on 76 East 13th Street. This last night was promoted with a flyer, in honor of

Jesus Christ
.

Invites and distribution

The weekly party was known for its massive street distribution of flyers/invites, which was controlled by an affiliated promotion company called "Urban Works," that both created and promoted events at many New York City nightclubs. The invitations were usually different each week, and thousands of flyers/invites were collated and distributed throughout specific neighborhoods in Manhattan daily. The core distribution areas:

Furthermore, invites were left at essential businesses, which included record shops and boutiques. During the late nights and early mornings (1:30 a.m. - 6:30 a.m.+), the prints were circulated both outside and inside nightclubs such as

Roxy, Limelight, Palladium, Carbon, Club USA, Sound Factory (46th Street), and Twilo
.

See also

  • LGBT culture in New York

References

  1. ^ New York, TimeOut. "Cafe Con Leche Fund-Raising Reunion", TimeOut New York, New York, 16 May 2010. Retrieved on 7 December 2012
  2. ISBN 0819564982
    .
  3. ^ Redding, Mary. "Greetings From Club Land....Where Every Night is Late-night", New York Daily News, New York, 03 October 1997. Retrieved on 7 December 2012
  4. ^ Sanders, F. Gordon. "So Where is the Party? Depends on the Day of the Week", New York Times, New York, 21 July 1996. Retrieved on 7 December 2012
  5. ^ Gossip, Undercover. "GOSSIP and SURVEILLANCE", New York Daily News, New York, 11 June 1997. Retrieved on 7 December 2012
  6. ^ Sales, Jo Nancy (1997). "The New Cocaine Culture", p. 28. New York Magazine, New York, 01 September 1997.
  7. ^ Lambert, Bruce. "NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: THE VILLAGES; For Now, All's Quiet At Mr. Fuji's", New York Times, New York, 27 February 1994. Retrieved 10 December 2012
  8. ^ O, Junior, and Mix, Quick Prince. "It's Over EP", Discogs.com, AV8 Records, New York, 1996. Retrieved on 13 December 2012
  9. ^ Rolon, Joey. "Cafe con Leche", Discogs.com, AV8 Records, New York, 1997. Retrieved on 13 December 2012
  10. ^ Fuentes, Franklin. "Franklin Fuentes, Artist", Discogs.com, New York, Retrieved 9 December 2012
  11. ^ Arts, Alvaro. "Alvaro, Painter/Illustrator", New York, Retrieved 9 December 2012
  12. ^ Rolon, Joey. "Joey Rolon, Artist", Discogs.com, New York, Retrieved 9 December 2012
  13. ^ Leche con, Cafe. "A Night At Cafe Con Leche", All Music, Rovi, Michigan, Retrieved on 10 December 2012
  14. ^ Lewis, Steve. "Sunday Celebrates 25 Years of Keith Haring's Party of Life" Archived 2013-10-04 at the Wayback Machine, Blackbook Magazine, New York, 12 May 2010. Retrieved on 9 December 2012
  15. ^ Greenhouse, Steven. "CONSTRUCTION COLLAPSE IN TIMES SQUARE: THE ACCIDENT; Scaffold Collapses, Paralyzing Times Square", New York Times, New York, 22 July 1998. Retrieved on 14 December 2012
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