Casa Susanna
Casa Susanna was a popular weekend destination in
History
Maria purchased the 150 acre property in the mid 1950s; originally, the Valentis had dubbed it
Hidden away in the rural Catskills, Casa Susanna provided much needed privacy to its guests, in a time when public cross-dressing was a criminal offense across most of America.[4] However, guests occasionally visited the town of Hunter to shop, where they were met by a range of reactions. Some were negative, but many locals saw them as reliable customers.[4] Casa Susanna was a haven for its guests to celebrate their "inner girl" without persecution, and acted as an important space within which guests were allowed to comfortably and happily participate in activities such as gardening and board games whilst expressing their gender identity or inner desire to cross-dress.[5]
Most guests at Casa Susanna were married, and considered themselves heterosexual men who enjoyed cross-dressing, but many others later identified as transgender and lived out their lives as women, including Virginia Prince and Susanna herself.[1]
Casa Susanna also offered photography, having appointed one of their guests, Andrea Susan, as their official photographer. In doing so, the Valentis avoided the possibility of sending the negatives to a professional developer who might later call the police, and allowed for affirming photographs of their guests to be taken as a souvenir and as a source of affirmation for their gender expression.
Andrea took many photographs of her fellow guests and developed them at home;
Influence
The book
Casa Susanna, a documentary film by Sébastien Lifshitz, debuted at the 79th Venice International Film Festival.[8]
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Google Maps". Retrieved April 22, 2019.
- ^ Susanna Valenti (born Tito, a name which she went by for many years) immigrated to the United States from Latin America in the mid-1940s. She wrote numerous articles for Virginia Prince's Transvestia. Susanna's time and place of death are unknown: the last known mention of her was her contribution to the 100th issue of Transvestia in 1979.
- ^ Zagria (February 1, 2012). "Susanna Valenti (192? - ?) translator, broadcaster, activist". A Gender Variance Who's Who. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
- ^ a b Blotcher, Jay (March 29, 2007). "Queens of the Catskills". Chronogram. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
- ^ "Casa Susanna: Photographs From a 1950s Transvestite Hideaway". Time. April 14, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
- ^ a b Denny, Dallas (May 10, 2014). "The Historical Roots of Casa Valentina". Chrysalis Quarterly. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
- ^ Evans, Suzy (May 17, 2014). "Tonys: Harvey Fierstein Talks 'Casa Valentina' Transvestites, Drag and the 'Sexually Normal' (Q&A)". Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023.
- ^ Jude Dry, "'Casa Susanna' Review: A Lost Chapter of Queer History Comes to Life". IndieWire, September 3, 2022.