Many people do not know that the original owners of The Parliament House Orlando were from Ybor City. The 2 Gay Lovers were once the owners of The World Famous El Goya Bar complex. https://www.facebook.com/elgoya The building was original the La Novedades http://www.tampapix.com/lasnovedades.htm Today this is the new Hotel Haya Ybor. Parliament House Icon Miss Vicky also worked here. It is a sad good bye to the P-House.
Catherine’s Grove 1998
The perfect Campy LGBT Halloween Movie! Filmed in Tampa, Central Florida and Miami Beach. How many of the local Drag Queens can you recognize?
Joey’s Show Will Go On Trailer
Staring Miss Joey Brooks and a special cameo by yours truly Tea Cup!!
In the early 1980’s we took our 1st trip to the Parliament House Orlando https://www.facebook.com/ParliamentHouseOrlando/ . We went with 2 older Gay friends. It was CRAZY FUN!!! Part Hotel, Part Bathhouse, Part Gay Bar Complex. Our friends pointed out that in the curtains there were cigarette holes burned in. These holds were used to peek out into the courtyard and not be seen. Let your imagination fill in the rest of the story. LOL P-House was where we also learned about “Balcony BINGO”. In 1998 The Suncoast Resort https://www.facebook.com/suncoast.resortmemories opened in St. Petersburg. Hum….. Many of the P-House traditions were also here. We owned the MC Film Fest Store at the Suncoast Resort. For all 9+ years. The Suncoast Resort closed in 2007 and The Parliament House in 2020. Years from now you will hear many stories about both resort hotels. The wilder and crazier the stores, the more likely truer they are! You Just Can Not Make This UP
The Foundation Coffee Company is moving into the former Bunker in Ybor City’
https://www.facebook.com/foundationcoffeeco
Ruben Sun Construction
This week Ruben Sun Construction installed a new floor in our Florida room. We have used Ruben many times before and highly recommend him and his staff. Give him a chance to bid on your next project. 813 357 4342 lopezruben313@gmail.com
Cesar Romerohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cesar_Romero was the Grandson of Jose Marti? Here are photos of him socializing with Ybor City Retirees during a Visit in 1977. Photos from Historic Images.
Every Wednesday the Ybor Wine Bar holds a wine tasting class. A group of 6 of us decided to give it a try and show some LOVE to the Wine bar. What a Fantastic night we had! We all sampled several wines and had food that goes with each. Michael explained what we should be tasting and where the wines were from. We were outside and lots of social distancing. On your next Double or Triple Date Night give this a try! Reservations are suggested (813) 999-4966. CHEERS
Tampa PRIDE
It is now even easier to donated to your community. Every time you show on Amazon do so thru Amazon Smile. Here are the easy steps.
To find an AmazonSmile Charity to donate 0.5% of your purchase to, go to:
Go to Smile.Amazon.com.
Go to Your Account from the navigation at the top of your page.
Select the option to Change your Charity.
Congratulations The Giunta Farm and Home.
It is official, the Giunta Farm and Homestead historic marker is up! We are so lucky to have not only the Farm designated a historic Local Landmark but also to count Vicki and Tessie Giunta as our neighbors. They are wonderful, warm and always willing to tell histories of growing up in Ybor City.
The Italian Cemetery in Ybor City
Remembering Sammy Campisi One Ybor Character that’s for sure. Nobody could tell a story like Sammy. One day Sammy gave us a tour of the cemetery. A few years later in 2009, we asked him to do it again, this time on film. Then a year later he passed away. Sammy is buried right in this Cemetery here that he was narrating as he joined the history at this place and his family. R.I.P. Our Good Friend.
Dreux describe himself as a Trans Bear. We all called him a Nice Guy. His family and friends came together at Centennial Park, in Ybor City for his celebration of life. With social distancing we all spread out and remembered the good times. Lucas Wehle performed several great songs on his guitar. It was one of the nicest celebrations of life that we had ever been to. Dreux died death by suicide.
Growing up my Mom was a Democrat and Dad was a Republican. Both were very old school. You don’t talk politics or religion outside the home. Every election day Mom would announce that she did her part and voted against my Dad. That way she canceled out his vote!!! He might be the head of the house but she had a voice too. This became a running joke in our family for years. GO MOM!!! After Mom passed away, I was talking to Dad. He had just been voting. Proudly Dad said that for the very 1st time his vote counted because Mom didn’t vote to cancel him out!!! LOL LOL I told him to be careful Mom was still watching him LOL. The next time he voted Dad told me that he voted for Barack Obama. I asked him why did he voted for a Democrat? Dad said because your Mom would have wanted me to do the right thing. Dad passed before the next election.
We live in the Ybor City area. Just like in any other neighborhood we put or recycling containers out to the curb for pick up. In our neighborhood sometimes people come and dig thru the cans to get aluminum cans and take them to the recycling places for cash. One day I had taken the can out to the curb when our doorbell rang. I opened the door and there was a guy who had just gone thru our trash. He politely said “Did you know that you’re supposed to break down your boxes? You have missed a couple.” I thanked him. WOW and you thought your neighbors were TOUGH!!!
