Mixing It Up at Studs

The Grand Finale for the So, You Think You Can RISE? talent competition is this Sunday at Teatro Vallarta at 7 pm. It has become, in four years, one of the most important events of the season. Not just to raise money for the RISE Children’s Shelter but also to galvanize our entertainment community.

I finally got to see the upstairs part of Studs Bear Bar last night at the O&A Gay Mixer. The low ceilings, black walls and red lighting, oh, and the cages and a long divan up at the back overlooking godknowswhat. When Mike Owens moved to Vallarta and opened Therapy, it quickly became one of my favorite bars in town. Studs, Vallarta’s first leather bar, was upstairs and was exclusively for guys. Within a year, the demand for more space, outed Therapy, and the whole place became Studs. Hey, when something works, right?

The Mixer last night was the busiest one all season. The publisher of Out & About Puerto Vallarta magazine, Jerry Jones, will have the numbers later; it will be in the high hundreds. The fabulous Jet De La Isla, co-producer of these prodigious events with Jerry, held court just inside the front door and introduced me to a couple of harnessed go-go dancers.

The new hotdog place up Basilio Badillo – Salchidogo – provided snacks throughout the night; two waiters were kept busy running back and forth with enormous trays, trying to keep up with demand.

Another extremely successful event, well-done everybody. I had to leave early to get to Act2PV for a 7 pm show, but I had a second with owner Mike Owens and asked him, “So, Mike, tell me what really goes on upstairs in the middle of the night.” He looked at me and, with a face full of sincerity, said, “We have bible studies. Lots of bible studies.”

I swear my laughter carried me the entire block to Act2.