Before
spiriting off to Prague with CHEAP, one of my dearest, oldest
girlfriends from the old days Ms. Alice Bag came to Berlina to visit
lil olde nelly me.
I've
known Missy Alice aka Alicia Armandariz Velasquez before the rains of
Ranchipur and floods of Gegamesch. The queen of LA punk rock and her
young mega chorizo husband Jailbait took a pitstop in Berlin before
their major holiday in Budapest. Its been over ten years since we've last seen each other, but we easily picked up where we left off. Alice or
Sad Girl her name in our band Cholita, the Female Menudo, looks healthy and very beautiful with her hair in a bright pink bob.
She came
bearing gifts of the Magi in the form of her new self titled LP which I can't
wait to add to my playlist when I Djane at events. The record was 40
years in the making as Alice has never put out a formal release in
her 4 decades long career as a pioneering feminist musician and
artiste extroidinaire. Hard to believe but true.
I
love how Alice keeps herself current with connections with younger
musicians and students mentoring at college & universities
throughout the U.S. She also brought me a plethora of new
generation zines with titles like Pizza Face, The Undesirable Black
Girl, Trans Lives Matter, Post-Depression Blues, Mala, I'm a Trap
Girl, Noche de Jotiar and the self esteem and body issue pictoral by
one of my most gifted LA children now all grown up into a lovesexy
young man and creative juggernaut Rudy Bleu. Alice also gave me a
copy of Rudy's beyond genius Chicano pinga y nalgas mix tape Sancho
Saturday Night. Orale Mijo!
Alice y Jailbait will come back through Berlin after Budapest, so hopefully we can spend more time with each other catching up on every little thing like her tour of the USA.
The
next morning I was in a good mood and off to Prague with CHEAP fearless leader Susanne
Sachsse and Marcuse Siegelstein on what must have been one of the
hottest days of the year. The four hour train ride was smooth, and I
simply adored the mid century Communista Park Hotel where all the
party leaders would host their whorgies.
Handsome
highcheekboned Jacob of the Goethe Institut Praha picked us up from
the hotel promptly at noon and took us to a festive luncheon at the
cute traditional food cafe Potrefena Husa. I had been told that the
food in Prague wasn't very good, but we all liked what was put before
us scarfing it down with abandonment. We weren't staying in the
touristy section of the city, but in an area that was outside of the
olde town and was pretty empty as the locals hightail it to their
summer cabins. Jacob took us to an old amusement park that was pure carny
heaven like in the 1978 film starring Jodie Foster and Gary Busey. I even braved the rickity analog funhaus and dangerous bumber cars,
that have no padding so when you collide its immediate trauma for
your knees and neck. There was no way I was getting on the roller
coaster which I didn't think could handle my enormous two tons of fun.
It was nice to be able to do something other then just work, but
since we weren't on holiday we did go straight into workmode meeting
with Pavel Bicek the young director of the Mezipatra Queer Film
Festival and his charming crew to check out the space at the oppulent
Lucerna Theatre. Because of the hot weather I found myself melting
away while we were being escorted around town looking at site
specific locations. I was starving by the time Jacob took us to
dinner at the delightful Peperoncino Restaurant where we sat in the
expansive garden. Joining us for dindin was Adam Budak the head
curator of the National Gallery. Adam has been a CHEAP supporter for
over a decade having brought CHEAP to Poland back in 2003. It was
lovely having a reunion with him and enjoying a Czech feast.
Poor
Fearless Leader Susi was suffering from a summer cold, but she didn't
let that detract or derail her. She is the ultimate trooper. We also
enjoyed a delightful meal at a small boite near the hotel called U
Zlatych Rucicek Restaurant. Adam gave Marcuse and I a private tour
of the giant National Gallery which is across the street from our
hotel housed in what had once been a Roaring 20s Dept Store. The
National Gallery boasts one of the oldest collections in the world as
we went through what seemed like endless gorgeous rooms and mind altering
artworks. Adam is a former student of Douglas Crimp so he has so
much enthusiasm and joy as he talks about his curatorial vision for the museum.
He also gifted us with a copy of Generosity-The Art of Giving a thick coffee table art book released in conjunction with the museums 220th
anniversary. Adam and Michaela Pejcochova being the books editors.
Leaving
Prague was difficult. It was my first visit and I was mesmerized by
all that eye candy on the streets in the form of attractive young
tourists from all over the world dressed in their skanties because of
the hot temps. Plus the sheer beauty of the ancient city.
The
train back to Berlin seemed to take forever. The air conditioning
kept going out and the wagons were packed with people standing
throughout. Thank Goddess Freya we had reserved seats.
Kisses to Jacob, Adam, Pavel & Company for all the langorous hospitality.