ruby fuerza: me first and the shimmy shimmies: Washington, DC: Convention Time

Monday, May 19, 2008

Washington, DC: Convention Time

Phewph. It's been a while - but I'm not without worthy excuses!

My night of fun with Daniela and Erin was put on last Wednesday night on account of an emergency root canal (my second, for those of you who recall my best Argentine souvenir: a whitest of white dental implant!! eww/oww!)

Early Thursday morning my boss and I left for DC for the union's National Convention. On top of all of the prep work that goes into this long weekend, the whole event is quite exhausting - compounded by the fact that our 7AM start times felt much earlier for those of us traveling from the west coast. I was fortunate to room with one of the organizers from our Puerto Rico chapter who brought me up to speed on all of the chismoso labor politics on the island. Another highlight was seeing Andy Stern speak at the closing of the convention. Lovehim-hatehim, he is still a moving orator and I get totally starstruck by labor movement celebrities!

Dennis Rivera addressing the assembly; impromptu Bhangra (I felt like I was at WSH)!

NM presentation; Andy Stern with the E-Board

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PERFORMER BIO

The combustible Ruby Fuerza exploded out of the Bay Area burlesque scene in January of 2008 and has been regaling a diverse audience of punks, prisoners, and perverts with her sizzling – and silly - performances. Part Gilda Radner, part Emma Goldman, this brunette bombshell thrives on sexy satire and lustful hilarity with a politically conscious twist. As a dancer and choreographer, Miss Fuerza stokes her creative fires with fabulously original numbers that include colorful costumes, bizarre props, and irreverent comedy.

Miss Fuerza, AKA Lucille Brawl, was bred and raised in Morningside Heights in the heart of the exotic Isle of Manhattan. Born into the New York City mayhem of 1984, Ruby already had a flair for rebellion and glitter. She skipped school, shoplifted sunglasses and silk kimonos, read Das Kapital, and danced Violeta Parra protest songs in Spanish Harlem. She once got arrested for sneaking into a Lou Reed concert as an old man in a wheelchair. Throughout high school, she was a true fire-starter, protesting wars, sweatshops, and corporate greed. She organized youth brigades for anti-globalization demonstrations, coining guerilla chic in dark glasses and a face bandana.

At 18, she left the Big Apple to lead a dull, unsatisfying life at an Ivy League university she doesn’t like to talk about. She finished her degree in three years, and got the hell out of academia forever by 2006. She packed up her vintage sundresses, curling irons, and work boots, and headed south. With style and grace she worked alongside cafeteleros in Zapatistaland, Mexico. She marched with picketing telephone workers in Buenos Aires. She harvested yucca in solidarity with Cubanos in Havana. She waited around at a lot of airports (but never without lipstick).

After these travels, she landed a job as a union organizer in San Francisco and finally took her passion for theatrics and stage make-up to the big Bay stages, enrolling in Bombshell Betty’s School of Burlesque the day after she moved to San Francisco. In 2008, she began performing with the Burlesqueteer Troup and has been moving crowds to ribald ecstasy ever since. She has performed at Stage Werx Theater, Benders, Annie’s Social Club, and the Uptown Club in Oakland. She is world-renowned for her parodies of Carmen Miranda. Her Frida Kahlo act subtly engages in the politics of immigration. Her Bearded Lady act asks the audience to question its notion of gender. In her most recent performance, “Caketease,” she devised a homemade 4-foot cake for a steamy homage to cake strippers, diabetics, and anyone with a sweet tooth for Jerry Lee Lewis.

ruby fuerza: me first and the shimmy shimmies

Monday, May 19, 2008

Washington, DC: Convention Time

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INTRODUCTION

LOVE LETTERS//HATE MAIL

DON'T DREAM IT//BE IT

LOS ARCHIVOS

LOVERS

STRANGERS

PERFORMER BIO

WORLD'S SMALLEST BURLESQUE CALENDAR