"For [many in] this community, they don't have family here, some [members of] our trans community don't have a family that accepts them,"
"It is a very hard and sad time, but to share a place or have somewhere to go, that you're not by yourself, brings a feeling of acceptance."
"It's like the Hispanic [version of] 'Cheers' where everybody kind of knows everybody, but it's also a very welcoming space,"
The Silver Platter opened in 1963 and serves as a longstanding Latinx bar and sanctuary for Spanish-speaking gay Latinos, transgender Latinas and working-class immigrants in Westlake. The bar provides community, acceptance and regular social life for many patrons, often drawing up to 200 people on weekend nights. Owner Margarita Xatruch cooks for customers and functions as a surrogate family figure. Landlord Roussin Capital Group plans to demolish the building to make way for affordable housing, and the family received an eviction notice with a move-out deadline extended to March 1.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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