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Category: Impersonation
David de Alba, the Cuban Legend who performed at the world famous Finocchio Club in the 1970s and ’80s brought his show to the Winchester Theatre at the Dondero Cultural Centre in Las Vegas on April 1, 2023. The show was called, If I Can Turn Back Time. David did several musical numbers with anecdotes and stories from his childhood through to the present day. Here are the musical highlights from the show. The full show will premier here on his YouTube channel later this year.
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Our Retro Rerun today is an interview conducted for TGForum and LadyLike magazine in 1996 with a noted female impersonator of the ’60s and ’70s, Pudgy Roberts. Ms Bob & Carol Kleinmaier conducted the interview over two days and cover Pudgy’s life from when he was a child dressing up and walking around his neighborhood to his long career in drag clubs and burlesque.
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Digging into the TGForum Archives we found a post from 1997 by Ms Bob & Carol Kleinmaier on the early 20th century female impersonator Julian Eltinge. He appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway and in movies, both silent and the talkies. There hasn’t been a female impersonator as popular or famous until the arrival of RuPaul on the drag scene. Julian Eltinge, The Crinoline Girl is our Retro Rerun and is illustrated with photos that did not appear in the original post.
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Ms Bob Davis digs into the history of the recently closed transgender friendly San Francisco nightclub, Divas. It was a favorite spot for members of the transgender community to hang out, take in some drag performances and mingle with other segments of the greater queer community. From it’s beginning in one spot to the fight with local residents to move to a much larger venue nearby Ms. Bob dishes the history of Divas.
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Classic female impersonator Paul Lavern Cummings passed away in Las Vegas, Nevada in March of 2018 after being severely injured in an auto accident. Back in 1999 TGForum ran an interview with Cummings that was conducted by TGF contributor Ken Spaulding. Since it’s been almost a year since Cummings’ death we dip back into the TGForum Archives and bring you that 1999 interview.
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2018 for a big year of change for our Columbian correspondent Katherine Diaz. She enrolled in a course to improve her crossdressing skills and through that course she was noticed by a leading impersonator in Bogota who took her under her wing. Katherine modeled fashions on the runway for the city’s leading transformation boutique, competed in a drag contest and started performing an act in local clubs. In today’s blog and vlog she catches you up on what she has experienced in 2018.
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There are dozens of interviews with The Cuban Legend, David de Alba that have been conducted in English. David’s cousin Mario Jimenez came to visit David in Las Vegas and conducted the following interview in Spanish.
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Paul Lavern Cummings, a contemporary female impersonation performer of David de Alba’s, passed away in Las Vegas, Nevada last week as the result of an auto accident. He was born on August 17, 1927. David de Alba wrote the following tribute before Paul/Lavern passed away and Paul/Lavern picked the photos we present above. For more […]
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David de Alba is The Cuban Legend. He began his career in female impersonation in Chicago clubs after a friend noted how much he resembled Judy Garland and did his makeup for a Halloween Ball. Soon David was practicing singing in Garland’s voice and working in the clubs. Then came a move to San Francisco and his years on stage at the famous Finocchio’s club. For the whole story of David’s life in dresses and heels read this article republished with permission from the Newsletter of the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society.
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Every male who dresses up in feminine attire has individual needs to meet. Some want to blend in with the female population seamlessly. Others want to proudly put themselves out there in fashion forward looks that draw attention and have those nearby saying to their companions, “You mean that’s a man?” If your goal is to blend in, for whatever reason, then you won’t want to miss Lorraine Anderson’s Occasional Woman column today. She talks you through the biggest “tells” that make others suspect you are not what you appear to be. And we include a video on how to walk in high heels. What more could you want?
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Earlier this year legendary female impersonator and contributor to TGForum David de Alba was interviewed for Celebrity Radio by Alex Belfield. Belfield is a syndicated radio host who produces interviews with celebrities around the world and is based in England. He traveled to Las Vegas to interview the Cuban Legend and we present the interview here, […]
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Aleshia Bravard, a trans woman who got her start in show business working as a female impersonator before having GRS in 1962 passed away on July 1 of this year. After her surgery she returned to her home state of Tennessee and got a degree in the arts from Middle Tennessee State. She then worked as a theater professor and eventually returned to California to pursue and acting career with appearances on numerous shows from The Red Skelton Show to The Partridge Family, Night Gallery and many more. In 2001 she wrote her autobiography and did a sequel in 2010. Before she passed away our own David de Alba did an in-depth interview with her. We present it here with David’s permission.
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David de Alba is that last performing female impersonator from the legendary Finocchio’s in San Francisco. In honor of David’s birthday on May 20 we present three videos of his gift to his fans, his August 2016 show in Las Vegas. David sings as Liza and his own stage character Boy Chic. He also tells stories of his time at Finocchio’s. If you are a David de Alba fan, or would like to become one, you won’t want to miss seeing these videos. Happy birthday, David!
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Coming in March David de Alba returns to the stage in Las Vegas to present his tribute to the immortal Judy Garland. Anyone who is a fan of glamorous female impersonation when the performer sings live rather than miming to a recorded track won’t want to miss this show. It’s coming March 12. View David’s promotional poster for all the details on where and how to get tickets.
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Since I moved to Las Vegas, I have had the greatest opportunity to become acquainted with the world-famous singer and theater performer, David de Alba. David is renowned for his female impersonations as a legendary ensemble member at San Francisco’s Finocchio Club; and even in retirement, David performs two shows a year here in Las […]
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[youtube]zlTjKBg0GfU[/youtube] You’ll want to be a part of this special show, My Golden Years at Finocchio’s, on August 14 as David’s documentarian will be filming his performance for use in the documentary film about David and Finocchio’s. Speaking of which, here is a rare photo of David at Finocchio’s with Paul Ryner, David’s partner, and […]
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Our Retro Rerun today is from TGF in1998. Roberta Angela Dee wrote this column for TGForum on the importance of proportion. More people are outed because their proportions are wrong than are given away by an Adam’s Apple or large hands. A typical male body is wider at the top. Male hips do not, in most men, get as wide as the shoulders, and the male butt tends to be flatter than the female behind. In this article Roberta covers the differences and suggests safe ways to create a more feminine figure. Roberta Angela Dee passed away in 2003.
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David de Alba, the Cuban Legend is doing a show in Las Vegas on August 18 and he wants everyone to know. He will be doing David de Alba as Boy Chic, My Golden Years at Finocchio’s. The show starts at 3:30 p.m. in the MVIG Cultural Arts Center which is inside the Boulevard Mall […]
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Today in Perpetual Change Pamela DeGroff interviews The Cuban Legend, David de Alba about his career, his Cuban heritage and the upcoming documentary about David that is now in post-production. Then Pamela offers appearance news about Coco Peru, Rev. Yolanda, and Georgie Jessup. She has news about a new release from Shawna Virago and a mini review of Cyndi Lauper’s new country album, Detour.
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TGF contributor and female impersonator David de Alba had another nickname before The Cuban Legend. When he lived in San Francisco’s Potrero Hills section he was known as Heri Hairstylist to the Stars. A writer from San Francisco, Peter Linenthal, interviewed David and put together his story and we share it here. He calls it David de Alba: Potrero Hill’s ‘Cuban Legend.’
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David de Alba, the Cuban Legend, is not only a female impersonator par excellance but also has conducted many interview with other performers who practice the art of impersonation and female illusion. Today David has allowed us to reprint an interview with Criselda Crescini, a performer from the Philippines who now lives and works in Germany. Ms. Cresini is a star of the European drag world. David has a show coming up in Las Vega on April 24. We include details of that appearance at the end of the Cresini interview.
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The Cuban Legend, David de Alba, made his name in the female impersonation world when he performed at the legendary San Francisco nightclub Finocchio’s. David is the last of the Finocchio’s stars to still be performing. Last month he did a show in Las Vegas, where he resides, and there was a video camera recording […]
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In May of 2000 David de Alba went to see Steven Wayne in the La Cage Revue in Las Vegas and was mesmerized by his perfectionism performing as Cher and Celine Dion. David was also impressed with Wayne’s appearance, from the styling of the wigs he wore to his make-up, and of course his costuming. That’s why David conducted this interview that he has kindly allowed us to re-publish today on TGF.
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On November 8 The Cuban Legend, David de Alba, brought his Judy Garland impersonation back to the stage in Las Vegas with his David de Alba’s LIVE Tribute to Judy Garland — Judy Forever In My Heart. He appeared in an afternoon one man show at the Jewel Box Theatre, located in the Erotic Heritage […]
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David de Alba graciously allows us to re-publish his celebrity interviews. In October of 2000 David conducted the following interview with Carmen. Carmen became gravely ill early in 2003 and passed away on in March of 2003 at the early age of 52. David’s interview ensures that the name of this talented performer will live on.
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Step back in time and see a video of Rene de Carlo, the International Dancing Star, performing onstage at the legendary Finocchio’s in San Francisco in 1980. No, we don’t have a hot tub time machine. The video was recorded by David de Alba’s long-time partner Paul Ryner and it presents a clip out of the heyday of female impersonation in the City by The Bay.
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