To walk down the street in San Francisco with Juanita More is to understand the idea of being beloved. Families calling her name from passing cars, queens rushing up for air kisses, children posing for pictures in front of one of her many murals. Forget about the painted ladies, the brightly painted houses the city is famous for—Juanita is the real painted lady of San Francisco.
The JM! Mural Project, which started in 2017 with three murals of Juanita commissioned by a local business in the city’s Castro District, has now grown to double digits and covers much of downtown, from the Castro to the ferry terminal, the Tenderloin to Alamo Square Park—it’s become part of a larger city-wide beautification project.
For Juanita, the project is all about the artists. Her main concern is celebrating them and elevating their work through exposure and engagement. The most painted drag queen in San Francisco is also a tireless fundraiser. This queen has a jammed calendar of hosting events and parties. Tyreece and the Pink Ticket team were lucky to get a little time with her. After being taken on a tour of a couple of Juanita’s favourite murals (and meeting artists Juan Manuel Carmona and Serge Gay Jr.), we took a break at queer underground record shop Dark Entries (910 Larkin St, San Francisco) for refreshments and a few words. You can watch the video and read some of the bonus material from our interview.
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m an activist, I’m a philanthropist, I’m a bullshitter, I’m a chef, I’m a DJ. I’m everything.
How did that happen?
Thirty years ago I decided as a joke to dress up on Halloween and go out in drag. I had never done it in my entire life. A good friend of mine, Mr. David Glamour, a designer and a drag queen, was visiting from New York. The first thing he said to me when I asked him to make me up was, “You’re going to be hideous.” Then he started painting my face and it changed his mind. That first week I went out in drag three times. I made David put me in drag over and over. So Mr. David became my drag mother and since then I have not stopped going out.
When did it transition from just for fun to something more than that?
We were in the middle of the AIDS era, and I had lost a lot of friends and wasn’t really going out that much. So getting in drag inspired me to go back out. I was just having fun. But by the end of that first year, I put on a big non-profit event to give back to the city. I would put on a big event every year, and then with all the little events I got involved with, that eventually turned into my annual Pride party. That’s been going on for 30 years. In that time the community has helped me raise over a million dollars for some of San Francisco’s most impactful organizations. I love it.
You love San Francisco.
I just love it. So the story of San Francisco that we’ve heard is there was a bubble burst and then everything turned into a bit of a mess. But something is shifting, there’s something happening here that’s turning that around. I mean, I’ve been here for 30 years—at least in drag—I’ve been here longer than that. I have seen the changes. I would like to see the city providing more services to unhoused people. But I am starting to feel a change in the air, and people are going back out again and people are getting together again, and that’s really beautiful. My approach to people isn’t how they identify, it’s their personality. It’s that attraction right off the bat. I think people need to be much more open and accepting to everyone around them. Like family.
I have a mini Proust questionnaire for you about San Francisco.
Oh, good Lord.
If San Francisco were an animal, what animal would they be?
A tiger or a lion.
Which is San Francisco’s partner city?
Paris, I believe.
Who would play San Francisco in a movie?
It would have to be Divine.
What is San Francisco’s favourite book?
Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin.
What is San Francisco’s worst habit?
There are no bad habits.
Best quality?
Our nightlife scene.
What do the locals understand about San Francisco that tourists don’t?
They’re not finding the secret spots where things are really happening.
And if I could turn back time …
Oh, yeah, that’s a good one. Meeting Sylvester in the dressing room of [department store] I. Magnin downtown.
Next up for Juanita More is San Francisco Is a Drag!, a project of Civic Joy Fund where Juanita, co-hosts D’Arcy Drollinger and Honey Mahogany, and 100 other drag kings and queens perform in the streets of San Francisco. The event takes place December 2 and 3 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. PT at the locations indicated here.
Tyreece and Pink Ticket’s trip to San Francisco was supported by San Francisco Travel and Proper Hotel San Francisco. The sponsors of this trip did not direct or review coverage. The views expressed are the writer’s own.
