Mirror-plated wine bottles hang from the ceiling, and the front half of a cartoon-pink sedan juts out over the bar, where three husky patrons shout over vintage Madonna. Down the street are a number of other gay-friendly bars, cafes and clubs, including the multilevel disco Valentino Vinohradska 40; ; club-valentino. Now the maple-lined streets of Vinohrady, he added, are peppered with gay-owned businesses. Another hub is the Piano Bar Milesovska 10; ; pianobar. One of the newest is FenoMan Blanicka 28; ; fenomanclub.
The music varies from schmaltzy Czech pop to European techno, and the club hosts theme parties like Hollywood night and so-called travesty shows, which are similar to drag shows but more rooted in European burlesque. View all New York Times newsletters. A couple of blocks away is Bumbum Ondrickova 15; ; club-bumbum. It has several backrooms where sexual activity takes place openly.
Some attribute the growing tolerance toward gay life in Prague to a kind of live-and-let-live indifference. Indeed, gay soldiers can serve openly in the military, and the Czech Republic legalized registered partnerships for same-sex couples in Vostarek performs several nights a week at Tingl Tangl Karoliny Svetle 12; ; tingltangl. And while some social stigma remains, especially among the older generation, that, too, seems to be fading.
Vostarek, who bills himself as the first drag queen in the post-Communist Czech Republic. While touring in Poland and the former Yugoslavia, Mr. Vostarek says, he encountered considerable homophobia. With or without makeup, I do whatever I want. Tell us what you think. Please upgrade your browser.
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