Patron Hunt

Loverbar Puerto Rico is a queer and trans-run space serving the LGBTQIA+ communities of San Juan, Puerto Rico. More than a restaurant and bar, it’s a place where everyone can feel safe and respected. Their team consists of more than 10 people — if they include the drag artists, DJs, and musicians who perform at Loverbar, that number extends nearly to the triple digits. Loverbar’s goal is a better quality of life for all LGBTQIA+ people. Through the space, they can help achieve that, person by person, poco a poco. They opened on Aug. 22 of this year. They didn’t intend to open during a pandemic — but that’s how things turned out. Their long-awaited permits arrived, and so they opened, because rent debts were already piling up, and people in their community needed the work. Everyone on the team makes the same hourly amount plus tips (well above the minimum), and each person is encouraged to take ownership of the space. It belongs to all of them, the community included. In their workflow, they are working toward eliminating heirarchies, period. Their prices for food and drink are accessible, and that is, in part, where their problem is. They cannot raise their prices because the community cannot afford to pay more; Puerto Rico has been locked in economic distress for decades and having endured disaster after disaster (Hurricane Maria, earthquakes, now the pandemic), the data showing that more than 40 percent of the island’s people live below the poverty line, they think, is likely an understatement. And for marginalized communities like theirs, especially those who are trans, gender nonconforming, and/or Black, the situation is even worse.

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