Falete

Falete, looking fabulous with a lace trimmed sleeve, his signature French manicure and pulled back ponytail.

I can never ever get enough of Falete, my favorite gender-bending flamenco/copla singer. Lately he has been in the news again because of his messy break up with Israel, a young hustler who had been planning to wed the singer, then staged a fake kidnapping (secuestro espress as they called it, or a quickie abduction) in order to get ransom money to pay his numerous debts. Falete stood by him until he learned the truth, broke up the engagement, and of course was devastated.

Below are Falete and Israel, in happier times. Note that Falete is dressed in his ambigous "unfiorm" of tunic top usually in a shiny polyesterish fabric (very much what an older Spanish lady from the provinces would wear) but instead of a skirt, worn with pants. However, he dons a Manton de Manila, the lovely embroidered silk shawls worn only by women, never by men.

Falete resembles the passionate women who are known for singing flamenco/copla, such as the late Rocio Jurado, Isabel Pantoja, or Maria del Monte. Del Monte, pictured above, is as butch as Falete is femme. They meet in the middle on the gender spectrum. Rumors surround del Monte about her sexuality, but she refuses to go there. Falete, on the other hand, proudly calls himself a maricon. He's out but not out in the Chelsea clone manner that is becoming more and more popular in Spain. No, instead he looks like a 50ish lady singer, keeping it old school with his mantones de manila, French manicures, updos, and satiny lace trimmed bedazzled schmattes.

Below is a photo of del Monte with her reputed ex, Isabel Pantoja. Pantoja is the most famous flamenco/copla singer since the deaths of Lola Flores and Rocio Jurado. She is the widow of famous bullfighter Paquirri, and I have written here before about her lady and male loves since and her sinister political/financial doings. Note the resemblance between Falete and these two.


Even in their casual wear off stage: Falete and Maria del Monte, which is which? Well, for starters, the one with the long French manicure is Falete, miss del Monte doesn't do manicures. And the one with the denim (ahem) jacket is del Monte, of course.

But the really uncanny resemblance is between Falete's mother (left) and Falete himself. I recently saw a video of the two of them, dressed exactly alike, with identical designer sunglasses, French manicures, and lip gloss, and I almost passed out. (the mother is a bit slimmer though) The mother is the greatest, she totally supports her son.

But even if he wasn't fabulous and out, I would still love him because of his huge talent. Here he is singing the classic "Señora" a song about the other woman singing to the wife of her lover. Note that Falete sings it with the right pronouns, so he is addressing a wife about having an affair with her husband! Fabulous!!!!! And to make this even better, there is a lady dressed up as a bullfighter. Can it get any better? I don't know because I just fainted!

Aramis Fuster - Bruja and delincuent?

Since I am home writing and editing a book, I need to take the edge off by watching bad TV from Spain, and what better than the afternoon chat shows which often feature the frikis, or freaks, as I have explained here before. A classic of this genre of personalities is the bruja (witch) slash pitonisa (fortune teller) slash self-help author slash self-designated sex symbol, Aramis Fuster. She resurfaces periodically each summer to pose in a thong bathing suit pool side (which will sear off anyone's eye balls, so I refrain from posting that here), or more demurely, as you see her below in her lovely black mesh schmatta.

This summer, she is facing two years of jail time for owing money to a computer company that was helping her set up her Tarot reading website. Below, a video that had me literally crying from laughing so hard, featuring her recent court appearance and its aftermath, a dramatic faint outside the court house. Everything about her elegant and dignified outfit - too tight tube top, a weave that was about to fall out, skintight snake print pants, platform patent leather peep toe shoes, huge (presumably) fake Vuitton bag, and garish makeup, must have impressed the judge. For those of you convinced that she is a drag queen, no way, she is an R.G. (biological female, or real girl). In fact, a couple of summers ago, she tried to convince us that she was dating James Hewitt, yes that Hewitt, former riding instructor of the late Lady Diana and alleged father of Harry. You cannot make these people up. I love Spain! Sadly I cannot spare the time to visit this summer, but the TV shows make me feel right at home.