Today I want to tell you about Felicia Alvarado Elizondo, known too as Felicia Flames, a transgender Latina who made a difference in this world every single day. Felicia was a US Navy Viet Nam Veteran, and LGBTQ+ activist, and a living history book. She was involved in the 1966 Gene Compton's Cafeteria Riot and could give you details of that and so much more local LGBTQ+ history. In the interest of full disclosure, I need to add one more thing, Felicia was my friend and since her passing in 2021, I miss her.
Some of you who read this might have known Felicia or at least known of her. She did things that make a difference for her entire life. Felicia was a performer, and you may have enjoyed one of her performances. Perhaps you were at a march or rally that she organized. Another of the things she did that really inspires me, is she made AIDS Quilt panels. she worked to get the 100 block of Turk Street renamed to Vicki Mar Lane in honor of her late friend, drag performer Vicki Marlane, and a few years later she worked to rename the 100 block of Taylor Street to Gene Compton's Cafeteria Way.
If she was still with us, I know she would be up front at the TransMarch later this month. I wish you could have known her. I have so many good memories. They weren't all grand newsworthy moments. We used to go to the Olive Garden for a simple meal and conversation. Felicia served as the lifetime achievement grand marshal in the 2015 San Francisco Pride Parade, a well deserved honor.
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