La Cueva

The first 2 reviews are on point. It is located in a dangerous neighborhood but the performances are worth checking out. The transgendered performers and waitresses look amazing. Just as good looking as any drag queens in the city or even better.
The drinks are expensive considering the small selection and the club charges cover on Fridays and Saturdays.
The music is mostly in Spanish but they do play English language pop songs.
The only waitress/​performer that speaks English fluently is named Cassandra. Ask for her if you want to know what’s what.
This place is nice a gateway from the other gay clubs in the city. It’s also located in the heart of the Mexican neighborhood in Chicago so you can also get some great food.

La Cueva (The Cave) is an LGBTQ historic site — it is known as the oldest Latino drag bar in the country. This is a bit of a misnomer, as the performers are women — male to female trans women. La Cueva has been around for 30 years, providing a place for trans Latinas to work and gay Latinos to belong.
I have been to La Cueva several times with Mexican friends. Everyone in the bar is either a macho cowboy (vaquero) or a Miss Kitty (transvestida), just like in the saloon on the old Gunsmoke television series,
The drag shows are great. The talent and effort which the performers put into their acts make the show well worth watching.
The drinks are a bit overpriced, It helps to have someone in your party who speaks Spanish.
There is an interesting article about La Cueva in Gapers Block, a Chicago ezine, at
which details the bars history and current status.
There are people in the bar’s neighborhood who would prefer to see the bar shut down. They claim the bar attracts street prostitutes. If you think you might ever want to visit La Cueva I suggest you do so sooner rather than later.

This is a scary place to see female impersonators. You have to pay attention in order to find it, the only thing that barracdes it from the font of 26^th street is a wrought iron fence, but don’t blink, its not a nice looking outside. Inside is okay though.
First off, if you are not intimidated by the rough neighborhood, let their bathrooms scare you out of there, somewhat. I mean when you are walking and the floor tile comes up with you, this is not a good sign.
Years ago, this place (which by the way has been around since the early 80’s or maybe even the 70’s), was not a bad hidden place. But as the years went on, the owner (Juanita Banana), turned it into a really thriving business. On any given day you could see the cowboys of Mexico show up there (why are married men in a gay bar), and just drink away the night while getting a glimpse of female impersonations. And really not a bad group, but you will probably need to speak the native language in order to understand. Very few touch on english music but sometimes if your lucky, you will see a Gaga impersonator.
the drinks can be less expensive for the venue, but hey it is what it is. A mixture of gay and «straight» men in the joint, but you be the judge.