FRANKFURT I came to Frankfurt for one thing only - to visit La Gata. It’s famous for being one of the oldest still running lesbian bar in the world. I did not want to waste a second and came early. I saw two ladies chilling and smoking at a table. In German, they told me to come back in fifteen minutes. I could not help thinking how rude they were.

I took a short walk down the street. I noticed a few shops but mostly apartments. La Gata is not a place you run into by chance. It’s located outside of the city center. You have to know it to find it. At nine sharp, the sign La Gata was lit up and the red door opened. The outside looked a bit rough, but as soon as I took a first glimpse of the inside my heart melted. The room was all about the 1970s, decorated in brown and wood panels. The walls were covered with faded pictures of fotball teams, Jean Seberg and naked women. That latter would be a no, no in a straight bar. Here, it felt perfect.

For the next hour it was only me, Sylvia, the bartender, and her friend in the room. I started talking to Sylvia. None of us could understand each other very well. We did our best and this is what I learnt: Erika "Ricky" Wild opened the place in 1971 and according to her La Gata is the world's oldest surviving lesbian bar. Ricky is very sick and has not been in the bar for a long time. Now it's run by her co-worker Sylvia, who is in her 70s. She has been working for Ricky since the opening and is worried for the bars future. Nobody has shown any interest to buy it and Sylvia thinks she is too old.

LA GATA

The bar is located in Seehofstraße 3 in Frankfurt. It’s open between 21:00-04:00, Fridays and Saturdays .

”When it’s four in the morning I close the bar. Then I have to sort out the money, clean and do the dishes. After all that, I have one hour drive on the autobahn before I hit home. I crash in bed around six in the morning. I do this twice a week. I am not sure how much longer I can do it.”

When Ricky dies Sylvia thinks La Gata will close. She says it with a bittersweet tone. She lit a cigarette, picks up her phone and show me a picture of her girlfriend, Dagmar. They have been together for nine years and live in different cities. Perhaps, when La Gata close they will move in together. “Perhaps.”

At La Gata there is no DJ. There is no Spotify. They have a jukebox. ”It’s free”, Sylvia says. ”You pick your songs and create your party. Come! I will show you.” I choose walking’ by Miles Davis. It turns out Sylvia hates Miles Davis. The song goes on for twelve minutes. Our relationship started a bit frosty, got warmer and now we are back to cold again.

After Miles Davis, I choose songs by Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra and some German artists. The tunes create a cosy atmosphere. I could stay forever loved up by the 70s, sipping on my gin & tonic small talking with Sylvia. This is the only place for lesbians left in Frankfurt. I was the only guest so far. Where was everybody?

At ten Jean Dilma, a nurse arrives. This is her first visit to an exclusive lesbian bar - ever. She was born in the Philippines where she met her girlfriend. They have been together for many years but decided to leave the Philippines for Europe. It is a long story but her girlfriend is still in Asia.

Their biggest dream is to get married. They have already planned to go to Denmark. To marry in Germany is complicated. In Denmark you can buy a gay marriage package, Jean says. But before their dream can come true her girlfriend needs to learn German. That is why she is currently living in Malaysia to prepare for her move so they can be together.

They see each other every day on zoom calls. Jean tells me the secret behind a happy relationship is raw communication. “We talk about everything - even the hard stuff.” She tells me there is no such thing as a lesbian bar in the Philippines. Sometimes there are parties for women but never for lesbians only.

After another hour, the door opens again and a Spanish lady in her 50s or something arrives. She lives in Frankfurt and has just finished work. She wears Ray Ban sunglasses, drinks beer from the bottle and loves to dance. Every now and then she jumps on the dance floor alone.

When I come out from the bathroom, she insists on a slow dance. At midnight, as I was leaving two groups of younger women arrives. They did not look a day over 20. There might still be hope for La Gata after all.

The next morning I got a text from Jean. “It really felt great (liberating) visiting for the first time an exclusive lesbian bar. We will keep in touch cause I only know a few lesbian friends who are out and open.”