Female Pride Marshal: Herlinda Mela Contreras Serving Pride on Tap by Eric A.T. Dieckman Photo by Yvonne Feece

"I’m proud to give my women a place to go and have a good time and not be worried about this and that," says Herlinda "Mela" Contreras, 55, of her lesbian Tejano bar, Mela’s, at 302 Tuam. "I’m proud I’ve been around as long as I have."

Mela’s opened its doors in 1980. Back when the average non-Latino Houstonian labeled everyone Hispanic as "Mexican" and considered it scary to even enter a Tejano bar. Fortunately, Contreras says she encountered little to no resistance from the Latino community to her women’s bar. And here it still is, through the tough times, through the ups and downs that come with bar ownership. ("It’s kind of hard to own a women’s bar," Contreras says. "They don’t support the bar as much as men would. That’s just the way they are.") How does one maintain the confidence to stride through all those highs and lows? Contreras says a lot has to do with the support she got from her family.

Born and raised in Houston, Contreras was one of 16 children. All of her nine sisters, six brothers, and both parents knew at an early age that Contreras was gay. Yet no one ever objected. "My family, I guess, always knew I was gay, but we didn’t really talk about it. They all accepted me." Of course there was the ubiquitous hassle from peers and outsiders, but never from family. "You know, family. They’re always there for me, I’m always there for them."

Bar ownership demands a lot of one's time. These days, after almost half of her family has passed on, Contreras finds new family in the regulars at Mela’s. The Jefferson Davis high school class of ’68 graduate spends most of her time there, keeping shop with her partner, Eileen Ledgerwood, 39, at her side. Mela’s fills such a tight niche, no other bar like it exists in town. The closest is NRG–although NRG is more of a guy’s hangout, plus it’s more Central American and Cuban, not so much the Tejano crowd. To find anything like Mela’s, one would have to venture out to San Antonio. Niche aside, Mela’s has changed. Contreras comments non-Hispanics are beginning to get over the aforementioned stereotype that Tejano bars are dangerous places where white folks (or bolillos, meaning "white bread") are not welcome. At Mela’s can be found drinkers of any race, either sex, straight couples even, enjoying mixed drinks or spicy-cool micheladas, a house favorite made with Mexican beer (preferably Corona) mixed with lime and hot sauce. Contreras might even be found taking a moment to chill with her drink of choice, Crown and Diet Coke.

As grand marshal of this year’s Pride parade, Contreras is proud to be a woman who owns a bar for other Hispanic women. But she serves her community in more ways than that. "I’m there for the community, whatever that community is, whatever nationality. Anybody who comes to me for a fund-raiser, I’ve never told anybody no." Her fondest memory is of a Christmas three years ago. Contreras arranged for two impoverished families to receive a truckload each of furniture, food, and toys. "Seeing the kids, how their eyes just shined, it made me smile, made me feel really good inside. That one I always remember."