After the passing of Carrie Fisher on Tuesday and the Christmas Day passing of George Michael, a memorial tribute to the two stars emerged at the corner of 18th and Castro.
One tribute in particular caught the eye of many Castro residents: a memorial to Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher, created by Castro resident and artist Joe Martinez.
Due to the positive reception, Martinez decided to also make a tribute for pop superstar George Michael and another for Debbie Reynolds, mother to Carrie Fisher, who passed away one day after her daughter's death, at the age of 84.
On making the tribute to Fisher, Martinez said that "growing up a gay nerd, I idolized her ever since those iconic hairstyles, kick-ass action sequences and snappy comebacks scorched my retinas. She was just amazing."
"As I followed her career and noticed her amazing humor and unapologetic persona I appreciated her more as an outsider keeping folks on their toes," he continued.
On George Michael, Martinez said, "he was amazing, a truly gifted talent." What drew Martinez to Michael, "aside from his divine brows and 5 o'clock shadow, was his messiness," he said. Martinez feels "many blacklisted or turned their backs on him after that 'bathroom scandal.'"
Because of that incident, Martinez says he found Michael easy to relate to. "Cruising parks, public bathrooms, etc is part of our heritage and background," he said. "And it pissed me off how they treated him. I think he deserves our respect and admiration. Thus, a memorial was made for him as well."
As for Debbie Reynolds, Martinez puts it simply: "She truly is a legend." Martinez grew up watching musicals on TV that his mom loved. As he says,"Singin' in the Rain was definitely a stand-out and it's no wonder many see that as her iconic role."
"Hearing about the family drama and seeming conflict-ridden relationship she had with her daughter Carrie grounded her for me and made this seemingly perfect starlet human," explained Martinez. "Nevertheless, they obviously shared a strong bond, so much so it seems Debbie passed due not only to a stroke, but of a broken heart."
Overall, Martinez noted that "all three share qualities of complicated people ... outsiders, perhaps." As a queer Latino, he says, "I definitely feel for outsiders and usually root for them. In this case I mourn for them."
For Martinez, "this year has been the worst, the worst!" Having so many beloved artists and entertainers pass away this year "was super depressing, and then hearing that 2016 decided to take someone seemingly so untouchable, well, it hit home."
Martinez erected the memorials yesterday, but an unknown individual decided to remove them overnight. Remaining are memorials made by other mourners to Carrie Fisher and George Michael.
"I'm pretty upset at the lack of consideration for the purpose of the memorials, to celebrate the memory of three icons, and the time and effort I put into them," says Martinez.
To keeps things positive, he says "the fact that folks reacted so positively while they were up made it all worth it."
