Strange, captivating and utterly unique
My car pushed its way through the ridiculously dense Forest Hill fog until what appeared to be an abandoned castle loomed before me. This? This was the private home where a friend of a friend throws occasional intimate theatrical events that have garnered an underground buzz the likes of which had me begging for an invitation?
Curtains blocked the windows and the front door was somewhere behind a maze of overgrown plants and low-lit lanterns. I texted my husband the address — you know, just in case I never came home.
Carlos Barrera is a forensic engineer with a degree in nuclear engineering from UC Berkeley. On the day I spent the evening enthralled by the staged drama unfolding inside his home, Barrera had spent the morning investigating some sort of complicated science accident in the South Bay. He’s not entirely sure he wants you to know about the small yet staggeringly fabulous performances that take place in his home.
I arrived at “Dernier Cri,” somehow stepping from San Francisco into a magnificent Anne Rice-esque red velvet extravaganza, and was immediately welcomed by an actor in character. She checked me in for “Silvio Quilumbo’s” haute couture fashion show.
“Is Carlos here?” I asked, not entirely getting it.
“Silvio will be down in a moment,” she responded. “You may enjoy some refreshments in the kitchen, but don’t talk to the models.”
Barrera’s home, one he shares with his partner of nine years and a beloved dog, was a sight to behold. Checkered marble floors blended into well-worn but immaculate oriental rugs. Chandeliers, lots of them, hung from rustic ropes at chest height and yards of velvet covered every window. Chipped statues and vintage portraits filled the living room and dining room.
Guests, a mere 30 of us, were given wine (or Diet Coke, thank you) and nibbled from an abundant cheese and charcuterie plate. Vintage sewing machines, a nod to the night’s theme, were placed within lush arrangements of dark green houseplants and candles.
I chatted with former Cockette and fashion designer to rock stars Billy Bowers, there to see the costumes of his friend, famed local costume designer Beaver Bauer. “Honey, I don’t know what to expect,” said Bowers in his Texas drawl. “This is somethin’!”
Suddenly a woman tapped me on the shoulder and sent me to the basement. Thirty seats were lined along either side of the small room. At one end, a fashion designer’s desk had been artfully set, complete with a stuffed peacock wearing a diamond necklace and fashion sketches by Bauer herself. At the other end was the stage.
The hour-long show soon began, the tale of a weary fashion designer ready to return home after years of exile. Part musical, part play, “Dernier Cri” was a far more accessible story and concept than the avant-garde ambience implied. I thought I was in for weird performance art, but I loved every second of my time in Barrera’s world, a genuinely professional experience filled with original music, staged lighting, over-the-top fashion, comedy and precisely directed drama. Who knew this was going on in someone’s basement?
After the performance, we were invited upstairs for a full buffet and casual party. Quilumbo had morphed into Barrera, now our host.
“When people share the food, when people eat,” Barrera explained in his sultry Colombian accent, “it changes the tone.”
Barrera and his team of creative friends designed the night to be three acts of theater. The first is when guests arrive and mingle; the second act is the show; and the third act is a party, allowing guests to bond over art and truffled macaroni and cheese.
Our host and star, a native of Medellin, is rather adorable. He’s humble and charming, if not a bit shy. Intimate experiences like “Dernier Cri” are his passionate hobby.
“I always feel like theater has become very compartmentalized,” said Barrera, still in his black velvet Quilumbo costume. “You start getting into the world of the play, and then you are kicked out.
“This,” he motioned around the lush salon, filled with artsy people who know about things like Barrera’s show, “is about sharing and intimacy.”
I relaxed into an overstuffed leather couch, deep in conversation with interesting strangers. Eventually I glanced at my phone to see a text from my husband. The screen glowed: “Are you ever coming home?”
Part musical, part play, “Dernier Cri” was a far more accessible story and concept than the avant-garde ambience implied.