Maximiliano: The Fabulous Gay Bar in Querétaro Named After an Executed Emperor

BY MARK CHESNUT

Pop quiz: how many gay bars in the Western Hemisphere are named after a deposed and executed emperor?

As far as anyone can tell, just one: Maximiliano, a lively venue in Querétaro, Mexico that also happens to be one of the most interesting queer nightlife spaces I’ve encountered in quite a while. This is a bar with a sense of history, irony, community and a very good eye for art.

According to owners and founders Jaime Aldana and Aníbal Gámez, Maximiliano opened in 2009 as the first openly LGBTQ+ cantina in Querétaro’s historic downtown. “When my partner and I first began imagining the concept, we wanted a space that would not be trendy,” Aldana said. “We wanted a classic — something that would stay rooted in our community.”

(Scroll to the bottom to see my Instagram Reel of the bar, or click here to watch.)

From there, they dove into research, working with the brilliant artist Valerio Gámez, who helped develop visual ideas and concepts that aligned with their ambitions.

But why name a bar after Maximiliano — the Austrian archduke who became emperor of the Second Mexican Empire in 1864, only to be executed by Republican forces in 1867, on a hill just a few miles away from the bar?

As it turns out, Maximilian may have been part of the LGBTQ+ community, or at least adjacent to it. “Valerio Gámez knew the history of Maximilian of Habsburg and made several recommendations,” Aldana explained. “We wanted something tied to Mexican and Querétaro history, with sophisticated iconography and provocative colors that would create a sensual, erotic atmosphere. That’s how we landed on Maximilian as a character who embodied all of this. There are even literary passages that raise questions about his sexual ambiguity, including his close relationship with Count Bombelles.”

The result is a bar that embraces a creative, artsy, and often tongue-in-cheek take on the doomed emperor. Rich red walls are adorned with formal paintings, contemporary photography, quirky contemporary art (gotta love the cartoonish Niño Max portrait by Erik Rivera) and a sensual, shirtless artistic rendering of Maximiliano himself, which doubles as the bar’s logo. History, but make it horny.

“Once we had the basic artistic references, we studied them and projected them by fusing our work as activists with art and culture,” Aldana said.

Naturally, the question arises: how would Maximiliano himself react if he knew that, more than a century after his execution, a gay bar bearing his name now thrives in the very city where he met his end?

“If Maximilian were alive today, he would sneak out at night to live fully, freely and safely in this space dedicated to him,” Aldana predicted. “Then he’d return to his public life the next day, still wanting to transform a nation by bringing together the best of different worlds.”

Since opening, Aldana added, Maximiliano has become a gathering place and a forum for artistic, cultural and academic expression — by and for the community.

That mission is evident. The eye-catching artwork and lively drag performances are a major draw, but they’re only part of the story. “Here, art, culture, and nightlife come together,” Aldana said. “It’s a living gallery that has evolved into a platform for activists, civil society organizations, academics, artists and more.” Over the years, Maximiliano has promoted diversity festivals, sporting events, sexual health prevention campaigns, music videos and audiovisual productions centered on LGBTQ+ life.

After three visits, it’s clear that I need yet another trip to Querétaro to experience more of Maximilian. “In addition to exhibitions and its cultural atmosphere, Maximiliano Cantina Gay organizes events like Cowboy Nights,” Aldana said. “These feature regional music, live performances and an ambiance very specific to the Querétaro Bajío. There are also performances by local and national artists. It’s a place where culture and fun meet —welcoming, unpretentious, and genuinely diverse.”

In other words: an emperor may have fallen here, but queer nightlife is alive, well and wearing excellent artwork on the walls.