19/04/2026
The story of Erika “Ricky” Wild is probably one of the saddest and at the same time most uplifting and empowering le***an* stories ever. In 1971, Ricky opened the “La Gata” (Spanish: “The Cat”), a le***an bar in the city of Frankfurt, Germany. At a time when there was little to zero le***an and q***r representation in nightlife, she created a safer space for countless le***an* and q***r women 🩵
The bar quickly evolved to one of the most iconic spaces of le***an* and q***r culture in Europe. Over almost 55 years of its existance, Ricky created a welcoming and inclusive space for tens of thousands of q***r women. She saw le***ans* being out in public for the first time in her bar, couples finding love and much more.
The “La Gata” survived all the decades, it survived financial troubles, it even survived the Covid pandemic. But now, in 2026, its story came to a sudden end. The landlord of the premises cancelled the decade-long agreement with the bar - the real reasons: hard to make out. In fact, countless activists were trying to save the important space, tried to achieve a solution; even politicians stepped in and tried to organise financial help to pay more rent to reach an agreement with the owner. The landlord coldly denied all efforts of negotiation. Our community fought until the end - but in April, Ricky and the bar were evicted from the location.
For Ricky and the le***an* community in Germany, this means the end of an era. The bar meant q***r culture for countless women - and for Ricky, it is the achievement of a lifetime of dedication towards the community.
Ricky and the story of the “La Gata” stand for the importance of le***an* and q***r spaces in our society. In a world which is greeding profit and financial growth, our community needs safer spaces like these more than ever. The “La Gata” might have closed for now, but it symbolizes the resilience, the power and the dedication of our le***an* community and what we can build if we stand together.
Today, we want to honour Ricky Wild and her life, and we want to express our gratitude towards one of the strongest fighters for our community in le***an* history.
❤️🩷🤍🧡❤️
***an