Bears San Diego: 30 Years and BearQuake 2024

By Cesar A Reyes

Finding your tribe and your chosen family is a journey on its own. For a sector in our community finding acceptance and realizing that being a bigger and furrier individual does not mean that you are not part of the community but have a group of people that share your experience and yes even a few admirers. Bear San Diego is a club of bears and bear fanciers. They came together back in 1994 when a need was recognized for a group who did not fit in with the mainstream gays. Within the first years the club grew to 100 members and in 2003 they took the next step and began the journey to become a non-profit charitable organization and in 2006 they got approval. Club members consist of all types: bears, cubs, and otters and those who have little or no body hair but enjoy the company of hirsute men. The have had member s of all sexual and gender identities and the purpose of the group is to bring together like minded people on a social basis to give participants the opportunity to actually meet and create new friendships. As they gear up to celebrate 30 years with their annual BearQuake weekend we wanted to sit down and get to know the Bears a bit better, and yes you can feed the bears.

Please introduce yourselves:

Everardo:
I’m Everardo Aguilar Mr. San Diego Bear 2001. I’ve been a member of Bears San Diego I believe since 1998 or 1999. I’m a Research Assistant with UCSD working HIV and Hepatitis C transmission. I wasn’t around in 1994 when Bears San Diego came to be. I became aware of the Bear community around 1995 or 1996. I was in Palm Springs staying at a gay owned hotel called The Villas. I was lounging by the pool when suddenly a parade of men started coming by. Each one larger and hairier than the one before! I was in heaven! One man stopped, stroked my chest hair and said “Oooo! A LATIN BEAR!” When he moved on, I was confused about what he meant. As it turns out they were members of Bears LA, and they were in Palm Springs for a Bears in the Desert weekend. They invited me to join them, and I had fun hanging out for the weekend. When I got back a lawyer, I worked with told me about Bears San Diego and invited me to their parties. I’ve been here since. I think the Bear movement is still important today because we offer an alternative to the standard “think” look you see in most gay media. I think the Bear movement is becoming more inclusive of gay men of color and also trans men. I think we are welcoming and loving and are body positive.

Jeff Breeze:
My name is Jeff Breeze, I’m 48 years old and have been a member of Bears SD since 1998.

Donnie Vella:
My Name is Donnie Vella I have been a part of Bears San Diego since 2012 and have been the Elected Board President of the Organization for the last Five Years. I learned about the group from a friend in another social group FMSD (Fetish Men San Diego) and he invited me to one of the summer pool parties. In October 2013 I decided to be a part of the BearQuake Weekend and run for the Title of Mr. Southern California Bear. I was a newbie and never had been a title holder in the community before and I didn’t expect I’d win. Lo and behold at the end of the contest my name was announced as the winner. I went into the weekend being forthcoming and honest about who I was, and I was just enjoying the weekend and being my fun-loving authentic self. I’m the Rainbow Bear of the Bunch and I’m not afraid to be a little different than the rest. I guess that authenticity won over the panel of judges.

David Cordova:
My name is David Cordova, and I am the current Mr. Bear San Diego 2024.  What is Mr. Bear you may ask? As Mr. Bear San Diego, you are kind of a living billboard/visual aid and advertisement of Bears San Diego to the rest of the community, showing by example what Bears can aspire to be and what we can contribute to the greater LGBTQIA+ community when we can all work together, so to speak.

My Goal as Mr. Bear this year was to be visible at events and lend a helping paw when needed. Highlights of my year as Mr. Bear were performing and being a part of the SKINZ Leather Fashion Show which was hosted my Earl Gray – Mr. San Diego Leather 2024. I also got to participate with many events in the Community put on by The Imperial Court de San Diego and a Memorable one by far was the Annual Easter Egg Hunt in which we were able to give out about 500 Easter Baskets. Seeing the kids enjoying themselves made for a great day and the rain held off till we were done which made it perfect.

How did Bear San Diego come to be?

Bears San Diego was started in October of 1994 by five men; most of them were members of the Imperial Court de San Diego at the time. They felt that there was a need for a social group where men who felt like they didn’t belong in other groups could come together and be celebrated for who they were ~ thus the motto Frisky Friendly and Attitude Free. Membership grew quickly as the word got out and then they decided to do events for the community raising funds for HIV/AIDS Organizations that were not getting the funding they needed. This is when the group applied and began to file paperwork to become a 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization. 

Please share the importance of a group like Bears San Diego?

The Bears San Diego Organization has been around now for 30 Years and is a part of San Diego History. The Group has always been welcoming to those who wanted to be a member- Young or Old. The Average membership consists of members in their 30s – 50s. Many of our members are active in other organizations and together we do a lot of cross volunteerisms especially when large scale community events such as the Scott Carlson Thanksgiving Dinner comes up or the Holiday Toy Drives. 

BearQuake is kicking off Oct 13 to celebrate the 30thanniversary of the group and can you give us a rundown of the events for the weekend’s festivities?

BearQuake officially kicks off October 17 with a welcome event at The Studio Door Art Gallery on fourth Avenue. We will be having a reception beginning at 6pm to peruse the Gallery’s exhibit celebrating LGBTQIA History Month. We will have pop up performances from a few local entertainers and a variety of bites donated by a handful of local Hillcrest eateries. 

Friday Nights event will start at Pride Plaza where we will be taking down the Rainbow Flag for the Weekend and raising the Bear Brotherhood Flag which we were able to purchase prior to our 25th Anniversary with the help of crowdfunding and community sponsors. 

The Bear Brotherhood Flag is a rainbow in its own way and represents the colors of the fur on most known actual Bear Animals. It also represents skin tones of the Community that calls themselves Bears. 

 For folks who have not attended before, tell them what excitement they can expect during the weekend:

BearQuake is an annual weekend meant to bring the community together for the purpose of having fun and socializing and raising funds for charity- This year’s Theme is “Celebrating Community and Being Proud to be Your Authentic Self.”

Without the support of the Community our organization would not have lasted 30 Years, and we are one of the few Bear Organizations still active in California. 

I’d say the highlight of the weekend is the Closing event at Rich’s on Sunday October 20 which is the Mr. Bear Contest and Show. We will celebrate the Successes of the stepping aside Mr. Bear 2024 David Cordova and will be choosing the next Mr. Bear 2025 to help us grow as an organization next year. 

How can folks get involved?

Check out BearsSD.Org for up-to-date info on events for the month of October and BearQuake and definitely make plans to join us at one or more of the events. Those not able to attend can also make donations that will support our Charities for the Year Special Delivery San Diego and The Lambda Uptown Alano Club through our Venmo/PayPal Links on the website or can send a Check or Money Order to our PO Box which is also listed on the website.