Las Vegas Strip Clubs: The Stripper Who Lost a Breast
August 21, 2009 by diamond
Viva Las Vegas was Portland, Oregon’s most famous stripper. After breast cancer left her with a mastectomy, she went through a period of soul searching—then got back on stage.
Viva Las Vegas’ Wednesday shift began at 4:45 in the afternoon. She climbed up to the stage in her Lucite heels, wearing a bright red kimono with her name sewn onto the back. Here at Mary’s Club—Portland’s oldest topless bar—the women only take off their clothes if there’s money on “the rack”—the name for the seats closest to the stage. Viva asked for a few dollars from the patrons for the jukebox.
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Her memoir, Magic Gardens, documents her journey from twenty-something stripper to activist and acolyte. It’s also the exploration of fantasy versus reality, apt subject matter for a stripper who found herself suddenly bald and missing a breast.
See the full article from “Daily Beast”