About Sonja
For decades, Sonja Martinez has been part of the heart and history of Oklahoma City’s LGBTQ+ community.
She is an entertainer, a lesbian, and a larger-than-life presence who cares deeply about the people around her. Long before the visibility, organizations, and public celebration that exist today, Sonja was there. She performed, built friendships, and created places where people could gather, alongside many of the pioneers who shaped the city’s gay community.
Her story began with music.
Sonja grew up in a Mexican American family rich in musical talent and culture. When she started performing in Oklahoma City, she took the stage lip syncing alongside some of the city’s best female impersonators. After performing at Night Life, she spent time at Tony’s Club on North Western, where she was mesmerized by the legendary Tony Sinclair. Tony befriended her, encouraged her, and invited her to perform with the other performers at the club.
Those years introduced her to an extraordinary community of entertainers and friends. She shared stages with people who became legends in Oklahoma City’s LGBTQ+ community, including many who are no longer here to tell their own stories.
After six years of lip syncing, Sonja decided it was time to use the voice she had inherited from her family. She began singing live. Music became her way of entertaining an audience and one of the most important ways she served her community.
In 1984, she became the first Ms. Gay Oklahoma, “The Lady for ‘84,” in a talent competition for women held at The Free Spirit. Contestants competed in talent, interview, and attire.
A Life on Oklahoma City Stages
Sonja has performed across Oklahoma City and beyond, from clubs and restaurants to military balls honoring veterans. She performed at Makers in Bricktown with Rich Klessig at the piano, sang with a jazz band at The Grand House on Classen Boulevard, and sang at military balls in McAlester and Oklahoma City. For years, Sonja & Friends brought performers together on the first Friday of each month at Partners Club/Faces, until March 2022. She still performs at Angles, The Boom, and Tramps.
Her taste runs from the Big Band sounds, Patsy Cline, Nancy Wilson, and George Shearing she grew up on, to the 1950s and 1960s music she performs often, to Melissa Etheridge. Whether it’s “Scotch and Soda” or “I’m the Only One,” she sings it.
But performing has never been about the spotlight for Sonja. She uses the stage to make room for others, bringing together live singers, female impersonators, and entertainers from across Oklahoma.
When Sonja has a stage, she shares it.
A Legacy Recognized by Her Community
Organizations across Oklahoma have recognized Sonja not only for her talent but for her service.
- 1996: Recognized by Loaves and Fishes for her support
- 2004: Volunteer of the Year, Board of Directors of Catholic Charities
- 2009: Richard May Award, Red Tie Night. The Oklahoma AIDS Care Fund gives it each year to a person who has given time and talent to HIV/AIDS education, research, and service.
- 2012: Tillie Laine Lifetime Achievement Award, [Miss Gay Oklahoma America or Miss Gay Oklahoma Organization, confirm]
- 2012: Grand Marshal, with her wife, Dee, of the Oklahoma Gay Rodeo Association Rodeo
- 2012: Bill Rogers Lifetime Achievement Award
- 2013: James Murray Community Spirit Award, Imperial Court of All Oklahoma, Coronation VI
- 2017: Grand Marshal, OKC Pride Parade
- 2022: Honoree, 24th Annual AIDS Walk of Oklahoma City
Each honor is one chapter of a much larger story. It is a lifetime spent showing up.
Not Hers Alone
Sonja is quick to say none of this belongs to her alone. Her family has supported her throughout her life. Performers have donated their talents, businesses have contributed, friends have worked behind the scenes, and audiences have returned year after year.
Her story can’t be separated from the people who stood beside her. Some became legends. Some became lifelong friends. Some were lost far too young. Some never received the recognition they deserved.
Sonja remembers them.
She is part of a generation that created community before community came with organizations, districts, and public celebration. They gathered in clubs and restaurants. They performed. They raised money. They cared for friends who were sick. They fought stigma with compassion. And little by little, they built places where people could belong.
Sonja Martinez was there.
She sang. She served. She opened the stage to others. She stood beside her friends.
And every Christmas, she asked her community to come together once more and help someone else.
They did.