when we started to the gran varones project, we never imagined that the outcome would be a documentary film. in the winter of 2013, with a no money, a few iphones, a flip cam and a shoddy microphone, we began interviewing gay latino men from north philadelphia for a portrait photography project. our goal was to raise the voices of gay latino men in philadelphia telling our stories, the stories that often times get left out of the lgbtq narrative.

in just a few months, we quickly amassed about 20 hours of film. we knew we had to do something with the footage so we decided to download an editing program, and learned how to use it as we edited the footage. The final product is a 55 minute documentary of latino gay men courageously sharing their stories and experiences.

the “our legacy is alive” documentary is a reminder that we must tell our stories. the stonewall movie is a sobering truth that if we do not tell and share our stories, no one will. we hope that you are inspired by the film to share yours . we hope that this film serves as proof that our stories can heal and brief life in our communities right here, right now. our legacy is alive.

project coordinators:

louie a. ortiz-fonseca

anthony leon

sean laughlin

this film and project are dedicated to the courageous varones who have so generously shared their stories in effort to raise our voices.

special thanks: gloria casarez, brent morales, charlotte sahadeo, erika amiròn niz, nikki lopez, elicia gonzales, jaymie campbell, kira manser, samantha dato, raices culturales latinoamericanas, concilio taller puertorriqueño and everyone who has supported the making of this film and project.

gran varones creator, louie a. ortiz-fonseca reminds us that our silence will NOT protect us and that queer latin@s will NOT be shamed back into closets. 

gran varones co-creator anthony leon is featured in a cool article about his leadership and how GV is changing the landscape in philadelphia.