Pop Culture, Queer History & Community Storytelling Through a Black Latinx Queer Lens
![gv: so what do you want your quote to be?
eli colòn: “no se puede corregir a la naturaleza, palo nace doblado jamas su tronco enderesa”
[you can never correct nature, the tree that is born bent will never straighten its trunk.] it’s a lyric from the...](https://64.media.tumblr.com/4e55cf60e9f7693885c1aeee2656ff00/tumblr_no1jtxssT71tyd43bo1_1280.jpg)
gv: so what do you want your quote to be?
eli colòn: “no se puede corregir a la naturaleza, palo nace doblado jamas su tronco enderesa”
[you can never correct nature, the tree that is born bent will never straighten its trunk.] it’s a lyric from the “el gran varòn” song. can that be my quote?
gv: i think’s is an amazing quote. thank you!
As part of En Blanco y Negro: Gay & Boricua, an exhibition of the artwork of José Luis Cortés, GALAEI and Taller Puertorriqueño are pleased to present a panel discussion on important issues affecting the LGBTQ Latino community.
The panel will look at, from different perspectives, their past, current and future directions. The topics addressed will include the intersectionalities of insider/outsider, invisibility, homophobia, resilience, migration, ethnicity, race, class, and gender, the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and the social and political organization of LGBTQ Latinos in the United States and Puerto Rico. This will be a public and open forum.
Panel participants include: José Luis Cortés, artist; Elicia Gonzales, Executive Director of GALAEI; Erika Guadalupe Núñes, artist and community organizer; Emmanuel Coreano, a youth member at GALAEI; Bella, a trans* identifying youth who is passionate about the Queer community; and Anthony Leon from The Gran Varones Project. David Acosta, AIDS activist, writer, cultural worker and current artistic director for Casa de Duende, will be the moderator.
My name is Alexander Velez and I am representing the Gran Varones. The Gran Varones is a legacy project that uses the art of storytelling to lift the voices of Latino & Afro-Latino Gay, Queer and Trans men. We stand alongside with Juntos, the Black and Brown Workers Collective and GALAEI to demand that Carolina Cabrera Digiorgio resign as CEO of Congreso.
As an Afro-Latino queer man, I don’t have the luxury and privilege of separating my life from my politics. My mere existence is a political act of resistance. I, along with other varones, are Congreso’s target population for their HIV prevention programs. We are also the target of Trump, who seeks to not just build wars to keep us separated from our families, healthcare, and life-saving HIV treatment, but he seeks to build walls of oppression that threaten to crush our very existence. Carolina Cabrera Digiorgio is in complete support of Trump and because of this, we demand that step down from her position as CEO.
As an Afro-Latino queer man, I know that silence equals death. I want you all to know that our loud protest is in the name of every who died and fought for an AIDS health care system that now allows Trump supporters like Carolina Cabrera Digiorgio to be in a position of power. Her support and any support of Trump’s racist and fascist regime is a threat to our lives.
Our loud protests are for all of the varones who once layed on hospital beds with a sinking t-cell count counting the minutes until you could hold down your food.
Our loud protests are for all of the varones who avoided looking into mirrors because the sunken face reflection did not reflect the beauty you behold.
Our loud protests are for all of the varones who pieced themselves back together piece by piece after the violence of stigma left them broken and beat.
Our loud protests are for all the varones who survive life by surviving one night at a time.
We salute you.
We praise you.
Because even AIDS,
Stigma,
Homophobia,
Racism,
White supremacy,
Oppression
and whack ass Trump supporters like Carolina Cabrera Digiorgio will not scare us into silence.
We stand on the side of liberation. Carolina, which side are you on?
- gran varones statement at today’s community protest in front of Congreso de Latinos Unidos demanding that congreso’s ceo step down.
ricky: i went through so much. i went through hell and back. and i went so much in the latino gay community. the black gay community showed me so much love when i came out, didn’t talk about me. verses what i went though in the latin gay community. as i got older and i did the club nights, the hosting, the pageants and showed them who i really was - they commended me for it. they respected me for it. you still have those were “you have hiv?” even until now, dating-wise, relationship-wise, i cannot bring someone i am dating to a club when they can’t wait until the moment i walk away to the bathroom, so they can whisper (to my date), “do you know he have hiv?”
louie: what would you tell a varòn who may be struggling with his identity or hiv status?
ricky: i tested positive on this day 20 years ago. I remember feeling scared and alone. It was a trans latina friend of mine who held me together. now it is my mission in life to do that for other varones who have just been diagnosed. our stories and existence alone ends hiv stigma. we have power chyle!
Ricardo Melendez, Philadelphia
interviewed and photographed by: louie a. ortiz-fonseca
Interview with Louie A. Ortíz, director of the film “The Gran Varones” a storytelling project documenting the stories of gay and queer-identifying Boricua and Latino men.Chequéalo →
(yvette santiago, sadie ramos, anthony leon, samantha martinez & louie a. ortiz-fonseca) photo by jose hernandez
two years ago Anthony Leon sat in my office and after discussing the invisibility and erasure of Latino gay men in philly, we dreamt up the gran varones. we called Sean Laughlin (our video editor) into the office and he was like “cool. when do we start shooting?” so with no money, a few iPhones, a flip cam, Sean’s shoddy microphone and Anthony’s car, we set out to document the stories of latino gay men.
photo by jose hernandez
never did i imagine the impact and reach this project would have. i certainly never imagined being presented with the prestigious Vision Aware for Creative Artist of the Year by the Hispanic Choice Awards this past Saturday night.
the community that i have (re)discovered while working on this project has provided healing and hope for my raging heart. it is this love that continues to inspire me to challenge systems of oppression that are committed to reducing our experiences and existence as latino gay men to “hot,” “sexy” and “spicy.”
(louie a. ortiz-fonseca, anthony leon, emmanuel coreano and fran cortes)
thank yous:
to the varones who generously and courageously shared their stories: you are my heroes and i salute you. it is your magic and your light that make this project shine.
to Javier Suarez, Cecilia Ramirez and the entire team at Hispanic Choice awards: thank you for everything! i am humbled and honored.
(samantha martinez, nikki lopez, louie, carlos nunez and david agosto)
to Carlos Nunez: who called me a few months back and said “listen, people better nominate you for this award.” i know you can win it!“ you put it out into the universe.
to galaei: thank you for believing and supporting our project from day one. also, thank you for always providing space (on always short notice lol) for us to film interviews.
to all of the mothers, fathers, grand mothers, grand fathers, aunts, uncles, cousins, niece, nephews, neighbors and friends who love & support varones in their life: you help change the narrative that latinos are “more” homophobic than other communities.
to EVERY varòn: you matter right now. not for what you were or what you may be - but for what you are now. you matter right now.
- louie a. ortiz-fonseca
photo by jose hernandez
losing a sibling to violence is an experience of many varones in north philly. ralphiie, who’s #GranVarones story is scheduled to debut next Monday, is nothing short of inspiring. his commitment to social justice and his sister’s memory provides light to all of us have similar experiences.
on friday, april 17, 2015, gran varones creator louie a. ortiz was invited to speak at a press conference at city hall about the exclusion of latino lgbtq immigrants in the presidential immigration relief action. here is his speech: My name is Louie A. Ortiz, creator of the Gran Varones, a multi-media project that shines light on Latino queer communities. Like many other Latino LGBTQ people in our communities, I am a parent. I am the sole provider for my son. I do not have complete legal custody of my child and someone in my shoes could be separated from their family if we are not included in the protection DACA and DAPA provides. While this presidential action will provide relief for members in our community, many will be excluded. This Presidential action is only a first step. Any immigration benefit derived from the “traditional” idea of family, leaves out many LGBTQ people in our community whose families are frequently not recognized under the law. Policies are needed to recognize families similar to mine. These kinds of exclusions continue to leave LGBTQ people at risk of being detained in jails that are incredibly unsafe and inhumane, particularly for transgender women who continue to be detained with men. LGBTQ Latinos are mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and leaders in our communities. It is our commitment to advocate for wide-ranging policies that ensure that everyone is included in this protection so that families similar to mine are not torn apart. #Not1Mo
GV: so what brought you to philly and how has it been living in philly?
FELIPE: “i was raised in boston, mass. i lived in puerto rico for a few years with my family and then we moved back to the states. after that, around age 10, i was placed in foster care and then when i graduated undergrad, i moved to philly. i had just family and i wasn’t familiar with the philadelphia scene in general, never mind gay latinos. it took me a while to get established into the community. i’ve only just recently, in the last year, met people that are more pro-active in queer identity.”
Affirming a transgender student’s gender by using pronouns that align with their gender identity has been shown to improve mental health outcomes. We’re dedicating today to uplifting the need for normalizing the usage of pronouns and a report on transgender students’ intersectional health disparities. Hit the link below for more information.
https://actionnetwork.org/forms/on-all-sides
#PronounsDay
shefallsinlove
calumthomcs
psa. if we’re mutuals, we’re automatically friends. u don’t need to say things like “sorry to bother” or “sorry im annoying” bc ur not. ur my friend. u can come to me for anything. u need help? im here. wanna chat? hmu. just wanna gush abt your muse? go for it. we’re friends. ily.
