Latino Gay Pride: The untold story about Latino tolerance
Today I will be talking in my radio talk show Cara a Cara (in Minnesota AM 1400 1470 and lainvasora1400.com) at 2pm CST about gay pride in the Minnesota Latino community and gay marriage. It will be interesting to hear what our on air calls will be like.
There has been lots of discussion about how the last gay marriage referendum in California was voted down by Latino and African American voters. It's assumed that Latinos and African Americans are homophobic and that they're not ready to support gay marriage.
Republicans in 2004 banked their Latino voter strategy on getting out the vote of Latino evangelical voters. Many Latino evangelical churches preached that George Bush was against gay marriage and against abortion and that Democrats basically would kill babies and destroy the sanctity of marriage. This was a successful strategy then, and it got George Bush enough Latino voters to win reelection.
The Anti-abortion anti gay marriage strategy did not work with Latino voters in 2008. It was all about the economy and comprehensive immigration reform. Latinos were not thinking much about wedge issues in 2008. They were part of the winning majority for Obama.
But something else is happening in the Latino community. Latinos are becoming more tolerant of homosexuality, gay rights and may soon be ready to support gay marriage not only in the US, but in Latin America.
A friend of mine who is a Latino Leader in Minneapolis, and openly gay, recently talked to me about his recent visit to Monterrey, Mexico and to Mexico City. He left Mexico in the 90's when he was still in the closet. He spent years in Mexico trying to first deny to himself that he was gay, and then spending years in the closet, afraid that anybody would find of his visits to underground gay bars in conservative Monterrey. He then decided to move to the US, Partly looking for better economic opportunities, as most immigrants, but also partly looking to free himself from Mexican intolerance.
In his recent visit to Monterrey and Mexico City he saw a different Mexico. He saw that gay bars were no longer underground, There was a lot more of them, and they were bigger. Now gay bars were also visited by heterosexual couples. He was able to visit friends and relatives with his partner openly, without having to hide their relationship. His mom and relatives completely accepted his partner.
My friend also told me of his openly lesbian friend who works as a Mexican diplomat. She recently laughed over a question she was asked in Minnesota, about how she hid her lesbian partner in order to keep her diplomatic job. She said that she felt more comfortable being open in Mexico City now than she did in Minnesota. She doesn't hide her relationsip anymore in Mexico.
In Peru many gay men used to stay in the closet, marry women, have children, and spend their lives expressing their sexuality in underground gay bars. They risked being attacked or even killed if discovered leaving one of those bars. Now Lima Peru is filled of gay bars that are no longer underground. My Peruvian, Puertorican, Mexican and US Latino gay friends openly talk about their sexuality in Fecebook in front of hundreds of heterosexual friends and family without any hint of fear.
About 5 years ago our weekly magazine magazine Vida y Sabor published our first ever story dedicated to gay pride. Our readers are mainly working class immigrant Latinos. We got many furious calls and letters. There was talk about picket lines and boycotts. But there were also many Latino business people that were in the closet or that secretly supported gay rights that supported us and increased their advertising with us.
This week we published another gay pride edition. Not a single call of protest. No talk of boycotts. Just about every Latino GLBT person I know in Minnesota is now out of the closet. They invite their straight friends and family to their anniversary parties. Blue and white collar gay Latinos are now gaining more and more supporters for gay rights and marriage, because they are telling their heterosexual friends and families they are gay.
I was struck when I went to see the movie Milk, when Harvey Milk said that everybody who was gay would come out of the closet, and if they didn't they should be outed. I'm against people being involuntarily outed. But Harvey's point was that as more and more people found out that their relatives and friends were gay, more people would support BLBT rights. Latinos are very family oriented. As more and more Latinos come out of the closet their friends and family will become more tolerant of gay rights, and yes eventually gay marriage.
Cristina, the Oprah Winfrey of Spanish television in Univision recently had a show on Gay and Lesbian grandpas and grandmas. It was inspired by a gay grandpa character in a very popular Spanish soap opera. Gay grandpa in a Spanish Univision soap? Unheard of ten years ago.
I'm curious how the party of Senator Larry Craig, Senator John Ensign and Governor Mark Sanford will deal with the issue of the sanctity of marriage in 2010. But gay marriage is no longer the Republicans best hope to attract Latino voters.
Just imagine how powerful a stronger GLBT Latino political coalition would be in cities like Minneapolis, San Francisco, Los Angeles or New York. Both communities are suffering intolerance and political forces that use the communities as wedge issues. A Strong Latino and GLBT coalition would be a powerful force that could eventually legalize gay marriage and pass comprehensive immigration reform.
I will be talking today about gay marriage and gay pride in Spanish radio to Latino blue collar listeners. Unheard of five years ago. I'll let you know how it went.
There has been lots of discussion about how the last gay marriage referendum in California was voted down by Latino and African American voters. It's assumed that Latinos and African Americans are homophobic and that they're not ready to support gay marriage.
Republicans in 2004 banked their Latino voter strategy on getting out the vote of Latino evangelical voters. Many Latino evangelical churches preached that George Bush was against gay marriage and against abortion and that Democrats basically would kill babies and destroy the sanctity of marriage. This was a successful strategy then, and it got George Bush enough Latino voters to win reelection.
The Anti-abortion anti gay marriage strategy did not work with Latino voters in 2008. It was all about the economy and comprehensive immigration reform. Latinos were not thinking much about wedge issues in 2008. They were part of the winning majority for Obama.
But something else is happening in the Latino community. Latinos are becoming more tolerant of homosexuality, gay rights and may soon be ready to support gay marriage not only in the US, but in Latin America.
A friend of mine who is a Latino Leader in Minneapolis, and openly gay, recently talked to me about his recent visit to Monterrey, Mexico and to Mexico City. He left Mexico in the 90's when he was still in the closet. He spent years in Mexico trying to first deny to himself that he was gay, and then spending years in the closet, afraid that anybody would find of his visits to underground gay bars in conservative Monterrey. He then decided to move to the US, Partly looking for better economic opportunities, as most immigrants, but also partly looking to free himself from Mexican intolerance.
In his recent visit to Monterrey and Mexico City he saw a different Mexico. He saw that gay bars were no longer underground, There was a lot more of them, and they were bigger. Now gay bars were also visited by heterosexual couples. He was able to visit friends and relatives with his partner openly, without having to hide their relationship. His mom and relatives completely accepted his partner.
My friend also told me of his openly lesbian friend who works as a Mexican diplomat. She recently laughed over a question she was asked in Minnesota, about how she hid her lesbian partner in order to keep her diplomatic job. She said that she felt more comfortable being open in Mexico City now than she did in Minnesota. She doesn't hide her relationsip anymore in Mexico.
In Peru many gay men used to stay in the closet, marry women, have children, and spend their lives expressing their sexuality in underground gay bars. They risked being attacked or even killed if discovered leaving one of those bars. Now Lima Peru is filled of gay bars that are no longer underground. My Peruvian, Puertorican, Mexican and US Latino gay friends openly talk about their sexuality in Fecebook in front of hundreds of heterosexual friends and family without any hint of fear.
About 5 years ago our weekly magazine magazine Vida y Sabor published our first ever story dedicated to gay pride. Our readers are mainly working class immigrant Latinos. We got many furious calls and letters. There was talk about picket lines and boycotts. But there were also many Latino business people that were in the closet or that secretly supported gay rights that supported us and increased their advertising with us.
This week we published another gay pride edition. Not a single call of protest. No talk of boycotts. Just about every Latino GLBT person I know in Minnesota is now out of the closet. They invite their straight friends and family to their anniversary parties. Blue and white collar gay Latinos are now gaining more and more supporters for gay rights and marriage, because they are telling their heterosexual friends and families they are gay.
I was struck when I went to see the movie Milk, when Harvey Milk said that everybody who was gay would come out of the closet, and if they didn't they should be outed. I'm against people being involuntarily outed. But Harvey's point was that as more and more people found out that their relatives and friends were gay, more people would support BLBT rights. Latinos are very family oriented. As more and more Latinos come out of the closet their friends and family will become more tolerant of gay rights, and yes eventually gay marriage.
Cristina, the Oprah Winfrey of Spanish television in Univision recently had a show on Gay and Lesbian grandpas and grandmas. It was inspired by a gay grandpa character in a very popular Spanish soap opera. Gay grandpa in a Spanish Univision soap? Unheard of ten years ago.
I'm curious how the party of Senator Larry Craig, Senator John Ensign and Governor Mark Sanford will deal with the issue of the sanctity of marriage in 2010. But gay marriage is no longer the Republicans best hope to attract Latino voters.
Just imagine how powerful a stronger GLBT Latino political coalition would be in cities like Minneapolis, San Francisco, Los Angeles or New York. Both communities are suffering intolerance and political forces that use the communities as wedge issues. A Strong Latino and GLBT coalition would be a powerful force that could eventually legalize gay marriage and pass comprehensive immigration reform.
I will be talking today about gay marriage and gay pride in Spanish radio to Latino blue collar listeners. Unheard of five years ago. I'll let you know how it went.
posted by reportesur at 12:18 AM
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