Establishing Community
Creating a safe space is crucial for building supportive queer Latine social networks. The League of Latino/a Gay and Lesbian Organization (LLEGO) and the Gay and Lesbian Hispanics Unido (GLCU) GLHU and LLEGO did just that: They brought together individuals from similar cultural backgrounds to share their struggles, celebrate their culture, and assert their right to exist.
The most common approach was the organizational conferences. In these large gatherings, the community discussed current events, celebrated selfhood, and networked with one another. The newspaper Aqui LLEGO, created in 1994, promoted one such convening, the first National Latina Lesbian Conference. The event, which took place in Tuscon, Arizona, allowed Latina lesbians to come together and discuss challenges without the presence and judgment of white men.
These organizations also organized social gatherings throughout the year to celebrate and normalize queerness. For instance, the Latino Gay Men of New York (LGMNY), a non-profit organization established in 1990, coordinated events that fostered togetherness while pressing on serious issues affecting their community. The Gay and Lesbian Hispanic Unidos (GLHU) did the same in Houston, Texas; They created social events throughout the year, as seen in these fliers, to keep their network strong.
These communities also planned large events. Created by Arthur Cordova, the GLHU organized an annual dance called "Baile" featuring Latin music in which they crowned Mr. and Ms. Baile each year. This grand event provided a space for attendees to express their queerness and the duality of their identity as both Latine and queer. These queer events also gave the community an outlet for artistic expression that typically emphasized the beauty of queer experiences, past or present.
Bailes were created in the early 20th century when Texas was reforming its identity after its separation from Mexico. The birth of the Tex-Mex identity eventually saw the popularization of Tejano Conjuntos, thus creating Bailes. Bailes are dances that play Conjunto music mainly in Texas. Medrano, Manuel F. "El Baile: A Story of Conjunto Music in the Rio Grande Valley." Humanities Texas. Last modified September 2016.
Wolf, Brandon. "Paving the Path." Out Smart Magazine. October 4, 2021. https://www.outsmartmagazine.com/2021/10/paving-the-path/.