Gay Latinos Break Their Silence
By: Rick Andreoli
11.30.2011
“There is a lot of ignorance and also a language barrier,” says Giselle, describing what it's like to be a young lesbian in the Latino community. “There’s not a lot of information out there for them that’s in Spanish. We get lost in translation. And I think that’s why there’s so much lack of acceptance and ignorance toward the subject.”
Giselle's story is seen in a new video campaign called "An Honest Conversation," which focuses exclusively on LGBTQ issues in the Latino community. It was produced by the website Cuéntame to create a direct, sober, honest and often painful portrayal of stories from LGBTQ Latino youth, their friends, families and the community in general. From bullying to abuse, struggle to triumph, this ground-breaking series aims to break taboos within the Latino community while changing paradigms within this fast-shifting demographic.
Cultural and religious factors often make discussing LGBTQ issues a daunting task within the Latino community. To be completely open and honest can be even harder. However Cuéntame's founder and producer, Axel Caballero, believes that "with more information available for Latinos to read and share, we can provide youth with support systems that help prevent tragedies, bullying and intolerance. Through such powerful, direct stories we are opening a nationwide honest conversation to prompt discussions at the holiday or Sunday dinner table, and into the lives of many Latinos in America.”
Cuéntame is releasing five videos targeting particular LGBTQ/Latino issues from a variety of perspectives. The first two have just comes out, and we'll be showing them all on Gay.net over the coming weeks. The first features Giselle, who encountered harsh bullying and gay bashing, which prompted her family to move her to Lubbock, TX to become “straight and safe.”
Check out this powerful video, then share it with your friends.
INFO
Website: mycuentame.org
Join the Conversation: anhonestconversation.org
Share Your Story: facebook.com/cuentame
Read Giselle's full story: mycuenta.me/giselle
Comments
beautiful, very proud of my chicana hermanitas
Regino
You have it nailed perfectly. Rural vs urban. I spend a lot of time yearly in Mexico City and I assure you that being gay there is not as difficult as other places. 350,000 out for the Pride march in June, zona rosa is heavily gay, but in rural Mexico.....not so. You got it amigo....
Well i can relate to her story .I am a Chicano too My parent's are both Mexicans and migrated to the U.S then i was born here .but after i was born here they went back to mexico and we lived there for a long time,we came back and forth and i kinda know both sides equally so i must say in Mexico people where more accepting of me being gay but we lived a big city and it was normal for Queer people to be around even though not all people liked it but when i came here to U.S i noticed that the Latino Community where more hostel towards gay people and i personally think it's because the Mexicans who migrated to the U.S are those who live in rural areas and have no opportunity in jobs and Education so when they come over here all they know is that they came here for a job but at the same time the also brought with them the thought that if your gay you are an abomination of god(mostly families who have a Religious background) and that's when the pregidous begins ,I can say all of my friends that are Mexican and that they live in mexico are Accepting and always supportive but the ones who migrated aren't very educated about the hole situation,i wish they where more like the Mexicans that live in mexico .
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