Out the Archives is a recurring feature diving into the Windy City Times collection, offering a look back at the rich history of LGBTQ+ Chicago.
In this edition, we look back at the September 1996 issue of En La Vida, which included coverage of youth activism within the Latine community.
For more Latine LGBTQ+ news—past and present—please sign up for our monthly En La Vida newsletter.
In Osvaldo del Valle’s 1996 story on youth activism in the LGBTQ Latino community, he brings up a sentiment that still exists in the community—thinking of activists mainly as people who came before us and laid the path, while overlooking the efforts of people working on our behalf now.
Nowadays, there are many young people and youth movements across marginalized communities—and less of the stereotype that young people are disengaged. Nearly 30 years ago, Del Valle sat down with 17-year-old Miguel Ayala to discuss what youth activism meant to him and how he was countering that stereotype.
Ayala helped found a gay and lesbian group, PRIDE, at Whitney Young High School in order to help provide a safe place for students questioning their sexuality. He also said being Mexican, and therefore part of a community that’s very traditionally Catholic, he found he had his own personal conflicts when realizing he was queer.
However, he thought the Latino community would come to be more accepting of lesbian and gay children. Albeit very slowly, he said he believed the day would come when it would be more mainstream.
When it comes to joining and participating in LGBTQ organizations, Ayala said it’s not something he thought people should be forced into. If they feel called to it, then they should take the leap.
He did say he felt LGBTQ Latinos at the time could take a page out of the book from the LGBT Black community—he said he was always hearing about the work they were doing as a community, and wanted to see that in the LGBTQ Latino community, as well.
With his organization at Whitney Young, he said he hoped to help contribute to a more welcoming community.
“I hope to increase the tolerance of gays, lesbians, [and] bisexuals within high schools by having some guest speakers come to the school and give lectures to the students,” he said. “Basically to eliminate the ignorance that a lot of people have in high schools towards gays and lesbians and bisexuals.”
Did you contribute to En La Vida during its 1996-2002 run? We want to hear from you! Email Managing Editor Jake Wittich at wittichjake@gmail.com to get in touch.