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 July, August and September issues of En La Vida, which featured a three-part interview with Latino gay activist Rick Garcia, who died Jan. 12 at 69.
At the time, Garcia was executive director of the Illinois Federation for Human Rights, the political advocacy organization now known as Equality Illinois.
Conducted by former En La Vida writer and LGBTQ+ activist Robert Castillo, the interview spans Chicago and Springfield, local activism and statewide strategy, and Garcia’s unflinching analysis of race, class, coalition politics and LGBTQ+ power.
Across the three installments, Garcia reflects on Civil Rights battles at the Illinois Capitol, the limits of respectability politics, tensions between grassroots activism and institutional advocacy, and the challenges facing queer communities of color.
More than 25 years later, the interview reads as both a time capsule and a warning that civil rights gains are fragile and reversible.
Below, we republish the full three-part En La Vida interview as it originally appeared in 1997.