Esperanza Hosts “Out & Proud” Virtual Event

October 10, 2020 - San Antonio

The Esperanza Peace and Justice Center will be hosting an event showcasing various different Latinx queer performers in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month and National Coming Out Month. The “Out & Proud” performances will take place virtually on Saturday, Oct. 10 at 8 p.m. Courtesy Images, Esperanza Center.

By: Valeria Torrealba - Staff Intern - San Antonio Sentinel

The Esperanza Peace and Justice Center will be hosting a virtual event showcasing various different Latinx queer performers in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month and National Coming Out Month. The “Out & Proud” performances will take place on Sat. Oct. 10 at 8 p.m. CST. Tickets can be purchased here. 

Packed with a full lineup of queer Latinx performers, writers, and an overall multitalented group, the event will feature different parts of the stories each performer has brought to the stage. For Monica Palacios and Dan Guerrero, their performances will be snippets of their own work — two creations that amplify their identities and the experiences they have gone through while growing up part of a marginalized community. 

‘“I identify as a Chicana Lesbian Latin Performer,” said Palacios. “My work is a representation of queer Latino, Latina, Latinx people. I have that platform of creating solos of myself, but I also write plays and screenplays — I’ve done a couple of TV scrips where I’ve made characters that are queer Latinos, because we don’t see that in television, so, that’s my focus: that’s my agenda, to put a spotlight on my cultura.” 

Palacios, a stand-up comedian that performs over her experience in the Latinx LGBTQ community, will be performing a piece from her solo show, “I’m Still Here”. The autobiographical work details her experiences of growing up in the 1960s and 70s. 

“I’m going to [read] through an excerpt from my solo show, “I’m Still Here,”” said Palacios. “It has to do with my childhood, a very specific moment from my childhood. It’s not an extremely gay piece, it’s just – I’m five years old, and, this incident happens to me — I think everybody can relate to this. It’s transitioning from kindergarten to the first grade, and the scariness of it all.” 

Out & Proud comes at a time where the Latinx community feels separated from the rest of the world. With a pandemic rampaging through San Antonio still, the disparities between the Latinx community and others has been highlighted greatly as the year continues. 

“I think the whole evening is just, taking a break from this madness and chaos that we’re living in right now,” said Palacios. “The horrific pandemic, I’ve kinda just stopped counting the number of people that have died. It didn’t have to be that way, but since we have an administration that doesn’t give a shit, they don’t care if we die or not. This evening is a moment of joy, and is also a benefit for the Esperanza Center, a place I’m very connected to.”

The show will be a benefit for the Esperanza Peace & Justice Center, an indomitable staple for the Latinx community.

“It’s one thing to be an LGBTQ person, but on top of that, to be a person of color — that adds a whole other level,” said Dan Guerrero. “I have found that the gay Latino community is somehow separated from the general gay community, which I found very disturbing.

“It is a benefit for the Esperanza, and we would greatly appreciate [for people to donate],” said Palacios. “If people could make a donation in any amount, that would be great — the Esperanza Center has to continue. They do some amazing work, and they are so important. They do some great work for San Antonio.” 

For performer and producer Dan Guerrero, he will be performing an excerpt from his show and film ¡Gaytino! for the evening. 

“I will be doing a scene from ¡Gaytino!” said Guerrero. “When I kind of come out to myself at about 14, looking in the mirror.”

The pandemic has affected many, but for Dan, it meant that his film festival endeavors were put on an abrupt hold for the unforeseen future. Having to reinvent his work and performance, Guerrero hopes to show his craft and get the messages of learning history and self-acceptance across. 

“I haven’t really done the show online,” said Guerrero. “The Esperanza was one of the very very first places I did it. They invited me to perform it when I was still just trying it out. All of a sudden I came back, and everything ended — four different festivals went away, and quite a few have gone virtual. Everyone’s reinventing themselves these days, which is what the Esperanza is doing right now with this fundraiser.” 

The beauty of what the Esperanza Center’s event brings to the table is remarkable; intertwining the stories of different Latinx performers brings the community together, allowing them to showcase their work and be proud of who they each are personally. Being Latinx and part of the LGBTQ community can come with more complications, with the two being clashing cultures when put together. 

“It’s one thing to be an LGBTQ person, but on top of that, to be a person of color — that adds a whole other level,” said Guerrero. “I have found that the gay Latino community is somehow separated from the general gay community, which I found very disturbing. I’ve done ¡Gaytino! the play all over the place. It’s an autobiographical piece, it’s educational. It’s gay history as I lived it. It is an educational piece. In all the times I’ve gone to universities, I have never been taken there except for a Latino organization. I was never brought by the theater department — it was always a Chicano study, a Chicano library, a Chicano organization. Proving my point that we are still separate.”

What each performer hopes to bring to the show is a message of being proud of your own identity — that we are each human and should showcase our differences in harmony.

“Well, you would hope that [the audience] will understand that we’re just like everybody else,” said Guerrero. “It’s the same thing, a different culture, we’re all the same. My show is very specifically about growing up Mexican American Chicano as a gay man. But the themes are universal. It’s a father-son story, it’s a best-friend relationship, it’s self-identity, it’s self-acceptance. It’s a universal theme — everybody goes through these things. Mine happens to be specifically about [that], but, you can certainly relate! Anybody can relate, because they’re all the same. You hope you would bring understanding to people.” 

The Esperanza Center has continued to provide a platform and gateway to many up and coming performers. For Guerrero, it is a place he looks back on fondly — one that helped him find his way through the world of live theatre.

“I just want to say that I so support the Esperanza Center. I love the work that the Esperanza Center does. They do such good work, and it’s very difficult times for everybody, in every position. But live theatre, what they do — that’s going to be a long time coming. Artists will work differently — good will come out of this terrible, terrible time.” 

Good will come out of this tumultuous timeline in history — for now, the Esperanza Center and its performers will make the absolute best of it with the resources that they have. 

Valeria Torrealba is an opinions columnist and public relations assistant at the University Star, a student publication of Texas State University. Email her at reporter@sasentinel.com.