“Aquí Estamos is Spanish for ‘we’re here.’ It was really important for the Aquí Estamos team to declare their presence as queer people of color not only in the Valley but in Texas and the U.S. It’s not surprising to find queer events in large urban cities where many queer people live but many don’t expect to find queer events in the South and in a conservative, rural-like area like the Valley. The team wants to undo those assumptions and make it known that there are queer people on the border. ‘The name represents us stepping forward and declaring our existence, our presence, and our narratives — all things that I feel have been largely dismissed by the mainstream media,’ Marrero said.”
Read all about the Aquí Estamos conference happening in the Rio Grande Valley on August 6 & 7 and why its so important to me and the Valley. I’ll be at the conference speaking on a media panel Friday afternoon.
