Listening Room: Community & Activism
You Folks Were A Lifeline
[Music]
Louis Jacinto
Several people have come up to me through the years and said, you know, "I used to listen to the Radio GLLU when I was a kid…”
[1986 Archived Recording]
KPFK Radio Announcer
And now…Radio GLLU.
Louis Jacinto
because it was my only connection to other queer people.I didn't know anybody. And you folks were a lifeline and made me feel like it was going to be okay.
[1986 Archived Recording]
Lydia Otero
Bienvenidos, soy Lydia Otero.
Eduardo Archuleta
and Eduardo Archuleta.
Lydia Otero
Gay and Lesbian Latino Unidos welcome you to Radio GLLU.
Eduardo Archuleta
El cuarto domingo de cada mes a las 10 de la noche, estaremos aqui con ustedes.
Lydia Otero
On the fourth Sunday of each month, tune in at 10 p.m. for an exciting half hour with you in mind. And from 10:30 to 11 IMRU will be back. Estamos aquí porque sabemos que nuestros hermanos y hermanas no han podido recibir el apoyo de un comunidad que les permita vivir con el orgullo de ser lesbiana o gay. Queremos que sepan que no están solos.
Eduardo Archuleta
Those of us who cannot live openly as lesbians and gays need to know that we are not alone but a part of a community that does care.
Eduardo Archuleta
That goes back to why I joined GLLU in the first place, Gays and Lesbians Latinos Unidos. I was in college at the time that I found out about it and I heard that there was this group and there was this meeting that was held at the Gay and Lesbian Center at the time. So when I found out about the Latino Gay and lesbian queer community, it was it was very cool. It was like, oh, thank God, you know, I can be who I am. Finding that it was just like a relief to say, oh, here these are my people because there were a ton of white dominant gay organizations throughout L.A., West Hollywood, Hollywood in particular.
[1986 Archived Recording]
Lydia Otero
Gay and Lesbian Latinos Unidos, GLLU, which was formed in September 1981 as a small social and political group, is now a nonprofit educational organization. Cultural and consciousness raising activities are also provided as well as a vehicle for artistic expression and organizing social and fundraising events. GLLU is an organization uniquely dedicated to provide for lesbianas and gay Latinos. A space to share their common ethnic backgrounds and sexual identities is also a forum where issues directly concerning us are expressed and discussed and solutions are sought. We are an alternative to the traditional lesbian and gay social outlets.
Eduardo Archuleta
Establecidos en septiembre 1981 como un grupo social y político, Gay and Lesbian Latinos Unidos ahora es una organización educacional. Presentamos actividades educacionales, culturales, y eventos sociales, y para recuadar fondos. GLLU está dedicado a proveer para lesbianas latinas y gays latinos un espacio donde los asistentes pueden compartir su cultura y sus identidades sexuales. Es un forum donde se expresan y se discuten asuntos que nos afecten y donde se busca soluciones. También GLLU es un alternativo a los lugares tradicionales sociales disponibles a lesbianas y gays.
[Music]
Rita Gonzales
I was in and out of different Latino groups and in the Latino movement prior to GLLU. And then as a phone installer, I was asked to go to the Gay Lesbian Center to install some phones. And I go, “Why is there a gay lesbian center? Why do gays need a center?” So I went. I was very reluctant, but I went because I was closeted at the phone company because they were very hostile against gays at that time.
Rita Gonzales
That's where I met Laura Esquivel, and Arturo Alivez with GLLU. They introduced me to Gay and Lesbian Unidos. They even asked me after I was there a few times, “Are you a lesbian?” And I finally said, “yes, I am.” So they invited me to a meeting, and that's how I got involved with GLLU. And it was just like, Wow, there's gay Latinos.
[1990 Archived Recording]
[Music]
Irene Martínez
Tonight, our program touches on two aspects of our identity being Latino and being gay or lesbian. As Latinos, we have been celebrating our culture with Latino Cultural Awareness Month being honored this September by attending the various artistic exhibits and teatros being held throughout the city. And coming up, we also will be celebrating our gay and lesbian culture with National Coming Out Day on October 11th, where we are encouraged to take our next step. We will be interviewing two people tonight who will talk with Rita Gonzales and Eduardo Archuleta about their coming out experiences as gay and lesbian Latinos and Latinas. Our guests tonight are Pat Martell, who has just been elected to GLLU's Board of Directors and vice president.
Rita Gonzales
Pat Martel, welcome to the show.
Pat Martel
Well, thank you, Rita. I'm really happy to be here tonight. I think that I'm probably still in the coming out stages and probably will always be in the coming out stages. But my initial coming out, I remember very clearly it occurred on January 14th, 1978. The reason I remember that is because it was my birthday. So it was a very monumental birthday for me. At that time I was 22 years old. I had led a very straight heterosexual existence. I grew up in a very Catholic, Latino family and went to Catholic school. My role model for most of my early life was my sister, who was five years older than me, and I'd always wanted to be just like her. So I attempted to follow in her footsteps and unfortunately she was very femme [LAUGHS] and had lots of boyfriends.
Pat Martell
After I came out, the first person I told about my involvement with a lesbian, the fact that I had accepted my life as being a lesbian, was my sister. And I remember that conversation I had with her very, very well, because I've always had this desire to be accepted by my sister and for my sister to admire me as much as I admire her. And I think I have that relationship with her. And I think I was kind of worried at the time that that would change if she knew I was a lesbian. And the one thing that occurred that has always made me feel very good about coming out and also I think has affected my acceptance of who I am, is that my sister was very open and very accepting. I remember very clearly the one thing that she said to me was after we had talked about it and discussed it and she'd asked me questions and, you know, we'd cried together about it. The one thing she said, “You're my sister and I love you no matter what kind of lifestyle you have.” She said, “The only thing that I hope and I pray about in life is that you never have to suffer as a result of being who you are and what you are.”
Pat Martell
I've always chosen to come out to people on the basis that revealing myself and who I am is important primarily to people who are important to me, is not so important to me to reveal myself to people who don't have an interest in my life or who have some impact or influence on my life. If they find out, it's fine with me. I have no fear of that. I'm not in the closet, so it's fine. But really sharing my coming out experience and sharing what that means to me in the life that I've chosen for myself is something that I take very seriously in terms of wanting people who are meaningful to me to know that.
Rita Gonzales
So from Radio GLLU, I'm Rita Gonzales. With Pat Martell.
[Music]
Rita Gonzales
When you volunteer for any organization, it's a lot of work no matter what it is, and it's a commitment that you make that you want to do better for your community and talking to the people that were able to talk about their organization, even though some of them couldn't give their names. It was very brave of them. I mean, we got to meet so many gay Latinos everywhere in the community that I did not know existed.
Eduardo Archuleta
We did get to meet and talk to a ton of people in the community that I know I wasn't aware of or the things that were going on. Different committees that had come up even on a national scope for gay and lesbian Latinos. It was really great and really insightful. And I have to say, there wasn't an interview that we did that I didn't learn something from. And I was always very grateful and very appreciative of that.
[1992 Archived Recording]
[Music]
Rita Gonzales
For those of you who don't know, you only have--
Eduardo Archuleta
Nine days left to register to vote.
Rita Gonzales
We're urging you to go out there and register and use your right to vote.
Eduardo Archuleta
It is really important because we can make gains and we can make strides and we can show our political clout, but only if we register and only if we vote.
Rita Gonzales
Saturday morning I read an interview, an interesting article, a letter to the Times by someone from the archdiocese called “Public Policy on Gays and Lesbians.” It's the church's attitude. And they said something very interesting about the church because there has been a lot of controversy on it. And what they said is it's not a sin to be a homosexual. Which I thought, Wow, great. You know, we're getting a little positive here. But it's okay to be homosexual, you just can't act upon it.
Eduardo Archuleta
Just don't have no sex.
Rita Gonzales
Exactly.
Eduardo Archuleta
Which makes you asexual.
Rita Gonzales
Well, actually, what they said is if you're single, engaged a widow or widower, divorced or bisexual or a homosexual, you can't have sex. You can be whatever you want, but you can't have sex. If the church sanctioned marriages, then what's the big problem? I had also a conversation this last week with someone from the church, a nun. And we talked about homosexuality for like three hours. And she brought up something very important which goes along with voting. I know I'm going to tie these two together and--
Eduardo Archuleta
And I can't wait.
[LAUGHING]
Rita Gonzales
Church and state. Church and state. And I found it very interesting because what she said, which was a very valid point, the church is the people. Politics, the government is the people. And if people don't start making statements that they're unhappy with what's going on, only the people can change it. And I think there's an old attitude that the church is run by a group of people or a group up on top of the hierarchy–
Eduardo Archuleta
–of men.
Rita Gonzales
And they're making the rules. But the thing that needs to be understood is that the people still run it. If you're unhappy with what the church is doing, only you can change it.And it also has to do with politics. See how I just just threw that in there.
Eduardo Archuleta
And you did that so well.
Rita Gonzales
Didn't I? Didn't I? You wouldn't even notice if I hadn’t brought it up.
[Music]
Rita Gonzales
99% of our guests were Latinos on our show. Every once in a while you'd have someone that wasn't Latino and that had to do a lot with the AIDS crisis, too, to talk about some of the services that was out there, because there was also the AIDS crisis. So we would have some people from the health area that would come on our show to talk about it. HIV AIDS. And lesbian health was very important too. No one ever talked about lesbian health. So we would try to have somebody to talk about that, too. So it wasn't all political.
[1991-2 Archived Recording]
[GLLU Jingle]
Rita Gonzales
There is a drop in center for persons affected by HIV AIDS called the Gathering Place. It's located at 3860 Martin Luther King Boulevard, Suite 3, in Los Angeles. And The Gathering Place is a daytime drop in center, which provides a warm and loving atmosphere for all its clients and their caregivers.
Eduardo Archuleta
And these services are also provided in Spanish. So if you know of anyone who is in need of these services. Please refer them to this place also.
Rita Gonzales
Those of you who live in East Los Angeles and are affected by HIV AIDS, there is the Milagros AIDS project. Milagros AIDS Project is a group of AIDS programs run by El Centro Human Services, located at 972 South Goodrich Boulevard. There is also now a Mujeres project. Mujeres project is also an AIDS education and prevention program designed to reach the Latino woman.
Eduardo Archuleta
And again, this is another group that's in East L.A. that's providing services. So we want everyone to know that there are a lot of services out there for us, and we need to start taking advantage of some of them and seeking the help.
[Music]
[1986 Archived Recording]
Eduardo Archuleta
Gay and Lesbian Latinos Unidos is proud to be hosting the fourth annual International Lesbian and Gay People of Color Conference this November. The conditions facing Third World Lesbian and gays in these mid 1980s causes us to seriously reflect on our lives. As the writer Langston Hughes said, “Life for us ain't been no crystal staircase.” We have been at once apart and separated from our ethnic and gay communities, sometimes ostracized, often ignored.
Eduardo Archuleta
We have come up against homophobia and racism time and time again. This does not mention the situation in larger society. We face a time when our spirit, body and mind are challenged by political attacks, by the new right and the assault on our lives by AIDS. And yet we struggle and see the emergence of more sisters and brothers who are coming out to their communities, coming together in organizations, and coming about to work together instead of struggling alone. This is the spirit which is embodied in our theme. Joining Struggles, Making Our Future. The fourth convening of the International Lesbian and Gay People of Color Conference will be an important step in assessing the present situation faced by people of color, lesbians and gay men.
Eduardo Archuleta
It will be a forum for discussing issues and direction. It will be a basis for revitalizing ties and building a broader, more united front. It will be a healing, regenerating force. By joining our struggle, the conference will reinforce the efforts we make as individuals, organizations and communities to make our future.
Louis Jacinto
We would have updates about GLLU and our upcoming activities naturally. And then we would also talk about any other activities that were happening specifically with our sister organizations like Gay and Lesbian Asian Pacific Islanders or Black and White Men Together. There was another Black lesbian women's group. I can’t recall their name. And I think it really showed how important it was for us to work side by side with other organizations to better improve the community. We weren't isolationists from the rest of the community. We worked side by side with the rest of the community. And they wanted to work with us. They saw, "Hey, these kids have it together.”
[1986 Archived Recording]
[Music]
Eduardo Archuelta
This is Eduardo Archuleta with Radio GLLU. Today, we're proud to be speaking with Oscar de la O and Geneva Fernandez, President and Vice President of Gay and Lesbian Latinos Unidos. Geneva, now that GLLU has entered its fifth year. What impact it had on the rest of the lesbian and gay community?
Geneva Fernandez
I think that GLLU has actually had a vast impact in the community at large. When we look at the different organizations that currently look for endorsements such as Sunset Junction, [Con]nexus, CSW and all across the board, the community is now coming to us looking for support. We are almost looked at as the microcosm of the gay and lesbian community, such as being a minority within that.
Eduardo Archuleta
Oscar, what impact have you noticed GLLU having on the non gay Latino community?
Oscar de la O
The most significant impact that I've noticed from the non-gay Latino community has been that finally we're being recognized that we exist and this could be seen by the fact that several candidates like Richard Blanco just recently has come to our meetings in the past. Art Torres and Gloria Molina have seeked our support and advice on several issues. Also, established organizations such as MALDEF, the Mexican-American Legal Defense Organization, has invited GLLU to participate in their advocacy program.
Eduardo Archuleta
Geneva, GLLU has been noted for its strong working relationships between men and women. This is rare among lesbian and gay organizations. What has made this possible?
Geneva Fernandez
I think what's actually made it possible is that the men in GLLU are not intimidated by strong women. And if you look at the past history of GLLU, the Lesbian Task Force, which is now Lesbianas Unidas, was formed by the men in GLLU. And in this formation of Lesbian Task Force, they actually began to sit down and look at their own racism and sexism. One of the things that I can actually say about GLLU that I cannot say about all gay white males is I worked at the Gay and Lesbian Community Service Center and saying to a white man working there that the only reason why we're working together is because we sexually don't prefer each other. And I can't say this to hold true with my brothers in GLLU, because we do have a common bond of oppression, and that is our nationalities and our culture.
[Music]
Louis Jacinto
The great thing about GLLU is that we all got together, but all of us were of different—we’re all Latino—but we’re different ethnicities. And we got to learn about each other’s histories and experiences all living here in the United States, you know? And that part was great. But I think the underlying foundation was our cultural experience as family.
Roland Palencia
I would love for an anthropologist to actually look at our model and for people to figure out how do we replicate this model of family that is not related by blood, but that is very, very much connected. And very much in many cases, taking the place of families in ways that families themselves cannot provide for these people who are technically strangers to each other.
[1986 Archived Recording]
Geneva Fernandez
What I do tell prospective members and members that were possibly members a year ago and what have you is that there's a sense of familia which you can't find anywhere else. It's a common bond. It's like having your brothers and sisters as a support group that actually, where you can be yourself and you can speak in the tongue that you're comfortable with and be around with people that care. GLLU is a dynamite organization and is currently mobilizing throughout the Southwest and I would basically go on that.
Oscar de la O
I think, to put it very nicely in that it's a familia and it's not an organization that you come and you join and you attend meetings. But there is a support system out there that we're all truly a familia. So by joining GLLU, what you really get is a familia and it's a nice organization to belong to.
Eduardo Archuleta
This is Eduardo Archuleta with Oscar de la O and Geneva Fernandez.
[Music]
Archival Recordings:
“Radio Gay and Lesbian Unidos GLLU #1 1986 April 27,” open reel audiotape (7 inch reel). IMRU Radio Sound Recordings and Administrative Records, 1970-2011. ONE Archives at the USC Libraries.
“Radio Gay and Lesbian Latinos Unidos (GLLU) Coming Out 1990 September 23,” open reel audiotape (7 inch reel). IMRU Radio Sound Recordings and Administrative Records, 1970-2011. ONE Archives at the USC Libraries.
“Radio Gay and Lesbian Unidos (GLLU) Terri De la Peña 1991-1992 September 27,” compact disc. IMRU Radio Sound Recordings and Administrative Records, 1970-2011. ONE Archives at the USC Libraries.
“Radio Gay and Lesbian Latinos Unidos (GLLU) Lesbian/Gay Day 1992 July 02,” compact disc. IMRU Radio Sound Recordings and Administrative Records, 1970-2011. ONE Archives at the USC Libraries.