¡Ojo! Latine media, art & cultural happenings to keep your eye on.
Bringing you a selection of new and notable LGBTQ media curated by GLAAD’s Spanish-Language & Latine Media & Representation team.
Younger latine people are more likely to identify as LGBTQ, and with over 62 million Latines in the US alone, it is crucial to celebrate and amplify inclusive media that represents the wide range of Latine experiences. Here are just a few examples of creative projects doing just that.
If you love a show, film, song, or book, please remember to share about them on your socials, so that others can also know about great queer Latine media.
TV
El amor no tiene receta on Univision features Coco Máxima
El amor no tiene receta (in English, Love Has No Recipe) is a Mexican telenovela that co-stars Mexican actress, singer, model and conductor, Coco Máxima, as Nandy. In an interview with People En Español, Coco describes her character as “una chica trans maravillosa, bien divertida y bien fiestera, pero eso sí, muy responsable y bien chambeadora” (a marvelous trans girl, who is really fun and loves to party, but is also very responsible and hardworking).
Las Top News reports that this is a historic role for Máxima, as the first openly trans actress cast in a TelevisaUnivision novela. The article charts her rise to fame from when she became the first trans woman to be a part of a Disney production in Mexico, for her role as Yadi on El Repatriado, available to watch on Disney+ Latinoamérica. Her long career in entertainment includes reporting for Escándala, a prominent Mexican LGBTQ magazine, and appearances in season 8 of Telemundo’s crime drama El Señor de los Cielos.
Watch the show on ViX or live on Univision!
Buzz-generating Tengo Que Morir Todas Las Noches on Prime (México)
Mexican show, Tengo Que Morir Todas Las Noches streaming on Amazon Prime Video in Mexico and Latin America is generating a lot of buzz.
Based on the novel with the same title by journalist Guillermo Osorno, this queer Mexican series directed by Ernesto Contreras and Alejandro Zuno is framed by the fight for LGBTQ rights in Mexico in the 80s. The series follows a young man who arrives in Mexico City to study journalism. His life soon changes when he discovers an iconic gay bar, based on El Nueve, a refuge for unique and diverse people, many of whom soon become his chosen family. Over the course of eight episodes, audiences witness the radical coexistence of joyous queer spaces, with social repression and the emerging HIV crisis.
Keep an eye out for a U.S. release date! And if you’re in Mexico, watch the series here.
Books
Queer Retelling of a Greek Classic The Palace of Eros by Caro De Robertis
Bestselling and award-winning nonbinary author Caro De Robertis will release their new book The Palace of Eros in August 2024. The book explores the unfolding relationship between Psyche, a beautiful and headstrong young woman and Eros, the nonbinary deity of desire. Publisher Simon & Schuster describes The Palace of Eros as a “bold and subversive feminist retelling of the Greek myth of Psyche and Eros explores the power of queer joy and freedom.”
A writer of Uruguayan origins, De Robertis is also an award-winning translator of Latin American literature, a professor at San Francisco State University, and the first openly nonbinary person to receive the John Dos Passos Prize for Literature. Their other books include The President and the Frog, Cantoras, and more.
Click here for links to pre-order The Palace of Eros or ask for it at your local bookstore!
Groundbreaking Children’s Book Los Viernes de Películas by Kodi Rain and Tian Torrano
When Kodi Rain and Tian Torrano realized there were no children’s books written in inclusive Spanish language, they set out to fill that void. Los Viernes de Películas is a first-of-its kind resource for educators everywhere looking to foster a more inclusive atmosphere in their Spanish-language classrooms. With backgrounds in education and psychology, respectively, they crafted a heartwarming story of friendship and community rooted in Uruguayan culture.
Read the official synopsis here: “Mar has five very close friends who they met when they were ten. Several years later the group of friends get together on Friday evenings to eat, talk, and watch movies. One of the friends, Tierra, doesn’t show up for two weeks in a row without letting anyone know, which is unusual. The group of friends try to figure out what is going on with Tierra and how to help.”
Click here for links to order Los Viernes de Películas.
Powerful New Poetry Collection El espacio que te doy: Poemas tras un diagnóstico de VIH by Morla Solís
Morla Solís’ new book of poetry El espacio que te doy charts life after HIV diagnosis and how these life changes resulted in a “creative and spiritual explosion” for the poet. The book is described as a collection of poems and diary entries written as a result of this evolutive process. The collection’s official description, in Spanish, states that the book “goes further than simply focusing on the virus, and broaches existential, transcendental, and spiritual topics that every human being can connect with. From the fragility of the human body, to the search for life’s purpose, the poetic voice Solís channels takes readers on a journey from a chaotic moment to a place of empowerment and light.”
Solís, now a Chicago resident, grew up in Ecuador, where he co-founded the group Tejido Diverso which organized marches and kiss-ins to protest anti-LGBTQ injustice.
His self-published book is currently available in Spanish and the English translation will be available on August 18th.
Buy and read El espacio que te doy here!
LGBTQ Romance Novel El Perfilador by Sheina Lee Leoni
Uruguayan award-winning poet and novelist Sheina Lee Leoni published her most recent book El Perfilador on July 9th. The book is about Enki Barboza, a renowned psychiatrist and criminal profiler in Uruguay’s Intelligence forces. Worn down with the job’s pressures and the stress of figuring out his sexuality, Enki is faced with retirement or relocation.
Sheina Lee Leoni is a prolific writer, and has published many inclusive romantic novels such as El Boxeador, and La Sencillez del Amor, poetry collections and more.
Buy and read El Perfilador here!
Highlights From the Socials-Sphere
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Events
And for our Arizona readers, keep your eyes and schedules open for Trans Queer Pueblo‘s 12th Annual Drag for a Dream Event!
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