HARTFORD, Conn. — Latinos in the LGBTQ+ community are a part of two groups that share a powerful sense of pride. When it comes to conversations revolving around identity and inclusivity, there is no ‘one fits all’, especially when it comes to family relationships.
Rafael Feliciano-Roman, the executive director and founder of the Afro-Caribbean Cultural Center in Waterbury, is on a mission to make sure Latinos and people in the LGBTQ+ community have a safe space they can turn to.
"I was born and raised in Waterbury. Being a queer, Latino, Boricua was not a good story," he said. "I was actually kind of forced out, my little brother read my journal in that I had expressed my feelings and sentiments that I had summer love, puppy love in high school. I came out to my parents, it was a really awkward and uncomfortable time."
Charlie Ortiz, a psychotherapist and President of CLARO, a Hartford-based Latino nonprofit, is using his story to promote equality for the Latino LGBTQ+ community and create the space to have tough conversations.
"I think I was gay since I could remember, but my earliest thought was when I was 8 years old," Ortiz said. "My parents, of course, being Latino and very religious they wanted to have all these children everywhere, as grandparents and that didn't happen."
For some, it’s been much easier who knew early on in life that their identity fell on the LGBTQ+ spectrum and they opened up about the difficult conversations they had with their families when they decided to live their life authentically.
Former Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra said his mother's word of advice when he came out was to always respect himself.
"Basically, it was more my mother...Bringing me out of the closet," Segarra said. "I was 14, she had noticed some changes in me, and she suspected that I was gay so at one point she called me to the side and said 'Are you gay?' I, of course, denied it. I was 14 years old, very young, and she said it did not matter to her."
Sheila Garcia said she knew early on as well. She is happy to see how things have changed over time and people have become more accepting of the LGBTQ+ community.
"I was nervous and scared mostly because I did not know what kind of reaction I was going to get from my family," Garcia said. "For the most part, a lot of my family members were pretty supportive."
Jareliz Diaz is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jdiaz@fox61.com
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