October 11 is National Coming Out Day! We’ve put together a list of Latino celebrities who have come out or are definitely allies to remind us that love is love.Getty
October 11 is National Coming Out Day. This is an occasion to celebrate coming out as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) or as an ally. This year marks the 29th anniversary of National Coming Out Day. It all started on the anniversary of the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights as a reminder that everyone is entitled to be who they are.
On Oct. 11, 1987, half a million people participated in the March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. It was the second demonstration of its kind in the nation’s capital and resulted in the founding of a number of LGBTQ organizations, including the National Latino/a Gay & Lesbian Organization (LLEGÓ) and AT&T’s LGBTQ employee group, LEAGUE.
The momentum continued four months after this march as more than 100 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer activists from around the country gathered in Manassas, Va., about 25 miles outside Washington, D.C. Recognizing that the LGBTQ community often reacted defensively to anti-LGBTQ actions, they came up with the idea of a national day to celebrate coming out and chose the anniversary of that second march on Washington to mark it.
The originators of the idea were Rob Eichberg, a founder of the personal growth workshop, The Experience, and Jean O'Leary, then head of National Gay Rights Advocates. From this idea the National Coming Out Day was born. Each year on Oct. 11, National Coming Out Day continues to promote a safe world for LGBTQ individuals to live truthfully and openly.
According to Human Rights Campaign, one out of every two Americans has someone close to them who is gay or lesbian. For transgender people, that number is one in 10.
In honor of National Coming Out Day, we’ve put together a list of Latino celebrities who have come out or are definitely allies to remind us that you can love who you love and be happy for people loving who they want to love.
Sara Ramirez is notably known for her role as Callie Torres on “Grey’s Anatomy.” Although she’s happily married to Ryan DeBolt, she recently opened up about her sexuality at a conference. “So many of our youth experiencing homelessness are youth whose lives touch on many intersections,” Ramirez explained, “whether they be gender identity, expression, race, class, sexual orientation, religion, and citizenship status. And, because of the intersections that exist in my own life: Woman, multi-racial woman, woman of color, queer, bisexual, Mexican-Irish American, immigrant, and raised by families heavily rooted in Catholicism on both my Mexican and Irish sides, I am deeply invested in projects that allow our youth's voices to be heard, that support them in owning their own complex narratives so that we can show up for them in the ways they need us to.”Getty
Gina Rodriguez is a star that we all love and admire. Back in June 2016, the “Jane The Virgin” actress held a Q&A on social media with her fans, and a follower asked if she identified as straight. Gina’s reply couldn’t have been more perfect: “I don’t need anyone to define their sexuality to me nor do I feel the need to either. I love hearts. Period,” Rodriguez replied.Getty
Puerto Rican singer Kany García surprised fans on Valentine’s Day 2016, when she wrote a lenghty post on her Instagram account expressing that she wanted to leave her fears behind and face her truth. She revealed that she’s in a loving relationship with a woman who makes her happy, and accompanied the post with a sweet picture of the two of them!Reuters
Spanish-Chilean director Alejandro Amenábar, known for films such as “Thesis,” “The Others,” and “The Sea Inside,” came out as gay in 2004. On July 18 2015, he married his partner David Blanco. Reuters
Most people remember where they were when Ricky Martin came out of the closet. Although many suspected it, it wasn’t until March of 2010 when the singer posted a lengthy note on his personal website revealing he was a fortunate homosexual man. Although many hearts were broken, we couldn’t be happier for Ricky, who’s proven to be an excellent father and an incredible artist and philanthropist who manages to stay relevant through the years without causing any controversy.Getty
People always speculated about Michelle Rodriguez’s sexuality, until he made it clear that she likes what she likes and it doesn’t matter if it’s a guy or a girl. During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, she confirmed that their assumptions of her possibly being gay were very close to the truth. "Eh, they're not too far off," Rodriguez said. "I've gone both ways. I do as I please. I am too f--king curious to sit here and not try when I can. Men are intriguing. So are chicks."Getty
Sebastián Ligarde, a Mexican actor known for telenovelas such as “Quinceañera,” “María la del Barrio,” “Salomé,” and many more, came out in a 2013 interview with TVyNovelas magazine, saying he has been in a stable relationship for the last 20 years. He credits performer Ricky Martin, who came out in 2010, as his inspiration. Getty
Montserrat Oliver became a sensation when she landed a “Vogue” cover when she was just a teenager. Eventually she went from modeling to Telenovelas to entrepreneur, to hosting her own TV show. She’s currently in a relationship with Slovak model Yaya Kosikova.Getty
Although Yolanda Andrade hasn’t publicly commented about her sexuality, the Mexican TV host was having the time of her life with her girlfriend Melissa Galindo, a former participant of “La Voz Mexico.” The relationship came to an end in late 2016, prompting Andrade to address the break up.Getty
Orlando Cruz is a Puerto Rican professional boxer. On October 4, 2012, Cruz became the first boxer to come out as gay while still active professionally, stating that "I have and will always be a proud Puerto Rican. I have always been and always will be a proud gay man."Getty
Patricia Yurena Rodríguez is a Spanish actress and model who has represented Spain at both the Miss World and Miss Universe pageants. She is the first national beauty queen that is openly gay and came out when she shared a photo posing intimately with her girlfriend, Spanish DJ Vanesa Klein. "Romeo and Juliet," the caption read.Getty
Emily Rios is an actress best known for her role as Andrea Cantillo on the AMC series Breaking Bad. In 2013 she began portraying newspaper reporter Adriana Mendez on the FX series The Bridge. She came out as gay in an interview discussing her character, who is a lesbian: “I’m gay, personally, so being Mexican and a lesbian — this is why I love the character because I deal with the same type of things with my own family,” Emily said.Getty
Christian Chavez became extremely popular after the telenovelas “Clase 406” and “Rebelde” and subsequently the band RBD. In 2007, a magazine posted private pictures of Chavez marrying his then boyfriend B.J. Murphy. The photos were taken in 2005 and it’s still unclear how they came to light. This prompted Chavez to release a press statement where he came out as gay. Getty
Venezuelan actress and supermodel Patricia Velasquez decided to come out in her memoir, Straight Walk: A Supermodel's Journey To Finding Her Truth. Her intention behind the book is to encourage Latino parents to love and support their children whether they are gay, straight, or transgender “I want to at least start a dialogue. The tide is changing.”Getty
We can’t think of a time when Perez Hilton was in the closet. Even before beginning his blogging career, he briefly worked as a media relations assistant for the LGBT rights organization GLAAD, was a freelance writer for gay publications, worked as a receptionist for the NYC gay events club Urban Outings, and was briefly the managing editor of Instinct, a gay men's magazine.Getty
“Ventaneando” co-host Pedro Sola revealed in April 2016 that he’s gay. “I don’t have a problem in saying that I am gay,” he said. “A while ago someone asked me if I had come out of the closet and I answered that I had never been since I’ve never lived in the closet.”Azteca
