how it all began
queer latines
☆
tender humans
☆
queer latines ☆ tender humans ☆
Holis! Soy Alyssa (she/ella) and I’m the founder of Queer Latines. I’m the eldest daughter of a Colombian and Puerto Rican family from New York…y se nota.
For years, my queerness and my culture felt disconnected, like they couldn’t coexist. Searching for both, I went to a queer Spanish practice meetup in hopes of making more queer Latine friends.
Except, I was the only Latina there.
(That is, until an Ecuadorian showed up 3 hours late, truly running on tiempo latino. We became instant friends.)
In a city as queer as New York, I was shocked there wasn’t a space for queer Latines. So, in true eldest daughter fashion, I figured: if I can’t find the community I need, I might as well build it.
I started an Instagram, hosted 40+ meetups solo across the boroughs of NYC, and met hundreds of amiguis craving connection. At first, the groups were small. Sometimes, no one came at all.
After Pride 2024, everything changed. Our growth exploded, and queer Latines from across the country began asking: When are you coming to our city? That’s when I realized this wasn’t just my need. It was ours.
That’s how Queer Latines was born.
We’re a growing community of queer Latines building meaningful connections, locally and virtually. This is a space where we can show up fully. A space for our identities, our stories, and our culture to blossom. A space where we support our neighbors, even if we don’t like them. (Read that again.)
Our vision? To build a blossoming community where we never have to choose between parts of ourselves. We deserve a space rooted in joy, culture, and solidarity. This sh*t is long overdue.
We’ve been growing this community since January 2024 and we’re not going anywhere.
In fact, we’re just getting started.