According to tradition, "Dia de la Raza" (October 12) is the Latin American holiday celebrated in the U.S. as "Columbus Day." Rather than reifying the exploits of one ambitious man, the date in Latin America honors the forging of a new identity, built from elements of Native American societies combined with European culture. In many Caribbean and Latin American countries, the African component of the compound is particularly emphasized. This new racial and cultural identity, often called Latino/a or "mestizo/a," is an emergent one. Although the roots of this identity are traced to sometime around 500 years ago, it developed as a idea during the late-17th and 18th centuries, culminating in a nationalist desire for political independence, and separation from Europe during the 19th century. Thus, it is a relatively recent developent as far as cultures go. A more recent development is the "pan-Latino" identity forming in the U.S. which links different national identities from Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean, as well as encompassing portions of the U.S. (predominately the Southwest) that underwent the Spanish colonial experience.
A "gay and lesbian" identity is also a relatively recent occurrence, although not as recent as today's religious zealots would have us believe. The word "homosexual" was first coined about 1895 by a Hungarian physician. Scholarship on modern gay and lesbian identity has traced its development from the German Homophile Movement of the late-19th century. According to historians and geographers, the "gay and lesbian" identity which we know today is largely the product of an industrialized Western society. Thus, the formation of an independent lesbian and gay identity was dependent upon the technology and ideas of Europe and the U.S What is forgotten in many scholars' accounts, however, is the history of Latino/a gay men and lesbians.
The contemporary "gay and lesbian" identity can find critics among Latino/a, mestizo/a (and other) lesbians and gay men whose relationship to western societies is complicated by discrimination and other First World/Third World dichotomies. Gay Latinos and lesbian Latinas have struggled to carve out an identity within the larger structures of society which are not ideal. The larger structures, more often than not, forget and ignore the histories of gay men, lesbians and Latinos/as. As a result, our identities as Latinos(as), and as gay men and lesbians, tend to be rooted in specific and localized histories and experiences. This quality makes it hard to generalize to a broader "Latino/a" gay and lesbian experience, even as this identity is developing as an organizational tool.
To be sure, gay Latinos and lesbian Latinas have reasons to celebrate their own history of affirmation in being gay or lesbian, and Latino/a. Along with freedom from persecution and internal self-doubt due to thier sexual orientation, lesbian Latinas and gay Latinos have sought to address overlapping concerns particular to our race, ethnicity, national origin, and gender through organizations. Latinos and Latinas participated in the incredible and unprecedented growth of gay organizations during the decade following the Stonewall Rebellion in 1969. Gay and lesbian Latinos/as formed independent groups to deal with not only homophobia and sexism in their own communities, but also with discrimination and prejudice exhibited by predominately white gay bars, businesses and organizations. Lesbian Latinas created organizations, meetings and events to directly confront sexism. These organizing efforts by gay and lesbian Latinos/as also have included attempts to produce, or reclaim, a gay and lesbian history/herstory from the Latino/a perspective--one that would take into account "Dia de la Raza," rather than the Puritans.
We know, for example, that homosexuality is a part of the pre- Columbian history of America. Spanish chroniclers observed various socio-sexual roles, including private same-sex relationships, and homosexuality as public ritual. Surviving effigy pottery demonstrates that Native people practiced a wide array of sexual customs. Among the militaristic and prudish Aztecs, sex also had a religious aspect. Xochiquetzal was considered the goddess of eroticism and sexual relations and, in her male aspect Xochipilli, he/she was the diety of male homosexuality and male prostitution. Tlazolteotl exercised dominion over female prostitution, rape, and venereal disease.
An interesting history can be derived by examining the term "berdache," a word generally used in North America to refer to Native American homosexuality. This French term comes from the Spanish word, "berdaje," meaning male prostitute, and which itself comes from the Arabic, "berdaj." The etymoloty of the term indicates not only that the Spanish observed homosexuality in the Americas, but also that they were not unfamiliar with the practice (although they thought it had been introduced to Spain by the Arabs).
Gay men and lesbians have been part of the history of Latin American throughout the Colonial and National periods. To illustrates this point is the story of the "Cuarenta y uno." The place is Mexico City; the time is 1901, nine years before the Mexican Revolution. On November 20, 1901, a policeman walking on his beat noticed a light and the sounds of loud music at No. 4, Calle de la Paz. He stopped to investigate and was shocked by the appearance of a strange "lady" who opened the door, for the "lady" was a man dressed in women's clothing. Calling for reinforcements, the party was raided. At the end, they arrested forty-one people dancing to the accompaniment of a local street band. The event was made a part of Mexican folklore by Mexican popular artist Jose Guadalupe Posada. To this day, in parts of San Antonio, to say that someone is "de los cuarenta y uno" means that he or she is homosexual.
Another event reported in the newspaper, El Universal, on December 1, 1901, involved a raid on a party of single women. The reason given for the party, as reported by the newspaper, was "the baptism of a doll, which was called Chilaquil." The name chilaquil is a word-play which may refer to a breakfast dish (called "migas" in Texas), or it may refer to lesbianism, since "chilaquiles" are "all mixed together." Tortillas is a main ingredient in chilaquiles and, "tortilleras" is another common Mexian name for lesbians.
Can a gay and lesbian community which contains diverse organizing histories and herstories define itself as one community--can any other community, for that matter? Or, are we required to acquire a Universal History?
Recently, Chicano historian Tomas Almaguer, has claimed that gay and lesbian Latino/a identity is a mixture of two main influences--the North American gay and lesbian liberation movement, and our Latin American history of sexual and gender relations. Gay Latino and lesbian Latina identity is fashioned out of two currents of history--sometimes contradictory, and often opposing. But, out of this apparent paradox--we form one body, coming together to oppose the cumulative effects of colonialism, class elitism, racism, sexism and heterosexism. It is the mestizaje or "mixture"--the practical result of the movement and blending of different peoples and ideas--that is celebrated with "Dia de la Raza." This holiday should reminds us that we simultaneously come in many colors, posses different histories, and engender many cultures--and yet, we consider ourselves one people. "Raza," "Mestizo/a," "Latino/a," "Chicano/a" "Hispano/a," "Indio/a," "Chino/a," "Arabe," "Negro," "Indo-Hispano/a," Afro-Latino/a"--the cacophony of names points to distinct, but overlapping, identities. Let us choose, like ALLGO, to make "Dia de la Raza" reason to celebrate our attempt to define ourselves--as Latino/a; as Chicano/a; as gay, bisexual, and lesbian; as women, men and transgender; as Indian, African, Asian or European--and still not lose our ability to be a part of a greater community that includes us all.
End of Article
Updated: 10 Nov 1995
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