The intersections between queerness and other identities, such as race and immigration status, have long been left out public conversations, until very recently. But in the 1990s, a group of local LGBTQIA+ Latin activists, seeing the need for culturally informed services and advocacy during the HIV/AIDS epidemic, formed what would eventually come to be known as Entre Hermanos.
Ever since, the organization has evolved to face the challenges LGBTQIA+ Latin communities face in both the US and Washington state. Today, immigrants contend with immense perils, from a lack of resources to masked ICE agents abducting, detaining, and deporting people without due process, with Queer immigrants in particular facing these dangers even more so.
Rising to the occasion once more, Entre Hermanos has been ramping up its operations over the past year, from opening a second location in Yakima to onboarding more immigration attorneys to hosting “Las Monarcas,” a biweekly, peer-led support group for Trans Latinas. At this year’s Human Rights Campaign Seattle fundraiser, Entre Hermanos even earned the prestigious “Organization of the Year” award for its essential work.
Every year, Entre Hermanos hosts a fundraising gala to support its operations and services. The SGN both attended its Día de Muertos gala as a media partner and talked with Executive Director Edgar Longoria about his work and the organization’s progress.
Entre Hermanos 3.0
Edgar Longoria began his role as executive director back in April 2023. Before that, he told the SGN, he had spent 14 years of his career as a social worker.
“I just can’t help but to share how proud I am of this organization, and how much improvement we have had in our organizational culture, employee benefits, in our outreach to the community, our visibility,” Longoria stated.
One accomplishment Longoria highlighted is the onboarding of new staff, including Pablo Castillo as communications director, Rain Sherman as finance director, Ghaddra González Castillo as community engagement director, and José Vásquez intern deputy director. “It’s just been so incredible to recruit some great people to work with, and help bring Entre Hermanos [from] 2.0 … to Entre Hermanos 3.0,” Longoria said.
Aside from the services the organization provides — immigration, housing, health, etc. — Longoria also spoke of how it has been branching out, citing its Spanish-language radio show/podcast “Mucho Gusto!” in which community leaders are interviewed and events, like the spring drag brunch held in May, are spotlighted. “We hire local drag artists, performers, singers, dancers, and give them a platform,” Longoria added.
Opening a branch office in Yakima last May, according to Longoria, has long been a goal of the organization. He explained that “one of the reasons we wanted to move a satellite office in Eastern Washington was to serve the rural LGBTQ Latino community.” He added that that in rural parts of the state, the Queer Latin community suffers from a lack of support and resources. He empathized with them through his own experience growing up in a rural farm town outside of Bakersfield, CA.
Día de Muertos gala
Longoria also discussed the history of the organization’s Día de Muertos gala, which has run for 17 years. In the beginning, the event was a much more modest affair, primarily attended by supporters and clients. Then in 2021, the organization began to grow the attendance and scope of the celebration and fundraiser.
“We had a fantastic development director, hired in 2020,” Longoria said. “He was able to grow the gala to about 120 people … Since then, my goal has been to really use the event to highlight the organization’s impact.” Entre Hermanos expects 350 attendees this year, he added.
Hosted at the Sheraton Hotel, the night’s festivities glittered. Attendees wore elaborate headdresses and bone-related accoutrements, in line with the theme of monarch butterflies. The night’s emcee, Aleksa Manila, drew parallels in her opening speech between the Queer Filipino and Latino experiences, joking that the former were “the Latinos of Asia.”
Several groups and individuals were awarded for their work. The Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WISN) received the Organization of the Year award. The Person of the Year award was given to Héctor Iván Godoy Priske, the head consul of Mexico in Seattle, who spoke about the fight for LGBTQ+ rights in his home country, as well as his admiration for Washington state and Seattle’s commitment to diversity. Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Robert Foss stressed the importance of advocating for the Queer and Trans Latin communities. “It’s through unity and solidarity that we make progress,” he stressed.
A standout speaker of the night was Washington State Secretary of Health Dennis Worsham, a Gay man, who spoke to the importance of advocating for the health and well-being of all the state’s communities. “No matter their language, income, sexual orientation, gender identity, or immigration status,” he said emphatically, “health is not a privilege for some.”
Between the live auction, awards, and keynote speakers, two talented performers were also featured: Venezuelan violinist Samuel Vargas captured the room with the technical skills of his strings and bow, as well as singing; and RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant Roxxxy Andrews gave two phenomenal performances as the event’s headliner, rousing the crowd as she waltzed around the room with her classy yet sultry demeanor.
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