North Texas-based Texas Latino Pride is celebrating 10 years of bringing people together and celebrating both Latino and LGBTQ+ cultures, and has plans to expand its community service offerings.
What started as a small event in 2014 has grown into several annual gatherings, connecting members of Texas’ Latinx and LGBTQ+ communities with each other and their allies.
“Now in our 10th year, we’re always looking to expand our mission and expand the ways we can help our community, provide resources where available and a safe space where available,” said Jacob Reyes, public information director.
The organization’s signature event, the Texas Latino Pride Festival, will be held at Revashon Park in Dallas on Saturday, September 14th from 3pm to 9pm. This family-friendly event is free to attend with online registration and will feature live music and performers, as well as more than 100 local vendors and community resources.
Reyes said he welcomes “guests of all backgrounds to come and celebrate our culture.”
The festival is scheduled for the day before the start of National Hispanic Heritage Month, which begins the day before Mexican Independence Day. The event will coincide with the Pride in Dallas parade on Sept. 15.
“Having these celebrations throughout the year, not just in June, not just on a weekend in September, is a great opportunity for the community to remember that their identity and their culture is something that can be celebrated every day,” Reyes said. “Community can’t just be found in a certain place or at a certain time of year. It can be found all the time.”
The Texas Latino Pride Festival saw its biggest attendance yet in 2023, and organizers are expecting another record number this year. Reyes said the 2024 festival will be “much bigger” and “much more exciting,” in part because it will mark its 10th anniversary.
“The 10th anniversary is another opportunity for us to really highlight the strength of our community and the strength of organizing,” Reyes said.
This year’s festival lineup includes Puerto Rican drag artist Jessica Wilde, who appeared on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 2 and the eighth all-star competition. Christian Peralta, the first winner of “Drag Race Mexico,” will also be showcasing his talents as a comedian, dancer, makeup artist and impersonator.
Miami-born musician La Gooney Chonga will be performing a variety of genres, including her signature track “Tregeton,” which combines trap/tread and reggaeton.
If you’re looking to get in early for a Texas Latino Pride event, check out Vaquerx at the Roundup Saloon in Dallas on Sunday, August 18th from 4pm to 9pm. Featuring music, drag performers, and local vendors, the event will celebrate cowboy and Tejano culture in an LGBTQ+ friendly space. Attendees are encouraged to wear their favorite cowboy hats and boots.
“We grew up listening to great, mainly Spanish music,” Reyes says. “Tejano, bachata, cumbia, reggaeton – these great genres – we don’t really have a safe space for them. Through events like this, we can redefine what it means to be Latino, vaquero, and queer.”
Looking to the future, Texas Latino Pride hopes to expand its community education efforts, which will include topics such as sexual health, financial literacy and civic engagement.
“I think this will be part of our larger mission over the next year or so,” Reyes said, “We’re not going to dampen the enthusiasm for year-round events and always finding a reason to party, but we have people who really want to take this to the next level.”
