<img class="aligncenter wp-image-3517 size-large" src="http://tallerpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Gay-Latino-1024x394.png" alt="Gay &amp; Latino Panel Discussion" width="1024" height="394" />

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<strong>When</strong>: June 20 @ 3PM to 5PM

<strong>Where:</strong> Taller Puertorriqueño, 2721 N. 5<sup>th</sup> St

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As part of <a href="http://tallerpr.org/event/en-blanco-y-negro-gay-boricua/"><strong>En Blanco y Negro: Gay &amp; Boricua</strong></a>, an exhibition of the artwork of José Luis Cortés, <a href="http://www.galaei.org/">GALAEI </a>and Taller Puertorriqueño are pleased to present a panel discussion on important issues affecting the LGBTQ Latino community. The panel will examine, from different perspectives, their past, and the current and future paths. The topics addressed will include the discussions of the intersectionalities of insider/outsider, invisibility, homophobia, resilience, migration, ethnicity, race, class, and gender, the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and the social and political organization of LGBTQ Latinos in the United States and Puerto Rico. This will be a public and open forum.

Panel participants include: José Luis Cortés, artist; Elicia Gonzales, Executive Director of GALAEI; Erika Guadalupe Núñes, artist and community organizer; Emmanuel Coreano, a youth member at GALAEI; Bella,a trans* identifying youth who is passionate about the Queer community; and Louie A. Ortiz from <a href="http://thegranvarones.com/">The Gran Varones Project</a>.  David Acosta, AIDS activist, writer, cultural worker and current artistic director for <a href="http://www.casadeduende.com/">Casa de Duende</a>, will moderate the discussion.

This is part of the citywide celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Reminder Day demonstrations in Philadelphia. For more information on the celebration go to <a href="http://waygay.org/reminder2015">http://waygay.org/reminder2015</a>.

For more information on the panel contact Rafael Damast at <a href="mailto:rdamast@tallerpr.org">rdamast@tallerpr.org</a> or by phone at 215-426-3311.

<strong>About the panelist</strong>

<strong> </strong><strong>David Acosta</strong> is an AIDS activist, poet writer, cultural worker and now Artistic Director for Casa De Duende. His writings have appeared in many literary journals and anthologies. Among the most notable are Mayrea, The Evergreen Chronicles, The Americas Review, American Poetry Confronts the 1990s (Black Tie Press 1990), The Limits of Silence (Asterion Press 1991), Poesida (Ollantay Press, 1995), and Floating Borderlands: Twenty-Five Years of Latin American Poetry in The United States (University of Washington Press, 1998). He will be included in the first anthology of Latino LGBT history in the United States and Puerto Rico to be published by University of Texas Press in September of 2015. He is the recipient of many awards for his long time-work on LGBT civil rights and HIV/AIDS advocacy. He was the founder and Executive Director of the GALAEI Project from 1987-1997. From 1997 to 2o15 he  was the Coordinator of HIV Prevention Programs for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health’s AIDS Activities Coordinating Office; he has stepped down in 2015 to focus on community arts and his own writing.

<strong>Louie A. Ortiz</strong> is a national renowned facilitator who uses both his passion for working disenfranchised communities to promote team building and organizational development. Over the last 20 years, he has worked with influential nationally recognized agencies and has been an part of HIV prevention and youth development programming in Philadelphia. Louie understands first hand the impact of the intersecting oppressions of poverty, homophobia, AIDS phobia and racism. These experiences continue to inspire Louie to work with and by marginalized communities in Philadelphia.

Ortiz is also a published spoken word artist and photographer. His current project, “The Gran Varones” is a documentary and photo essay highlighting the experiences of Latino Gay and Queer* Men in Philadelphia.

Since 2009<strong>, Elicia Gonzales</strong> has enthusiastically served as Executive Director for GALAEI: A queer Latin@ Social Justice Organization where she leads a team of dedicated, hard-working, and passionate individuals. Elicia serves on the Board of Planned Parenthood of Southeastern PA, on the Community Advisory Board for the UPENN Mental Health and AIDS Research Center, and on the Leadership Council for the National Latino AIDS Action Network. She has worked in the social justice field for more than 16 years in various capacities ranging from reproductive justice to queer Latino social justice. Gonzales moved to Philadelphia in 2004 to get a Masters degrees in Social Work and Human Sexuality Education from Widener University. She is originally from Denver, Colorado where all of her beloved family resides.

<strong>Erika Guadalupe Núñez</strong> is a queer artist and activist who works with Migrant Power Movement, National Immigrant Youth Alliance, and Juntos focusing on topics on racial justice and immigrant rights. She came to the U.S. from Mexico when she was a young child and was undocumented until she received her green card in 2013. Most recently, Núñez's part in the movement involved working on NIYA's "Bring Them Home" campaign where she helped ease the return of five people who were deported. She was also part of a civil disobedience action that ended a private prison contract between Immigration &amp; Custom's Enforcement and Montgomery County Correctional Facility. Her other work includes working on ending deportation cases, creating art for rallies and campaigns, and holding workshops for the community. Erika also serves on the board of Juntos and is a member of their LGBT Committee.

<strong>Emmanuel Coreano</strong> is a native Philadelphian and published writer. Being a bisexual person of color, he faced many challenges, however with music, writing, and other creative outlets he found himself.  Coreano is truly an artistic and creative person

Valentina also known as <strong>Bella</strong>, has been apart of galaei for 4 yrs. She is a trans* identifying youth who is passionate about the Queer community. Bella has many dreams and goals - from starting a home for Trans identifying youth to opening a LGBTQ &amp; Ally Charter school in Philadelphia.

<strong>José Luis Cortés</strong> was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Puerto Rican parents. His family moved to Puerto Rico when he was three years old, and he lived there until the age of 28, when he moved to New York City. A gay man, José Luis’s artistic career began to take shape when he produced work inspired by the 1990’s New York City gay scene. José Luis’s work has been exhibited in galleries and museums in Amsterdam, London, Berlin, New York, Miami, Vienna, among other locations. His work has been reviewed in the New York Times, Art in America, and Out Magazine and many other publications. You can see more of his work at the <a href="http://www.visualaids.org/artists/detail/jose-luis-cortes">Visual AIDS Online Registry</a>. and learn more about him at <a href="http://joselcortes.blogspot.com/">joselcortes.blogspot.com</a>.

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