Tag Archives: The Advocate

Julian Castro to Take Part in 2020 Presidential Candidate Forum on LGBTQ Issues

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Julian Castro will be discussing LGBTQ Issues later this week…

The 45-year-old Mexican American politician and Democratic US presidential candidate will take part in the national 2020 Presidential Candidate Forum on LGBTQ Issues.

Julian Castro

Hosted by Pose actress Angelica Ross, the forum is presented by GLAAD, One Iowa, The Gazette and The Advocate and will be livestreamed from Coe College’s Sinclair Auditorium in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on September 20 at 7:00 pm CT.

In addition to Castro, whowas the youngest member of President Barack Obama‘s Cabinet, serving as the 16th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 2014 to 2017, participants include Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Tulsi Gabbard, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Joe Sestak, Elizabeth Warren and Marianne Williamson. Country artist and contestant on season 11 of The Voice Billy Gilman is set to perform the National Anthem at the event.

A transgender activist, Ross will join GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellison stage tol bring LGBTQ specific-issues to the forefront of discussion in the 2020 presidential election. 

During the Forum, each candidate will discuss their plan and vision for improving LGBTQ acceptance in a divisive time for marginalized communities.

“This LGBTQ Presidential Forum is a pivotal moment in the 2020 election cycle,” said Ellis. “It’s the first time that LGBTQ issues will be exclusively discussed by 2020 presidential candidates on a national stage.”

She adds, “We look forward to hearing how the 2020 candidates plan to reverse the attacks and rollbacks of the Trump Administration and put LGBTQ Americans on a course to 100% acceptance.”

This comes at a time when members of the American LGBTQ community have faced more than 124 anti-LGBTQ attacks in policy and rhetoric from the Trump Administration. This includes the ban on transgender Americans from serving in the military and the administration’s opposition to the Equality Act.

Los Tigres del Norte Receive Special GLAAD Award for “Era Diferente”

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Los Tigres del Norte have plenty of reason to be GLAAD…

The norteño band received the Special Recognition (Spanish Language) Award at the 26th annual GLAAD Media Awards, held on March 21 at Los Angeles’ Beverly Hilton.

Los Tigres del Norte

Los Tigres del Norte  earned the award for their single “Era Diferente,” the first gay love song in the band’s 47-year history. The story of a young girl who falls in love with her female best friend, it’s also the first song of its kind in the genre.

Bandleader Jorge Hernandez, who wrote the lyrics while his brothers worked on the music, was surprised by the honor.

“I thought that no one would notice this song,” he told The Advocate. “[But now] people request it. The community is coming out to see us and this brings us great pride that these songs connect with them and brings them closer to us.”

Hernandez has said the idea for “Era Diferente,” from their most recent album Realidades, was born out of conversations with devout fans in the LGBT community over the years who wondered when they would write a corrido (a sung narrative) about them. “This interaction always stayed with me,” added Hernandez, “and I had the idea that one day I would write a song that would talk about this type of relationship.”

The five-member band, which recently received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, hopes to continue to reflect the stories of all Latinos.

“Sometimes in the Latino community we see machismo and problems with acceptance, but this is an area where acceptance is the most important because this is such a large community and we must accept people who love each other and live normal, happy lives,” Hernandez told The Advocate.