Puerto Rico native Carolina Cordero said living in Gainesville for the past 27 years has been a blessing. Cordero, a 66-year-old transgender woman, said the city provides an accepting environment for expression and self-acceptance.
"Everyone will find their place in the universe,” she said. “Don't feel pressured. Do what's best for you, and Gainesville is a good place for people to come out and be themselves.”
As an openly transgender woman, Cordero provides education and support to parents of LGBTQ+ youth through her role as a board director for the Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays organization in Gainesville.
PFLAG Gainesville is one of more than 500 chapters nationwide. The organization provides support, education and advocacy for queer individuals, their families and allies through monthly family meetings, providing resources and involvement in local community events.
Cordero said representation helps normalize transgender identities and create a sense of belonging for those who may feel isolated. Through her involvement in Gainesville's LGBTQ+ community, she also found support from other Hispanics.
For Cordero, the support she found in Gainesville is one of the reasons she continues to call the city home.
“Gainesville is a city that celebrates diversity and fosters communities and connections," she said.
For many LGBTQ+ Hispanics, identity is shaped by more than one community.
Nelida Jean-Baptiste Pellot, a 40-year old housing inspector, works with Theater Connect Gainesville and the Pride Community Center of North Central Florida. She said navigating multiple identities can sometimes make it difficult to feel fully accepted in any one space.
“I think of the Latin community in the same way as the Black community, because those two identities also intersect, overlap and sometimes are at odds with each other,” Pellot said.
As a Black, Latino and queer person, Pellot said there are times when she feels she only partially belongs in certain spaces.
“When I add my queer [identity], I feel like there isn't a real place for me,” she said.
Despite those challenges, Pellot helps create welcoming spaces for young people through Theater Connect, an LGBTQ+ youth program at Gainesville's Heartwood Soundstage where students can relax and connect. Pellot said Theater Connect allows students to freely express themselves and decompress in an affirming environment.
Pellot encourages people to seek out supportive communities and build connections with others who share their experiences.
“Belonging and acceptance starts with you,” she said.
That commitment to creating inclusive spaces also shaped the work of Oscar Santiago Perez during his time at UF.
Perez, a 23-year-old UF political science and criminology graduate who now works as a legal assistant, served as treasurer of the Pride Student Union, treasurer of Baking for Wellness and later became UF's first openly gay student senate president.
Throughout his time on campus, he focused on ensuring students from marginalized backgrounds felt represented in leadership spaces.
“In PSU, we worked a lot on trying to be inclusive, those intersectional communities who don't often get attention or highlight,” Perez said.
Perez recalled struggling with feelings of not being “Hispanic enough” and uncertainty about who would be supportive of his identity as an openly gay member of Hispanic organizations. Those experiences motivated him to advocate for greater representation in Student Government.
“During my time in Student Government, I was able to advocate for a lot of different communities,” he said.
As the university's first openly gay senate president, Perez said he hoped to serve as a visible example for other queer Hispanic students and demonstrate that they belong in leadership positions, too.
Inclusion requires more than simply welcoming people into a space, he said.
“It is important to not just say that a space is open to people of ethnic and minority backgrounds, but also have people who share those backgrounds occupy those spaces,” Perez said.
Perez said he encourages students not to compromise their identities to fit into unwelcoming spaces.
“Don't sacrifice your authenticity for other people,” he said. “If you can't join a space because they don't allow you, or you don't feel comfortable being yourself, find another space or try creating your own space.”
Contact Kathia Montenegro at KMontenegro@alligator.org.
