Pride 2020: JC + Cristian’s Full Interview

JC and Cristian

JC: I’m 28 years old. I'm a D&I practitioner who loves helping others and social connection, so my career is the perfect mix. I’m an avid horror fan and plant daddy. Currently obsessed with baking the perfect loaf of Italian bread. #basicquarantinegoals

Cristian: I’m 29 years old and an Immigration Lawyer from Mission, TX. I’m now living in San Antonio. I’m passionate about my work and love board games, cooking, and my dog.

JC and Cristian: We have been together for 7 years, living together for 4 years. We love to travel as often as we can get away. Some places we've explored together are China, Cuba, Italy, and we've road tripped all over the southwest US. We're a great team, which has helped us navigate some big changes like Cristian completing law school, career moves for both of us, and adopting our 120 pound Great Dane mix, Oxo. We're very different individually, but our shared values like: commitment to family, social justice, respect for each other, and humor, keep us together.

JC and Cristian: A friend introduced us at a bar. We had a lovely, turned heated, debate about the color of Cristian's hair. He says it's black, but I say dark brown. This debate continues to this day. Keeping things spicy, y'all.

JC: I grew up in rural South Texas where it wasn't always easy to be my authentic self. Living in San Francisco as a teen in college kicked off a lifelong journey of self-discovery and appreciation for all those who walk similar and different paths than I do. Pride is the reason to come together, celebrate our Diversity, freedom to love each other, and all things queer in this world.

Cristian: Pride is a moment to reflect on how far I have come personally in my journey and how far society has changed because of the Stonewall Riots and activists in the world. I love to celebrate these changes and the successes, though the work is still not over.

JC: A piece of media that makes me feel represented, though not directly, is the Buffy The Vampire Slayer TV series. Growing up watching Buffy struggle with balancing her life as a slayer, with trying to be a "normal" teen, but having this secret she had to keep, and eventually leveraging this secret and seeing it as powerful and come into her own as a badass was really inspiring. There was also lesbian representation on the show which made it that much better. I think there's quite the queer following for Buffy. Would love to see it remade with some more direct queer representation though.

Cristian: Music allows me to feel represented as a queer person because you can take the general sentiment the artist is trying to portray and fit it to you experience. Even though I applaud the increasing number of LGBTQ+ characters in tv and print media, I still don't see people who I feel completely represented by, being an out Latino gay man who is a second-generation immigrant.

JC: Queer people of color are vastly underrepresented in mainstream queer culture. We have seen some strides with more attention to the issues affecting queer people of color represented, and their stories told, but we can do better and absolutely need more. Like this article!

Cristian: Overrepresentation of queer lives in major urban areas. Queer lives of people who are rural, not in LA/NYC/etc., are not represented enough, and when they are, not as positively (tragic stories that don't end well).

JC: I have celebrated Pride for about a decade now. The first Pride I attended was like a dream! So many queers in one spot all having fun and being themselves. The opportunity to get tested, have a drink, talk about queer issues, and really celebrate your community all in one place is so attractive. Seeing other people experience Pride for the first time, and including my family in the mix has also been really special. The educational piece of Pride is so important, and I think that as the years go by, educating on our queer history is vital to continuing our fight.

Cristian: Yes, I've celebrated Pride for many years in different ways from gathering with friends, going to festivals, and reading and watching queer media. Seeing and experiencing queer joy attracts me when a lot of times our narratives are about despair and pain. The fact that Pride is a celebration is amazing, but sometimes overlooks the work that still needs to be done globally. I would put a focus on what we can do for folks who are not privileged American gays, and especially queer people of color who still experience so much discrimination and injustice.

JC: The love of our community. I mean, one of the earliest terms for other queer people was "family". Like are they "family"? Like a true family, queer folks have our issues, we have our differences, but so many times we come together and protect one another, whether we are chosen family or biological family.

Cristian: Our resilience, passion, and creativity...we are just better!

JC: Just existing as a queer person is political action/resistance, and coming together in queer spaces, in person, or virtually, is an opportunity to really get radical, remind the world we are here, and that we are not going anywhere! Equity is what we want, and we won't stop until we get it for all queer folks. Queer spaces are a representation of this. Queer spaces nurture queer ideas and love, and the world is better for it.

Cristian: They're really important because originally, they were the only spaces to express ourselves safely, and were more of a necessity for survival when we wanted to come together. Now, they can be a preferred space, over a more "hetero" space, and that shows progress.

JC: Great queer allies show up outside of going dancing at the club. They don't go to the drag show, and then run away when things get uncomfortable.

A true queer ally sees that the queer struggle is intersectional. They show up for Black Lives, for brown folks, for folks of differing abilities, incomes, and experiences.

A queer ally is respectful. Doesn't tell you how to feel, and owns up if they misstep, because all humans have blind spots, but a true ally recognizes that and seeks to learn and do better.

Cristian: A queer ally doesn't just respect queer people. They see people and honor their existence, even when we live and act differently than the straight heteronormative standard.