Cynthia Gonzalez - A Salvadoran American Writer Builds Community in L.A.

Cynthia Gonzalez traces how migration from El Salvador, childhood in South Central, and being outed as a queer young adult shape her into a writer and community builder. We connect cultural pride to real-world projects, from a children’s book about Fernando Llort to an all-ages LGBTQ celebration built around joy as resistance. 
• leaving El Salvador during the civil war and landing in South Central Los Angeles 
• navigating bullying, identity erasure, and Black and Brown community tensions 
• claiming Salvadoran pride through education, storytelling, and neighborhood roots 
• coming out after being outed and the impact of a split religious household 
• being honored by the Salvadoran Consulate and navigating tradition and visibility 
• writing La Vida de Llort as a cultural resource for kids and adults 
• creating Salvies Who Lunch - Joteria with La Plaza de Cultura y Artes, as an all-ages space for queer Latine community 
• choosing the theme “El Amor es resistencia” amid raids and political attacks 
• building future events, fundraising partnerships, and the Bichitos and Bichitas youth program 

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SALVIE WHO LUNCH: https://www.salvieswholunch.com/

Transcript

Welcome And Guest Introduction

Rita Gonzales 0:04

Welcome to the Out Agenda, coming to an archive.kpfk.org. I'm Rita Gonzalez. We're going to go into this segment of Radio Q GLLU.

Mario J. Novoa 0:24

Today on Radio Q GLLU, we're honored to welcome Cynthia Gonzalez, a writer, poet, activist, community leader, and proud Salvadoran voice making an impact through storytelling and advocacy. Born in El Salvador and raised in South Los Angeles, Cynthia has dedicated her life and career to uplifting communities and creating spaces where people feel seen, empowered, and celebrated. Her commitment to service has led her to serve on executive boards for nonprofit organizations across Los Angeles and Long Beach, as well as in leadership roles as cultural advisor and entertainment director at the Los Angeles LGBTQ Center. Driven by a passion for positive representation of Salvadorans, Cynthia founded Salvis Who Lunch, a nonprofit that brings people together through meaningful and empowering community events. Her leadership and advocacy have earned her recognition as a 2023 International Women's Day honoree by the Salvadoran Consulate Ambassador in Washington, D.C. and the 2025 Lenca Award from Asocion de Salvadoreños de Los Angeles. Cynthia's work as a writer has appeared in the Long Beach Press Telegram and Los Angeles Times, and she is also the author of the Life La Vida de York, an award-winning children's book celebrated for its cultural authenticity. She has also translated more than ten books for Lil Libros as part of their Vámonos travel series. And when she's not changing lives through storytelling and community work, you might find her watching sci-fi films or enjoying one of life's greatest

Leaving El Salvador During War

Mario J. Novoa 2:20

pleasures, ice cream. Please join us in welcoming Cynthia Gonzalez to Radio Q GlLU. Cynthia, welcome. It's an honor to have you here with us today. You're a very accomplished person, and I'm truly impressed by your journey. Let's start at the beginning.

Eduardo Archuleta 2:43

Which, based on what I read about your background, is a major part of your story. Can you tell us in your own words about your beginnings?

Cynthia Gonzalez 2:51

Thank you so much for having me. It's it's truly uh a pleasure and a humble experience to sit with you both and and share a little bit about me. So I was born in Salvador, 1980, of course. I'm giving away my age already. Um and at the same time, there was a war that uh took place in El Salvador. It started in 1979. Um, and it's one of the largest civil wars that has happened in Central America. And so at that time, turning 10 months old, my mom decided to uh carry me and migrate over to the US. My dad decided to leave uh in 1979 when the war struck, and that's because he was a student. He was in his last semester uh to graduate um from the university as an engineer, as a civil engineer, civic engineer. And so a lot of his friends were being captured, and and so his brothers, my uncles, were already here in the US, and uh they paid for him to come over. They were like, you need to come over, you're not safe over there as a student, and so he fled, and then um he left my mom pregnant with me. And so when I turned 10 months old, um, so we embarked the journey of coming into uh the US. And um it's it's crazy because I've had these conversations with with my parents of where, why did we decide to land in South Central? Um, that's where I was raised, so born in Salvador, raised in in South Central all my entire life, and it was an experience that uh predominantly there was um uh all black community during that time in the 80s. And so that was very interesting growing up as a kid that was probably the only percent Salvadorian in in elementary school, and uh there was a lot of going on between the black and brown communities, and I mean there's there's so much conversation there, but yeah, it was it's my growth, my knowledge, my passion. Uh it started there, just uh with the stories that my parents share with me, my grandmother, of why we came and and fled to towards the US, and um all the stories and and that pride that was instilled in me because sadly, right, I was 10 months old, so I didn't grow up in El Salvador, learning about the culture, being part of the culture. And it's always been something that I I've as a kid I would wonder like, how would have my experience been my life if I would have been raised in El Salvador? Um, and I remember my parents telling me that is an experience that you would have not enjoyed. It was not safe for um anyone, and especially women during that time. And so I believe that my my desire to be um and experience that culture of being Salvadorian has led me to embark on my own personal goals and my personal mission of uh hosting, producing events, writing books, um community building, and so forth. I hope I answered in in some sort of way uh the beginning, the origin of Cynthia.

Eduardo Archuleta 6:29

Yes,

Growing Up In South Central

Speaker 1 6:30

thank you. That was that was um that was interesting because when I read that, I I too was born in in South LA. My it was closer to my parents' work, so we lived in South LA. Um it was it was it was a very positive experience for me.

Mario J. Novoa 6:47

And to jump on that, this is this is Mario, uh you were raised in South LA. Um, and how how do you think growing up there impacted your journey and your how did that shape you as a person?

Cynthia Gonzalez 7:02

You know, I have to I have to mention this right now because um, and this is something that I've been learn uh learning, and um I always tell people I love um life and I'm a student of life, and I feel that yes, it's important to go to school and learn as much as you can. But something that we've learned, and we're currently in this administration is that books are being banned. So a lot of the information isn't been it is not being shared through an educational institute, right? So we have to make those um, we have to look for that knowledge, that information. And I bring this up because I heard both of you say, like South LA, and something that I grew up when I grew up in the 80s, right? It was um to what Eduardo is sharing is his experience was very positive. And my experience in the 80s, it was it was a bit turbulent and it was a little confusing. Um so going to Normandy Elementary School, which was predominantly uh black, and and and I my experience, it was it was a little crazy because I got bullied. Um black kids would call me Mexican. Uh, they would say, go back to Mexico, and like there was so much going on, and I think there was a lot of tensions between black and brown communities, right? Like um you see a bunch of these Latinos now moving into black communities, and the the black community um have been fighting for their own rights for years, for decades, and the riots, right, that happened as well. This is not the 1990s riots, of course. There was historically some other riots before. And so being that brown kid going into school, there was a lot of tension because we don't know what was also going in those families' um homes. And so I remember going back uh home and asking my parents, um, you know, why do they call us this? Why do, and my parents were like, oh, well, they they think everybody's Mexican, right? Um, but we're not. And I think this in part goes back to like where that pride, that that knowledge, that desire to learn more about my culture is what led me to that because of all the confusion and so much turbulence that was going amongst children in elementary. And everybody's trying to learn as much as they can, right? And and I remember always taking the opportunity when I would be asked, like, oh, where are you from? And I'd be like, El Salvador, and they're like, Well, where in Mexico is that? And I would proudly grab the book or a map or whatever, and be like, This is Mexico, and this is El Salvador. They're like, Oh my god, that's so tiny. I remember the kids, right? And I'd be like, Yeah, but we're strong. Like, you know, there was a war, and that's why I'm here. So we're resilient. And it was just that pride. And I have to give props to my parents about that, right? Because if not, I wouldn't have that passion that I have now, that love for my own community and culture. And so going back to you both mentioning South LA, I never heard that growing up. That term South LA, that's something that was coined, I believe, in the 2000s. And it's a conversation that we've been having with other folks that were like, hey, so what is it? Is it South LA or is it South Central, right? And when I entered the workforce at 19, 20 years old, I used to work at a firm, a black-owned firm on the west side. And it was those conversations where there were a couple of folks, a couple of uh white folks, and they would be like, Oh, yeah, I don't cross over after like I just take the 10. If I want to go to downtown LA, I jump on the 10 and I exit La Brea and that's it, or I just go straight to downtown LA and I jump back. I never go to South Central, and that was a term that people would just use to um associate it with fear, you know. That's how I that's how it connected in my brain. And with me, it was just like, no, like I'm a proud South Central like person, you know, it comes with the pride, it comes with the culture, it comes with the resilience of that entire community, that city that we went through a lot. I mean, Eduardo, I mean, you you were there right at the beginning of a positive experience. I experienced something completely different of turbulence, the riots, being 12 years old, and being told you're gonna stay in here while your dad goes out to find food. My mom was afraid of also going out because she's light uh skin. And my dad was like, no, like you're not gonna go out because they're gonna confuse you as a white woman, versus my dad who had a fro looking like you know, a Jackson Five, you know, family. So he it was okay for him to go out. So my experience comes with that um that information, that that fear, but also the the power of community. I remember like the Crips and the Bloods coming together during like these riots, something that you have never seen before. And something I grew up watching was just like fighting and and for what? I was always like, why are we fighting for this is not your you know, your street, but the the the more you grow up, you understand this is all we have. We have community, these are our streets, this is where we have our street vendors, this is where we show our pride, and so I I just wanted to share that because I hear it often like, oh, South LA, and I'm like, I don't know, I don't that doesn't sit well with me. Like I'm a proud, like self-central person, you know. But Mario, to answer your question, I think I went all over the the place and and and sharing, I think, in essence, sharing all this information that is what has made me have that love again, right? Um, everything that I saw, everything that I went through as a kid, it just continued adding more to my experience as a human and what I wanted to do in life. And and I go back to the stories that my parents shared, and that pride, that respect for other people, and at the same time wanting to educate others about who El Salvador is. Uh, what do we eat? We don't eat tacos. I mean, we do, but that's not part of our cultura necessarily. It's more of the pupusas, the sopa de pata. What is sopa de pata? And it's just like, oh, well, it's basically like your pozole or your um, what is the other one? The um menudo? The menudo, right? And they're like, oh, okay, okay. So we have some similarities, you know. So I think it it goes back to the roots. Uh sadly, I didn't grow up in El Salvador, but I feel that my family was enough to raise me to have those strong ties to El Salvador and with the roots that that I've cemented in South Central, it's only led me to having that that passion to be where I'm at

Faith, Family, And Coming Out

Cynthia Gonzalez 14:14

now.

Eduardo Archuleta 14:14

I wanted to ask, you mentioned your family, and was you did you find that your family was a help or perhaps a challenge in your path towards to who you are now?

Cynthia Gonzalez 14:26

Oh, of course. Now we're gonna tap into all the the fun stuff with the challenges. I mean, listen, as a queer woman, I I came out at 19 years old. Um, and not because I won't I was ready to come out, but because I was out it. Um, and I grew up in a split household, a split uh religious household. My dad is a uh non-Catholic, non-practicing Catholic, while my mom raised us, uh, raised my brother and I in the uh Jehovah Witness um experience. And so it was always, again, aside from everything that was going on in the community, growing up, learning about your roots, it was also this split household of religious views. Um, and I always sided with my mom just because I would see my dad and like his non-practicing self and be like, yeah, I don't know if the Catholics are really being positive and preaching what they're saying. I don't, you know, I'm I'm a kid. So I sided with my mom because I saw a different experience than what my dad was preaching. And it became it came down to what was being said and who I was becoming. And what I learned was I like girls at such a young age. I like girls, and I was attracted to girls since I was little, and so the challenge became how can I continue being a part of something, or even come out to my parents that I am uh attracted to girls because everything that's being said and preached in both institutions, religious views, it's a no. Um, so I hit several challenges there, and I remember, of course, dating boys because I want to be accepted and I want to make my parents happy, and so I was outed by a family member, and um that challenge became something that also gave me strength to stand up to my mom. And and it, I mean, it was uh it was an experience. I'm I'm going back into that moment, and it was an experience at 19 years old, and I lied the first time that she asked me if it was true, and I said no, because of course I'm scared. I was 18, 19. And uh the the second time she asked me, I said, you know what? I am see soy, see me gustan las mujeres, and you know we acambiarma. That's it, and she was she was dumbfounded and just walked out of my room, and then from there it was just this this experience of a journey for myself, self-discovery, uh, never forgetting who I was and everything that I've learned. Um, but that was a major challenge in in my young adult life because you're battling, is this right? Is this not right? And I don't think I'm the only queer person that has experienced that. And I think if you're raised in a in a religious household, you have those complications with your own family and acceptance and empowerment because now you start questioning do you do you love who I am, or did you love what you were creating, right? And per se. But that was one of the biggest challenges of my young adult life.

Mario J. Novoa 17:40

This is Mario again.

International Women’s Day Recognition

Mario J. Novoa 17:42

I'd like our listeners to know that you were honored during International Women's Day and uh by the El Salvador Consulate in Washington, DC. What was that experience like for you?

Cynthia Gonzalez 17:54

I will say that um it it it it it was an experience um and it came out of um I was shocked. I I was so shocked. Um and I and I had to take a moment to accept that, and I remember getting an email and thinking, is this real or am I getting like punked in some sort of way, right? And I did get a call from from uh the the consulate in DC, someone that I have met before. I was um it was confirmed that it was not a lie, that I'm not being punked. And one of the first questions that came to mind was, I wonder what other women or are going, right? And then it comes down to also asking, Am I the only queer woman that's going? That was crazy, right? That was like one of the first questions that came to mind. Am I one of the or am I the only queer woman that's gonna be attending? Um, because I did ask, like, who are the other women? And I was it was shared, oh, it's gonna be like two women per different states around the country. And I said, Oh, that's incredible, that's wonderful. And I remember showing up, I was nervous, I was like, Who am I meeting? And it was uh supposed to be someone from the the Salvadorian government and some other folks that were there, and it was such a great experience. I remember being called a senora and senora Gonzalez, and I'm like, that's my mom. She's not here, she's not accepting the award, but okay. But I it went back to uh the entire conversation, it's all in espanol, right? Which I don't I don't have a problem with that, but I had a problem being called a senora Gonzalez. I was like, wait a minute, um, and we can't correct anyone, right? Because it's tradition, it's that Latin American traditional way of um you know welcoming someone and and and talking and so forth. And so the entire experience was Senora Gonzalez, and I was just like, no, damn it, where are these pronouns? Can we right just just call me Cynthia? That's it. You don't have to call me Senora Gonzalez, and so I I am going to share everybody was in a dress, all the women, they're all lovely women, incredible women, but everybody was in a dress, and I felt like I was back at church, and I was like, oh man, I'm here. I feel like this was again like a coming out experience. I show up in in um not a dress, I was in in in dress pants, a vest, a button-up, everything. I didn't throw on the tie because I didn't match with the outfit, but it was I I don't know. I was a little nervous, and I was the only queer woman because everybody talked about um, you know, their partners, their husbands, or whatnot. And I'm here talking so proudly and saying, yeah, you know, my my my partner, my, my at the time we weren't married yet. And it was just uh a beautiful experience that I got to enjoy um in DC. I did call a friend of mine in DC. Uh, she's the uh owner of El Tamarindo restaurant. If you're ever in DC, you have to go. And I said, I don't want to have this experience by myself. Can you come with me? And she's like, Ay, mujer, like, well, who's gonna be there? I don't know anybody, but I'm a little nervous. And Mario knows me. I tend to go to things by myself. I'm never ever intimidated, but in this experience, it was something different I didn't know. And so I asked her to come with me. And it was wonderful. I was very proud of myself looking back, um, um, and I was I'm always very like, why am I getting this award? Like, why? And they said, Well, because of all your work that you've been doing with the Salvadoran community in Los Angeles, all the events, and of course, your your recent uh publication of writing a children's book on the national Salvadorian artist, uh, del Salvador So. We're very proud of you and your accomplishments. And I said, Oh, okay, okay. So, no, it's not just because I was randomly chosen from like, oh, let's just give it to somebody in the lane. So I said, Okay, Cynthia, we've done something great. We have we have something to be proud of. And um, I mean, there's so much more to share about that experience, but I'd rather not. I'm just gonna say it was very interesting and and in a unique way, right? Eduardo, I'm gonna say that unique.

Writing La Vida De Yort

Eduardo Archuleta 22:27

Cynthia, you're the author, you just mentioned this, you're the author of little little libros, and you wrote the book La Vida de Ll ort, which highlights the the work of a world-renowned salvadoreño artist. How did that project come about?

Cynthia Gonzalez 22:46

So through my work with Salvi Soulange, I met the daughter of Fernando Llort. Her name is Maria Llort, and we connected over Instagram during the pandemic, and we had an online painting class with her. I don't know, Maria, if you remember, but it was an experience that we had, and she shared how um she was so proud of the work that her dad uh had been doing for decades, um, and that if there was ever an opportunity to work with her to keep her in mind, um, and she shared a lot. And so, because of this friendship that we started developing, I shared, I shared very publicly um uh certain things. And at work, I was asked from the founders of uh Lil Libros if I would be interested in writing a book, the story of Fernando Llort. And because of that friendship that I had, and that they would be honored to have that book under their published titles, and that they couldn't find anyone else that would be um a perfect match to telling that story, and it wouldn't be right for a Mexican to be writing it because they were both Mexican. Um, so they said it would be wonderful to have you uh write this book and you know, talk to the families what that what that um feels for them, how they feel about it, because there's nothing about Fernando Yort. And again, going back to to my roots and and being proud, I remember just saying yes, like of course, like this would be an honor. And and so I sat with Maria Yort through Zoom meetings, um, interviewed her and her mom because Fernando Yort passed away about six years ago now, I believe six, seven years ago. And it it was it my experience with him was very beautiful. Um, asking the questions of like, who was your father? And like, what did he do? And like there's this story right about him, and so that's what the book is about. It's a mini biography of his life. Uh, of course, it's a children's book, so it has to be condensed to a couple of text uh lines in in the book. But what's beautiful about that is that kids um at my age, and right, um, going back to when I was a little girl, I didn't know about Fernando Yord, and he had already created a movement, he had started this movement in the 80s due to the Civil War, and so growing up uh growing up, we didn't hear about him, and that's something that I've had a conversation with my parents. Like, you didn't know about Fernando Yord, and they're like, Well, no, because this happened during the the Civil War, so we were busy surviving, you know, bullets and poverty and so much going on. Meanwhile, Fernando Yord is in the middle on the other side of the country, in the little town away from everything, and he's building community, he's creating movement, he's teaching farm workers about art and how to make this as a living for themselves. So, this book is an amazing tool that parents, you know, or folks my age now, if we have nieces or we have kids, that we can use it as an educational uh resource to teach those kids about the history in El Salvador, something that I didn't have growing up, something that my entire generation doesn't have. And so now we're creating these resources to share it to the next generation. So it was an amazing experience to work with Maria York with the family. They were so proud. And that book was published in uh 2022, if I'm not mistaken. Yes, 2022, and 10,000 copies were published. And the last time I heard about the numbers, we are down to probably like 700 uh units of that book. So that's incredible when it comes down to publishing like a children's book, like the lifespan of a book. Um, that's where you want to see that um the success. If if 10,000 copies are being sold within the span of five years, then that that means a lot. That means that a lot of people are interested, that they're proud to learn a little bit about their culture and a historical figure. Um, something that I always tell people is like if you think about Frida Kahlo or you think about Basquiat, well, that is Fernando Yord to El Salvador. But Frida Diego Arto Mexico, that's what Fernando Yord is.

Eduardo Archuleta 27:33

Thank you. I and I think it's great that it's that it's it's kind of addressed to children because that's where you know learning begins. And I just think that that's that's fantastic to to bring about um cultural awareness that going back to something you said not everybody who's brown is is Mexican. I am, but not everybody else is.

Cynthia Gonzalez 27:57

And you know, it's it's interesting that you say that it's uh a children's book, it is a children's book, but I've seen a lot of adults use it for research, uh, because again, it has the essence, and the book is it's uh beautifully illustrated. The illustrator, um, her name is Citrali Creyas, and she is Mexican. And I remember her uh speaking with me. We would get on phone calls, I would send notes to her, and she took a great direction to illustrate uh the book. And and I said, Thank you for uh doing it justice, you know, like the the illustrations are very vivid in comparison to his work. So she did an incredible job, but it's a book that I encourage everyone to read it. It's short, um, it's like cliff notes for adults instead of opening the encyclopedia or let me look. I'm so old school, I'm like encyclopedia. Go on Google and you're reading entire articles, you know, you

Building Joteria As Safe Space

Cynthia Gonzalez 28:55

can just use that book for fast knowledge.

Mario J. Novoa 28:58

This is Mario again. Cynthia, one of the projects that really stand out is the work that you're doing with Savious Lunch. You're partnering with uh La Plaza de Cultura y Artes to present this highly anticipated Hoteria El Amor es Resistencia. It's a celebration happening on Saturday, June 6th, 2026. This is an all-ages event geared towards the Latin LGBTQ pride community. Uh, but the event is bringing members of all communities from the downtown LA area. Um I think from what I understand, this event's gonna feature live music, drag performances, there's gonna be a beer garden, you're gonna have local vendors. So it seems like you're creating this space centered around joy, culture, and visibility. Um but the title itself, El Amor is resistencia, Love is Resistance, carries a powerful message. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind this event, what the theme means to you personally, and what you hope attendees will experience and take away from the celebration?

Cynthia Gonzalez 30:14

I'm very proud of that event. I have to say that the work that uh we've been doing through Salvi to Lunch since 2018 has been very centered. It started centered around um the Salvadorian culture period, and then um it's grown into highlighting different Central Americans, but of everyone brings either their Diaz or grandmothers or parents, which is a beautiful intergenerational community that we've been building. And I again, as a queer woman, I always wanted to see um queer salvies, queer Central Americans, um, that first gen experience coming together. And it so happened that La Plaza de Cultura y Artes was looking for a partner. Um, this is four or five years ago. They were looking for a partner to do uh something celebratory around uh the queer Latinx Latin uh experience, and there was nothing uh happening in at the time in uh downtown LA. I believe DTLA Proud had just started uh creating momentum as well. But La Plaza was very uh transparent and said, listen, we're a museum, we do a lot of family events, but we have nothing that's uh focused on the queer community, and we're looking at you as partners, and we would love for you to take the lead. And so this idea of creating something space, uh a safe space for community for all ages uh came out of love again. We've all been to Pride celebrations, we have we enjoy them, I enjoy them, um, going to all the big festivals and so forth. But something that has always uh been missed at a lot of these pride festivals is the component of queer families. And and we started receiving a lot of messages in our own uh events saying, hey, when are you thinking of doing something for families? I'm a queer person, I have a kid, I would like to bring them to these events, but everything around for Pride Month is very heavy on like the drinking, the dancing, the partying, and I don't want to take my little ones there. Not yet, they're too little. Um, but anything else that you have, and so this opportunity with La Plaza de Cultura y Artes was a perfect opportunity to jump on board. And I remember thinking, like, what do we call this event? What do what do we do, right? Is it gonna be centered just on Central Americans or do we want everyone? And it was like, Yo, we want everyone. This is a perfect opportunity for us as an organization to expand our wings and reach more people and at the same time educate about Salvadorian culture, Central American culture, but but the message is unity, right? Um, over the years, there's been so much happening with, or in past decades, right? There's been a lot of animosity between like the Mexicans and Central Americans. And to me, it it has always been about not having enough knowledge about one another. It's like if you don't have enough um information about each other's culture, if you're not um associating yourself or attending these events where you could celebrate everyone, then you're missing uh a mark. And so hoteria is that it's that space where it's intergenerational, it's intersectional, and it's all ages. It's you see kids, you see youth, you see uh some folks that are coming out there for the very first time. I've had folks crying um out of joy, I've had them crying because they had a tough week with their family who is not accepting of them, and so they happen to go to Joteria to find that joy, that moment just to themselves. So now we're hearing self-care, we're hearing empowerment. And so in none of our events, uh in none of the Joteria events have we ever had a theme behind it. Uh, we've never uh had a slogan until now. And the reason that we decided to do that is based on last year's attacks, the ice raids, everything that's been going on within our own communities, uh Latinx and LGBTQ is we were being attacked by this administration. And so last year we had a set date in June. And because there was a March, it was a protest rally happening on the same day because of all the ice rates, uh, we decided to postpone it and move it to another month. And we ended up moving it to July the following day, I mean, the following month, and it community came out even stronger and said, I am so happy you didn't cancel entirely this event because, regardless of the attacks that we're experiencing in our communities, we still need joy. And I am so happy and proud that La Plaza and you guys decided to move forward with it, and that was a clear message from community, and it's something that we've been listening to to everyone. And yes, despite of the turbulent times, despite of the economy this year, 2026, right? It's been crazy. The fires and everything that happened as well. Last year, we were bombarded by so much in LA. And so this year we sat down and we thought, what do we do different? What do we do in order to connect more with folks, with the folks that are coming in, with the kids, with the families? Well, let's not entirely change everything. Let's continue keeping the drag performances because drag is joy. There's so many things that uh under this political climate, they're being banned, they're being taken away, we're being attacked. So, with us in this safe space at La Plaza, beautiful, uh joyful place, we decided to keep those elements, but give it a theme as a reminder to community, despite of what's going on, despite of what happened last year, that we have to find that love within ourselves and also share it. Come to this place and share it with others. That is the message, the message of unity, the message of you can be resilient, you can show your resistance by sharing that queer joy. Um, a lot of folks, they uh organizations, right, that are political organizations, they they express their resistance in different ways, whether there's a protest rally, there's workshops, how to educate community, and we're all for that. We're all supportive of different expressions of showing your resistance and and how to stand up for your community. And with us as a cultural arts organization, we are looking for ways of how to uh show community that you're not alone, that we see you, we hear you, and we want to provide you with a safe space full of joy and full of if we can give you a day where you don't have to think about anything else, and all you're gonna do is dance and you're gonna create some art and you're gonna be surrounded by other people, and you're gonna see kids see everyone around them as just humans and nothing else than what we're being talked about or who we are, then that's a joyful, peaceful moment to celebrate. And so El Amor es resistencia, it's something I think that we should always wake up to and just think about it because it sets a different tone just by the simple existence of walking down a street and holding your partners, your husband's, your wives' hand, that is showing resistance. That very, very um silently you're showing resistance. So the things that we have planned for for this year, which is in a couple of uh weeks, uh, we have some art stations, we have several uh spaces where people can take pictures. Um, we're looking into live painting uh with a couple of queer artists. Uh, we have a comedic uh session happening as well, and that's something new that we're adding. And we're always looking at local talent and we're hearing them when they say, hey, I'm trying something different, looking at where to share my creativity. We give that opportunity to these folks that that are looking into uh strengthening their their talent. So the the day is entirely fired by community itself, everything that we've been going through, what we saw last year, and we want to continue building that momentum into this year.

Eduardo Archuleta 39:03

Can we quickly um say when and where this is happening, this event is happening?

Cynthia Gonzalez 39:09

Yeah, so this is going to be held June 6, 2026, from 2 to 7 at La Plaza de Cultura y Artes. And there's gonna be live performances, comedy, drag. What else are we having? We're having a mariachi singer, and we are looking into also doing a dance class. That's something that community enjoyed a lot last year, so we're bringing it back. Um, and there's games, uh, those giant games that I don't know if you've ever participated, but we have that. And um, and this this year it's something new. There it's not gonna be a beer garden. People are gonna feel be able to freely walk around with their drink in their hands. So that's really cool. It's something that La Plaza is doing. I know in the past we've heard, oh, I'm being like stuck

Upcoming Events And Youth Programs

Cynthia Gonzalez 39:58

just at a beer garden. I want to walk around freely and look at everything. So that's something new that is being incorporated this year.

Eduardo Archuleta 40:05

Thank you. And we look forward to everybody going and and attending and having a great time.

Mario J. Novoa 40:10

Looking ahead, uh, tell us about your upcoming events and projects. What can people expect from you?

Cynthia Gonzalez 40:18

The idea, the goal is always for people to come to the events and have a great time. Um we want them to come and celebrate themselves, to uh be surrounded by friends, make new friends, and we've seen that happen over the years. Uh new businesses happening right in in front of us at events, people talking about ways, how to collaborate. And I think we just need more of that. We want uh folks to come to Hoteria and continue celebrating that queer joy and not feel alone. Um, we're also in talks um for the Puchica Fest, which Puchica Fest is our foodie event. Um, and this is where we say we celebrate all uh Central American food and cultura. Um, we tend to have different uh performances from different places in Centro America, and of course, the food, the delicious different dishes from everyone um in Centro America. Um, of course, the DJs are always there playing the best music, whether it's punta, cumbia, or anything else. We're also uh talking to a couple of uh some sports clubs. Uh we've had in the past celebrated the uh Salvadorian Heritage Night with Angel City FC, the only women's professional uh soccer club here in Los Angeles. And uh we're looking into having that momentum again and continue building relationships with these sports club. And at the same time, we see these um opportunities for us to fundraise. Since we do not receive any state or uh federal funding, we have to get creative with um how to fundraise, how to continue the mission, how to continue doing everything that we're doing. And so this is where working with the sports club and selling tickets and getting a kickback uh as a fundraiser helps us a lot. So we're in talk with the Sparks as well, Los Angeles Sparks, uh the LA Clippers. Um, so we're looking for people to come and enjoy their experience and and show up, be proud of their cultura, or be a proud ally. Um, all of our events that uh we have, they're all very inclusive. That's always been the mission. Of course, we we focus on highlighting certain communities and certain cultures, but that doesn't mean that no one can come to our events. So um when we have these events, we also have the opportunity to learn about each other. And I am a big believer that if we teach um early on to kids about the differences amongst cultures, that helps them also to build empathy and learn a little bit more. And if they if little ones can learn, then why can't adults, you know? And we're we're learning so much through the events that that we produce and how people are saying your event brought me closer to my Salvadorian side because all I knew was just my Mexican side. So that's another plus for us as well. Um, and since I'm on this topic of like children and uh fundraising, we also have our very own kids program. It's called Bichitos and Bichitas Club. Uh, going back, of course, to uh make sure that the next generation of Central American kids are growing with that uh pride and that knowledge that we didn't have growing up. We only got it through our parents. So we're working with different schools, we're going to summer, uh, or we host summer um. Uh programs, after school programs, and we're teaching the kids about Salvadorian Central American culture, food, art, and they get to meet a lot of the times a community leader, an artist, um hosts a workshop, and then they do a very hands-on activity. So we've seen some of these kids do pandulse, bubusas, to creating an entire art piece using coffee beans. So it's it's everything that we're doing, it's positive, it's joy, it's educational. And so we want these folks, uh, Mario and Eduardo, and and to just come and be themselves and learn something new. Um, break the shell, right, that they're in. Like if all they're doing is just uh learning one culture in their life, then we want them to come and experience something different at our events.

Closing Thanks And Listener Outreach

Mario J. Novoa 44:55

Cynthia, thank you so much again for joining us today.

Cynthia Gonzalez 44:59

So thank you so much.

Eduardo Archuleta 45:01

Thank you. We've been speaking with Cynthia Gonzalez, activist, writer, poet, and we want to thank her for coming on our show and sharing about her life, her programs, her projects, and her works. This has been Eduardo Archuleta. This is Mario J. Novoa.

Rita Gonzales 45:20

Thank you for joining Radio Q GLLU. This podcast is a segment of the Out Agenda. Like us on our Facebook page or email us at theoutagenda at gmail.com. I'm Rita Gonzalez. Thanks for listening and have a wonderful week. And remember that being out is the first step to being equal. Now stay tuned for this way out.