¡Yo soy Latinx y queer!
Yzzy Liwanag | The OutCrowd
Eder Díaz Santillan, the host of “De Pueblo, Católico y Gay,” said that while queer expression has always existed, modern artists now have a direct line of communication with their fans.
This piece was written for The OutCrowd, Syracuse University’s only student-run LGBTQIA+ publication, and published in collaboration with The Daily Orange. Read The OutCrowd’s fall 2021 issue here.
Though I’ve always proudly identified as a queer Latina, I didn’t truly experience what living as a queer person in a fully Latinx society was like until I spent a couple months in Puerto Rico this past summer. I found myself censoring my queerness in certain spaces out of fear of hateful judgement from family members and, at times, strangers.
This is a reality that up-and-coming Chilean artist Jonah Xiao faced when he would purposely write his songs in English, just so that his friends and family wouldn’t know he was gay. Being a queer individual in Latinx society poses its trials and tribulations, especially because there’s two collective cultural experiences that are embedded in it: a poignant influence of “machismo” and hypocritical Catholicism.
Within the context of Latinx society, machismo can be defined as toxic masculinity that not only perpetuates an ideology of cis-male superiority, but also demeans the possibility of men being open with their emotions. Hypocritical Catholicism, in simple terms, is the justification of Catholics to treat queer people with hatred and contempt due to opposition against same-sex relations by the Church.
Despite these realities, in recent years, the surge of openly queer Latinx artists has skyrocketed.
Eder Díaz Santillan, a well-known radio personality in Latin America, is the host of his podcast, “De Pueblo, Católico y Gay,” which means “From Community, Catholic and Gay.” In his podcast, which has more than 100 episodes, Diaz explores stories surrounding the discovery of the sexual and gender identities of the queer Latinx individuals he interviews.
The podcast often focuses on how their family dynamic affected or did not affect their self-discovery process.
“There was always queer expression, but never outspoken queer identity,” Diaz told the OutCrowd when asked about his observations of queer Latinx individuals in the music industry.
“What’s helped the modern-day queer artist is having a direct line of communication to their audience, as the label no longer is the mediating connection between artist and fan,” Diaz said. “No longer can (an) artist be told by their teams that being openly queer is going to be rejected, because the proof is in the support they receive in media.”
“The idea of the closet needs to begin being referred to as an issue of mental health. Furthermore, there needs to be change in the way we talk about the closet,” he said. “The closet is society, it’s the industry, and it’s the media — it’s the responsibility of the public to eliminate the idea of the closet, not the queer individual. If an individual is ‘in the closet’ it is because a safe space hasn’t been created for them to be their authentic selves.”
Q&A with up-and-coming Latinx artist Jonah Xiao
Last fall, the OutCrowd connected with Jonah Xiao and Villano Antillano to hear about their experiences being queer and Latinx in the entertainment and music industries.
Jonah Xiao is a Chinese-Latino artist from Chile who makes urban/pop music that represents his experience as a queer man and narrates his life experiences through his music and visuals.
These responses have been edited for clarity and brevity. While these interviews were conducted primarily in English, certain cultural elements were explained in Spanish and have been translated for the final text.
OutCrowd: Can you pinpoint the first time you realized you wanted to work in music?
Jonah Xiao: When I was in high school, I always knew I wanted to do something related to music. However, when I went off to college, it was difficult to find time for music, as I was busy getting my undergraduate and master’s degrees. It wasn’t until the pandemic that I finally had the time to work on my music, which is when I released my first song. People seemed to really like “Inhala Inhala,” and soon enough I was put in connection with Cactus Music management and Warner Chile.
OC: What do you want people to think when they hear a Jonah Xiao song?
JX: I simply want to be taken seriously as a musician and songwriter. I’d rather focus my efforts on the quality of my music, rather than flooding my social media platforms with meaningless content just for the clicks.
OC: Who are your current sonic inspirations?
JX: Frank Ocean is a consistent fave. Funnily enough, I grew up listening to a lot of American music, but recently I’ve been getting into the artists from my country and from the region. I love all the Latin artists of today too, like Bad Bunny, J. Balvin, Karol G, just to name a few.
OC: Tell me about your recording process during your “San Diego 18” EP.
JX: In 2018, I did an exchange program in San Diego, California. I wanted to sonically capture the feeling of being young, being with my friends, being gay and just simply existing in San Diego. Transparency was really important for me in this project. I really wanted to dive deep and talk about my romantic and sexual relationships freely. The “San Diego 18” EP was actually the first time I was 100% open about being gay. Initially, when I would write about my gay experiences, the lyrics would be in English so that my peers wouldn’t be able to understand what I was saying. However, for this EP, I fully let myself go and spoke about my honest truths.
OC: What’s next for Jonah Xiao?
JX: So, I’m currently working on production of another body of work. Plus, I have a single that is coming out soon called “En Tu Celly,” which I’m very excited about.
Q&A with up-and-coming Latinx artist Villano Antillano
Villano Antillano (she/they) is an urbano/trap artist hailing from Puerto Rico. They purposely inserted themselves in the most “violent” genre that they could: Latin trap, which can be heard loud and clear from their “malianteo-esque” lyricism.
OutCrowd: What is Villano Antillano’s sound?
Villano Antillano: So, I grew up in Puerto Rico, which is one of the birthplaces of reggaeton and Latin trap. I’m very influenced by the Caribbean and my home, so it made sense to create with those influences in mind. There was always this aggressiveness to me. As an LGBT person, I went through a lot and was forced onto the streets very early in my life. I feel like I grew up with a lot of rage, and it all flows out in my music.
OC: Who are your current sonic inspirations?
VA: I actually listen to a lot of house music. But I’m very into malianteo, which is a sub-genre of Latin trap that is focused on the stories of drug wars and how hard life is on the streets. I have a very big thing for Luar La L and Ankhal — both are malianteo artists. I f*ck with their lyricism and think they are really talented.
OC: How have you found the courage to be openly LGBT in face of homophobia?
VA: Being LGBT is everything I’ve known. At some point, I recognized that I could not let the fear of getting hurt get in the way of me living my life authentically. In the grand scheme of things, I want to know that I did what I wanted to do. In keeping that mindset, that’s how I mustered the courage to transition and insert myself to a genre that is known to not accept individuals like me. When I first started, I thought to myself, I’m not making this for straight people, and I don’t care what straight people think. I was quickly surprised by a lot of the older generation MCs and DJs who have come up to me and told me that they f*cked with my sh*t. It’s a nice feeling, but I don’t need it.
OC: What kind of songwriter are you?
VA: I feel like I’ve lived the experiences that require you to have enough range to honestly rap.
Rap, to me, is a weapon of social change that is used to denounce f*cked up sh*t in society. I truly believe that the music I make is tied to the fundamentals of hip-hop because it’s looking to reform and change society for the better.
OC: How did the pandemic affect your artistry?
VA: The pandemic was the year that I decided I was going to medically transition. I was lost in my head and living alone. I did a lot of shrooms and listened to a lot of music. I sat down with myself and admitted a lot of realities and parts of myself that I was subconsciously suppressing. It was the year I let go and really let myself flourish. My grandmother also passed away during this time, and she was a very important part of my life. In accepting what death truly is, I think it further strengthened the fearlessness that I lead my life with.
OC: What’s next for Villano Antillano?
VA: I’m very excited for the release of my upcoming single “Vocales.” The song has so much energy. It’s like doing a line of cocaine from the track to the lyrics. Also, I’m completing an album. It’s the soundtrack to my transition. It feels really good to be making the music I’ve always wanted to put out. After that project comes out, I look forward to beginning planning a tour and hitting all the spots I’ve wanted to perform in.
Published on March 9, 2022 at 10:38 pm
