What a quiet morning it was... as Ted and I walked to CASA (he walks with me every morning and picks me up in the afternoon) we wondered if there had been a time change, or a saints holiday. The usual procession of school kids walking down the streets were missing as well as the many cars, buses, and motorcycles. Then I heard singing, choir singing. It appeared to come from every direction, lovely, far away. The skies were close and weighted and grey. It seemed a wonderfully elusive way to start the work week. As we gathered in the auditorium, literally half the promotores were missing. Maggie inquired as to where everyone was and I heard an answer but I didn't understand. Oh well. We watched a fantastic 28 minute bilingual documentary directed and produced by Woman Vision entitled "De Colores." The documentary addressed the struggles for gay Latino youth in both the United States and Latin America. The number one priority in the Latino culture, as was explained in the film, was one's family. To paraphrase a Latina woman from "De Colores", "we are brought up to believe that family is everything and that you will always have the support of your family." So what happens when your family has a son or daughter that is gay? The documentary revealed different stories and experiences, painful and frustrating. A young man who was adopted by a woman after his own family rejected him. A young women whose family threatened to chain her to her bed or send her to a mental institution because she was gay. Faith and the Catholic religion were also brought up in the video. A woman testified that her mother did not believe she would meet her in heaven because she was gay. A pastor spoke in Spanish, that there was no room for judgement in the church. We were all to act in the loving manner in which Jesus did, without exception. This video brought about a lot comments and nervous laughter and questions from the promotores. The discussion of "stereotypes" specifically those surrounding gay men, is what prompted some of the giggling and whispering. Although I'm somewhat unclear as to who asked, a question as to the "effeminacy" that is stereotypically associated with gay men was brought up. Lots of emotional exclamations and perhaps a few mild disagreements took place. I believe there was discussion with respect to the violence that is committed towards a man whom is perceived as effeminate and therefore vulnerable to being hurt or killed. Maggie reigned the conversation in and articulated that the we would continue our talk another day, and that she wanted everyone to think about there own homophobia because, and I paraphrase her, "everyone in this room is homophobic in some regard." There were immediate nods of agreement as well as silence and downcast faces. After sitting in my chair for about 30 seconds...dumbfounded, I wanted to stand up and applaud her and the youth around me. This was courage. These are such difficult things we discuss here. We are working out and learning about issues that have ripped apart families and communities all over the world. We are confronting fear. We are talking about the burden of hiding one's true identity, being, and spirit. So much of the overwhelming sadness I have experienced with others through out my own life, has had to do with living in a secret. We are learning how the pain of a secret can destroy a beautiful life. Everywhere. We are learning it through shared histories and stories. Happy Birthday Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.