07/04/2025
Last week I wheat pasted Polaroid photos of my q***r Chicane parents outside of Museo 956, a museum about civil rights history in the Valley.
The museum is located in San Juan, a city in the Rio Grande Valley, a region along the U.S.-Mexico border.
It was such a gift to witness people walk up, read, and take photos/videos in the town I used to grow up in/around.
shared that they were nervous driving into town but then felt a sense of belonging/ ease once they saw the art on the wall. They said āIāve never seen anything like that before.ā
Iāve archived q***r RGV stories and histories since 2016 for this very reason. So that we know we come from a long history of joy, resistance, beauty, and so much more. You arenāt alone.
I encourage you to q u e e r spaces or to highlight the already q***r history of the space even if itās temporary. These photos werenāt meant to be seen. They were meant to be tucked away, collecting dust, shared only with permission. But now they serve a new meaning. These photos are visible, they are circulated, and they take up space without permission. To witness these photos means to witness q***r border history. It means to witness a q***r latine couple as themselves in the late 90s in Texas along the border.
Los amo, mom and dad. Thank you for choosing me in this life. I hope we find each other in every timeline and continue to dream, dance, archive, and create q***r worlds together.
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***r ***an
