Hola, yo soy Eder Diaz y este es el podcast de pueblo católico y gay. Este es el primer capítulo de ocho de una serie especial que se llama orgullos latinos LGBTQ 2019. Esto es parte de una colaboración con la organización bienestar que está basada en Los Ángeles. Bienestar está celebrando 30 años, puedes conocer más sobre su trabajo y su increíble historia visitando bienestar.org. En los próximos ocho capítulos escucharemos historias que reflejan la diversidad de nuestra comunidad y que también reconocen las grandes aportaciones de nuestra comunidad a la sociedad. Después de escuchar este capítulo si te gusta, te pido de favor que lo compartas en tus redes sociales para que estas historias lleguen a muchísimas personas y si es la primera vez que escuchas el podcast, suscríbete para que esté pendiente de los próximos episodios. Todos los dunes aquí va a ver una historia nueva o un tema nuevo en el podcast. Te pido disculpas si no hablas inglés porque esta primera historia que vamos a escuchar Se grabó en inglés, lo hicimos de esa manera para que la persona no tuviera ningún problema

expresándose si habla español, pero domina mucho más el idioma inglés. Y ahora sí vamos a escuchar la primera historia de esta serie, orgullos latinos LGBTQ 2019. Hola, mi nombre es Alberto González. y en Picoico de Vera California, crecí una familia católica y soy gay. Bienvenido Alberto al podcast. Gracias. Tome un poco de your childhood Alberto. So I grew up in Pico de Vera California. My parents are from Mexico. I have three sisters and we're all very close. We all went to the same church going up. We played on the soccer fields with my dad. We were very active in school and exiled in school and had a close, tight-knit group of friends. So it was a great experience for me and being very close to my family and with a big family, I really appreciated some of the moments I had as a kid. Was Bicorrivera mainly Latino when you were a kid? Because it is now. Yeah, when I grew up, it was 97% Latino throughout the public schools I went to from elementary to high school. It was pretty much majority Latino kids. Where are your parents from?

So my mom is from Rinoza, tamo Lipas, and my dad is, he was born in Mexico City, but he was raised in Guadalajara. So a lot of his family is in Guadalajara, Hali School. Typically when I go back to Mexico, I see his family there in Guadalajara. It's been a couple years since I've been there, but it's always a great and fun experience being there.

Were you raised in a very traditional home?

I'd say it was, especially when I was... in Guadalajara. So it's been a couple years since I've been there, but it's it's always a great and fun experience being there.

Were you raised in a very traditional home?

I'd say it was, especially when I was younger. We, you know, when we church every Sunday, not just the holidays, but like every Sunday we'd go. My, you know, family was very active in the church. I was part of the chorus for a while when I was a kid. And so we were very active in that part of the community.

Do you still identify as Catholic? I don't. I, you know, I so go to church for family events, any weddings or other celebrations, funerals. But I don't go as often. And I think because I had some experiences later on in high school that really affected my relationship with the church. And I know there's various, as I've grown, I've realized various interpretations of what it is to be Catholic. And so I keep that in mind, but I don't go as often as I used to. Okay. So when you were growing up, what was that like, what was the dynamic like at home? I have two older sisters, one younger sister. I think growing up, I looked up to my older sister a lot. She was like a second mom to me. I believe she was the first in our family to go to college on both sides. So we really looked looked up to her for guidance growing up. And my other older sister, she came out to me when I was in middle school. And so as I was looking into navigating my life as a gay Latino, I sought her guidance and support through that process. And I have another younger sister. And we're about a year and a half apart, so we're really close as well and and they're all they actually all still live in the same part of LA County, around Pico and Whittier and I'm the only one that's out in the East Coast now. So tell me a little bit about what it was like when you first realized that maybe you were a little different I don't know if you if that happened early in life for you. Yeah, I'd say it happened later in elementary school, I probably around that time. I just felt different. I didn't feel I wasn't into sports as much. I am now, but when I was younger, not so much. I didn't speak or say describe the same, use the same words to describe having a crush on girls as a lot of my classmates did and so it was just different and I think as a way for me to process that difference I really I focused on my academics and I excelled in school and that was my way of trying to navigate that type of transition. Was it hard for you to reconcile who you were learning that you were with your faith or the faith that you were growing in? It was, you know, early on, like in confirmation or in any of the other events, you know, through over the course of your experience in church. I didn't see that. I will say there was one moment in my confirmation class where the teacher made some comments that were very homophobic. I think I was probably the only, at that time in high school, I really knew I was gay. I just hadn't fully accepted it, but it made me very uncomfortable. And I think that was one specific experience that pushed me away from the church. But before that, I enjoyed the retreats I went to. I enjoyed the friendships I developed through the church and how central it was to the community. But there was that one particular instance of comments that were made that really affected me and probably other students as well. Once you realized you were gay, what was the relationship like with your family? Did it affect it at all? It didn't. I came out when I was in college. You know, I think in high school, I... I'm sure my family knew they knew I was different. And my sister was, Keck, come out already. And so they had that experience to look to or to reflect on. I think it more... It didn't necessarily impact my relationship with my family, but I think it affected my relationship with myself. I was, despite me being very successful in my academics, I still felt very insecure. I felt I didn't like the way I looked. I just had a lot of insecurities during that time. So I'd say that was the my process of trying to figure out who I am, really affected and trying to figure out how to move forward. And what my future would look like, it really affected my own relationship with myself. And so that was hard to navigate. Once you, I completely like, I wanna acknowledge the fact that you said your sister came out. What did that mean to you when I'm assuming you were still in the closet when that happened? Yeah. Yeah, I remember she... She called me and she told me about coming out and... And at that time, I knew I was different. I didn't know if I was gay or bi or something else. But it didn't, I still loved her.

And I, I think that was my first reaction.

But it was reassuring that at least I had that, you know, another close family member

to have gone through a similar process that I was going through.

And over time, I've had a number of other relatives that have come out, you know, in the state and in Mexico. So it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it. What was it like when you finally came out? You know, it was really hard. When I came out, you know, I knew I was at Berkeley at the time a very progressive area and I knew I had a support system. I had friends I would be supportive, close family members I would be as well. But it really affected me and to be honest I was depressed for about a month. Even though I was in class was in class, I felt like I wasn't there. But once I fully accepted that reality, I felt a heavy weight lifted and I saw a future of me being me and I took care of my health. I developed stronger relationships, friendships, and it made me stronger as a person. Did you immediately get support from your family? Your immediate family? I did. I didn't tell my parents right away, but I told my sisters, cousins, and they were very, very supportive, and close friends as well, that were there when I needed them. That's really cool. Your story is really impressive, by the way. Thank you. And that's the reason you're here. Once you graduated from Berkeley, I understand you went on to Harvard for your graduate school. I did. And among the things that you've achieved, not only are you really involved in grassroots movements, that empower the Latino community and empower Latino leaders and really, really

directly affect legislature that benefits the community. But you were also very involved in the Obama campaign, right? I was. Was that in the first term or in the second term? This was in, oh wait, or both of them. The first campaign. Okay. I want to talk a little bit about all of that. What was it like in Berkeley? Berkeley, I loved it. There's a lot of student activism there. There's several different student initiated outreach programs there to attract more Latinos to come to campus. I was really involved with that. Those efforts. I was part of the Political Science Association of Latino Pre-Law Society. I ran for Senate for student government. I didn't win, but I actually just saw my flyer yesterday.

I so had it in my mom's garage. But you know, I made a lot of wonderful people and again, it's where I first found myself because I did come out there. I think myself more year of college and again, I just was a great learning environment for me and I did had wonderful interest experiences on and off campus and I loved it.

If I had, you know, I planned at some point I would love to have kids and I would definitely encourage them to go to Berkeley. You're going to put the pressure on them. Yeah. What was your dream when you were a kid? My initial goal was to be a engineer, a civil engineer, but over time, because I was active in school and my sisters were active on campus at UCLA, I became more interested in politics. So I remember my senior year of high school, I, they had this like graduation, scholarship ceremony, and you got re-rided blur of what you want to accomplish. And I remember writing that I wanted to be a state senator for California. But I became intrigued about the campaigns and political campaigns and advocacy issue campaigns. So I turned in that direction based on experiences I had after Berkeley in Sacramento. Because I like, I think everyone has the power to make change. Especially for Latinos, we're a very important demographic in the country and in the state. And I think it's important that our power be flexed as far as it can be. especially're, especially the younger generation is going to be very critical to support and to empower. Earlier you were telling me that your older sister was the first one you believed in your family to go to college, right? Yeah. What was it like for you, you know, your parents were born in Mexico, you know, how did you open your path into Berkeley and then, you know, after that into Harvard? Yeah, so I remember in middle school, I would go visit my sisters every other weekend or so, they lived in West LA. And I think that experience exposed me to what college life could be like. And I would attend different conferences they would host and get all this information that typically college students would get. So I had that advantage that I felt a lot of my classmates didn't. My sisters were very supportive in navigating the college admissions or application process. But I think just being getting outside of my neighborhood, you know, I remember after the earthquake in 1994, my parents would have to drive my sister to UCLA and I remember going on those drives and driving through Bicoliveta, to other parts of LA, through downtown, through Beverly Hills, or Bel Air, I just seen the different sides of the parts of, going to UCLA from Pico was, I opened the experience for me. But in addition to that, I think just seeing the campus and seeing what life could be like after high school was really exciting for me. And then tell me about Harvard. How did that happen? Was that immediately after Berkeley? No, so after Berkeley, I worked in Sacramento for about five years. I

worked for a couple of members of the state legislature and mainly focusing on health and education policy. So yeah, I had a plighted Harvard twice before. I applied to Harvard for my undergrad. I got rejected. I applied for law school 10 years ago. I got rejected. And then I felt that being working in the policy space, I wanted to really build on that skill set. And so I applied to a number of graduate school programs, but I ultimately got into Harvard for the the public policy program at their Kennedy School government. Congratulations. Thank you. Why so insistent on Harvard? I don't know. Just like to get rejected. Third time's the charm, I guess. Yeah. Once you started working, were you openly gay? Yeah. Well, my first internship actually was in DC05. I was an intern for the Congressional Spaniac Caucus. And I was not out at the time. And I remember a, an exercise where if you're this step forward, if you're not like stay back and they asked the question about like, are you gay? And I don't think I don't think anyone's step forward. And I was tempted to, but I just was not ready to grapple with that. But post college, during college and post college, all the jobs that I took on, I was out in Sacramento. I remember being assigned working on several bills that would impact the LGBT community. I remember there was a bill to change state law in the books because that year there was an archaic rule that that still described being gay as having a mental illness. And so we worked with a nonprofit advocacy group to make that change in state law as more of a symbolic effort to push California forward. But throughout my working experience, I've been out and pushing to support or advance policies and impact our communities. That's really cool. Do you find that it's easy for you to be out or are there moments when you feel like it puts you in a vulnerable situation in that world in the political? Yeah. I think it's changed a lot. And I'm pretty open. I think what I've learned for the past few years is when you have conversations like what we're having right now, where we talk about hard topics and we are vulnerable, I feel like that makes a difference for people and that moves people, that draws people and if you want to make change or try to engage someone or advocate for something, I feel like being in those positions where you are vulnerable could be very powerful. That's very true. So how did the Obama campaign happen? Yeah, this was in 08 and my former boss sent me an email about the campaign looking for a Latino organizer in New Mexico. So my fellowship program at Sacramento was about to wrap up. And I remember immediately signing up for it because I was totally on board with Obama at the time. And then like within a week I got a call that I got the job, or I had an interview a week after, and then a week after that, I was in my car driving from Sacramento to Albuquerque in New Mexico. Was he already a candidate or was it really early on in the campaign? He was a candidate already. And I was assigned in the four corners region, so it's like near the Navajo reservation. So a very rural area. I had my own office. I had amazing volunteers. Many who had not voted since John F. Kennedy was running for president. So it was a big change in terms of getting more people out and about. But again, it was a very rural district, rural part of the state. Social media was just up and running at the time. So Twitter was big. I remember knocking on doors and calling folks that didn't have electricity running. It was an intense 90 plus hour work week. I remember knocking on doors and canvassing so much with volunteers at the souls of my shoes were coming apart. But it was a wonderful experience. I remember at the end of the campaign, it was such an exciting moment to be part of that

campaign. coming apart. But it was a wonderful experience. I remember at the end of the campaign, it was such such an exciting moment to be part of that campaign and it's one of one of the best memories I have. Did you ever get to meet him? I did. 2005 when I was in intern in DC, I attended one of a breakfast and Senator Durban and then Senator Obama were there and after they spoke we everyone in the room goes up and takes a photo with him. So actually I have a portrait photo of me with Senator Durban and Senator then Senator Obama and at the time the former Attorney General of Brutal Gonzalez was there and so we meet like a slight joke about how I'm not related to the former Attorney general under bush, but that was that was a great great moment. That's really cool. What is the dream now for you? I'm still trying to figure that out. I know that I passionate about healthcare and healthcare access and coverage and making sure that you know all Latinos and LGBT folks have access to health coverage that's responsive to their needs. And so I know that will take a long time to do and to achieve, but I think it's important to have our voices at the table when these decisions are being made. So that's where I'm at right now, is figuring out next steps, but I definitely know which issue I want to continue working in it, the space I want to continue working in. You're currently working for Unidos USA Action Fund? Just Unidos US. Unidos US. Unidos US Action Fund. You're based out of Washington? Yeah, so we're headquartered there, but we have staff across the country. And so I just joined recently. I used to work for a national nonprofit in Boston for about five years, doing healthcare advocacy as well. So I'm currently at Unidos, US. I'm doing that work, but more tailored to the Latino community. But I'm really enjoying my time in DC. And I've always wanted to go back and work at the nation's capital and try to make change where I can. What is the one thing you've learned throughout your career? I've learned that it's okay not to know everything. It's okay to ask a lot of questions. You know, it was such a perfectionist growing up and maybe my gay identity being insecure, triggered that, but I've learned that over time. You know, it's okay if you don't know an answer, you know the answer to a question.

It's okay to say, I don't know.

I say that because someone had told me that when I was in those moments where I felt confused. So, I think that's the one key thing I've learned is that you don't have to know everything. I understand you're married. Yes, I was told. Is that something you want to talk about? today but I will say that when I first came out like most most gay Latinos like we feel we're gonna be alone and I'm grateful to have had the experience of experiencing love and so I think that that's something I value and I appreciate it to have had that type of experience so that's all safe for that. I don't think you're for sharing that.

What would you tell somebody who is listening who isn't maybe out yet? And they're probably still in college. I know for me, when you talk about the insecurities that you had, it's something that triggers my memories as well. And I know it was hard for me to even envision a career in anything. I felt like my sexuality was gonna be a big obstacle.

What would you tell somebody who's listening

and maybe struggling with those thoughts? Yeah, I would say that I would say that you're valued and people, even though you may not know it right now, that you have friends out there that will be by your side, that will be supportive. If you think that coming out it's gonna keep you from achieving your dream. What I've learned is that being out and proud and being gay, if anything has given me you know more opportunities to grow emotionally professionally and there's so many people out there that that are have gone through the same experience, same experience that you have and they can They relate to you in that sense that that struggle that those moments of being insecure of not knowing what will lies ahead of being fearful of coming out. We've all like most of us have had that experience and that's something that bonds us together. So I would say to that person out there that you know there's support system there. Like you may not see it right away.

...