PHARR — With rainbow flags proudly displayed throughout the room, members of the LGBTQ+ community gathered to celebrate one of the tools at their disposal — the act of coming out.
The Valley AIDS Council commemorated National Coming Out Day with a celebration at the Main Event Center on Tuesday.
The event was held in collaboration with Casa Orgullo, the only LGBTQ+ youth-inclusive resource center.
Attendees were treated to free food and games and organizers also raffled off prizes ranging from athletic balls, card games, mini speakers, wireless computer mice, blankets and a mini egg cooker.
Two organizations were also on hand to register people to vote as Oct. 11 was not just National Coming Out Day but this year was also the last day to register to vote in Texas before the midterm elections.
“We decided that we wanted to do something big this year for National Coming Out Day to celebrate our LGBTQ community members,” said Steven Cano, the community mobilization coordinator for VAC. “It’s really important to have these things, commemorate dates like this, because to that individual that is looking from afar, they get to see hope, they get to see inspiration, they get to see ‘OK, I’m not the only one.’”
National Coming Out Day was first observed on Oct. 11, 1988, the anniversary of the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
Observing a day for coming out can be helpful to people in the LGBTQ community because it can give those who are still “in the closet” the opportunity to come out to their friends and loved ones.
That was the case for Yerb Rodriguez, 22, who came out as bisexual when they were 14 on National Coming Out Day. They later began coming out to people as non-binary at 18.
“I actually came out on National Coming Out Day because I was like, ‘How do I even approach the topic?’” Rodriguez said.
That day, Rodriguez mentioned the occasion to their mother and then came out to her that afternoon.
“That’s why it’s important that it exists, because it gave me a reason,” Rodriguez said.
The act of actually coming out was, in itself, important to them so they wouldn’t have to feel like they had to hide anything from their family.
“Thankfully, I had a really good experience with my family — coming out to them,” Rodriguez said.
Maribel Garza, 48, also had a positive experience coming out to her family at 22 years old.
Now, Garza is married to another woman with whom she’s been for 25 years. Together they attended the VAC event on Tuesday.
For Garza, being at the event was a way of showing support for a community that she loves.
“It’s more about supporting each other,” Garza said. “There’s many of us out here.”
Additionally, she thinks it’s important to educate people that “love is love.”
“That it doesn’t matter who you are with,” Garza said. “It should not be an issue.”
Rodriguez, a member of the South Texas Equality Project, noted that their positive experience of coming out likely would not have been possible without the efforts of LGBTQ+ activists that came before them.
“I think it’s important to recognize all the work that people did before us because when I came out, my family reacted well and even when I was in school, I had a girlfriend and everybody was super chill about it,” they said.
While homophobia persists, Rodriguez said that previous work allowed them to be out during a time when there was more tolerance.
“I’m really thankful that I grew up in a time where … there’s a little bit more support,” they said.
VAC provides HIV services in the Valley including prevention, education and testing, medical care, and supportive services.
They’ve been around since 1987 and now have offices in Harlingen, Brownsville and McAllen. They are open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a late clinic on Tuesday open until 8 p.m.
