¡Cuéntamelo!
Oral Histories by LGBT Latino Immigrants / Testimonios de Inmigrantes Latinos LGBT
¡Cuéntamelo! Oral Histories by LGBT Latino Immigrants began as a cover story for SF Weekly, and, eventually in 2014 with local grant support, Lopera was able to self publish. The first edition of 300 books sold out within a week. In addition to beautiful black and white drawings of the contributors by artist Laura Cerón Melo, this edition features a number of candid earlier photographs of several of the contributors, as well as a new introduction from Julián.
¡Cuéntamelo! is “[a] stunning collection of bilingual oral histories and illustrations by LGBT Latinx immigrants who arrived in the U.S. during the 80s and 90s. Stories of repression in underground Havana in the 60s; coming out trans in Catholic Puerto Rico in the 80s; Scarface, female impersonators, Miami and the 'boat people'; San Francisco’s underground Latinx scene during the 90s and more.”
¡Cuéntamelo! is bilingual. All stories in this book have both an English and Spanish version.
Full of humor and heart--the oral histories collected here speak of exilio and gentrification, bad tricks and forever friendships, hoped for memories and forgotten utopias. This is queer latinidad in all of her salty glory, spilling tales wrapped in glitter and grime, urgent stories that capture your spirit and don't let go. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in real-world accounts of the quotidian cruelties and unexpected pleasures of immigrant latinx queers remaking community, sex, politics, culture, and themselves. —Juana María Rodríguez
Contributors include: Adela Vázquez, Alexandra Cruz, Manuel Rodríguez Cruz, Marlen Hernández, Carlos Sayán Wong, Mahogany Sánchez, Nelson D'Alerta (Catherine White)
Julián Delgado Lopera is the author of The New York Times acclaimed novel Fiebre Tropical (Feminist Press 2020), the Winner of the 2021 Ferro Grumley Award and a 2021 Lambda Literary award; a finalist of the 2020 Kirkus Prize in Fiction and the 2021 Aspen Literary Prize. Julián is also the author of Quiéreme (Nomadic Press 2017) and ¡Cuéntamelo! (Aunt Lute 2017) an illustrated bilingual collection of oral histories by LGBT Latinx immigrants which won a 2018 Lambda Literary Award and a 2018 Independent Publisher Book Award. Julián's received fellowships and residencies from Hedgebrook, California Arts Council, San Francisco Arts Commission, Headlands Center for The Arts, Brush Creek Foundation of the Arts, Lambda Literary Foundation, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and The SF Grotto. Their work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and has appeared in Granta, Teen Vogue, The Kenyon Review, McSweeney's, The Rumpus, The White Review, LALT, Four Way Review, Broadly, TimeOut Mag to name a few. They are the former executive director of RADAR Productions and one of the founders of Drag Queen Story Hour. Born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, Julián currently resides in San Francisco.
