The collection documents the 1981 founding and early years of Gay and Lesbian Latinos Unidos (GLLU), the first major Queer Latinx organization in the Los Angeles area. Materials include issues of the GLLU newsletter, as well as papers related to meetings, the mission and organizational structure, events, and other activities. There are also photographs of GLLU members taken by Gonzales and Louis Jacinto. Materials date from 1980-87.

David P. Gonzales (he/him) was born and raised in the Los Angeles area and graduated from UCLA with a BA in Biology and a minor in Chemistry. It is during this time that he identified as a proud gay Chicano. Gonzales volunteered for the Peace Corps and served as an agricultural volunteer and community organizer in rural El Salvador in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He was forced to leave due to the raging civil war. In 1981, he co-founded Gay and Lesbian Latinos Unidos (GLLU), secured its non-profit status, founded and edited the UNIDAD newsletter, and was the group’s first President. In 1986, he attended California State University Northridge and received a science teaching credential in the Life and Physical Sciences, leading him to teach high school biology, chemistry, and physics at John Marshall High School in Silver Lake for over 25 years. Gonzales retired from Los Angeles Unified School District in 2019. Louis Jacinto (he/him) began photographing in Los Angeles in 1975 and is noted for his iconic images of the Punk Rock music scene in Los Angeles. Both Jacinto and the East Los Angeles art collective ASCO crossed artistic paths throughout the 1970’s and 80’s, most notably in his series of photographs documenting an art exhibit and Punk Rock music show, “GRONKPATSSIPARTY”, curated by ASCO artists Patssi Valdez and Gronk in 1978. Three images from that limited edition series were featured in the ASCO Retrospective which opened in 2011 as part of the regional Pacific Standard Time: Art In Los Angeles 1945 – 1980. In 1981 and 1982 Jacinto was the official photographer for the Sunset Junction Street Fair in Los Angeles, and it was during this time that he encountered Gay and Lesbian Latinos Unidos (GLLU) and became actively involved in this social and political organizing organization for the next decade. He has exhibited throughout the greater Los Angeles area as well as in dozens of cities in the U.S. and abroad. His work was included in the museum exhibition Axis Mundo: Queer Connections in Chicano L.A., which traveled to eight museums from 2017-2022. Louis was named a 2020 Cultural Trailblazer by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs. That same year he opened onodream Gallery, a virtual exhibition venue highlighting under recognized artists. He has been a community organizer and has worked at several community-based organizations to improve the lives of children and families. The biographies of Gonzales and Jacinto were taken from glluarchive.com and viewed on December 14, 2023.

.32 cubic feet

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