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Title: Lydia R. Otero Archive
Dates: 1955-2023 (bulk 1983-94)
Collection Number: LA MSS 0003
Creator/Collector:
Lydia R. Otero
Extent: 3.23 cubic feet (3 boxes)
Repository:
Los Angeles Public Library
Los Angeles, California 90071
Abstract: The archive contains photographs, posters, ephemera, planning documents, and personal items belonging to Lydia R. Otero, a
non-binary Latinx activist, educator and author. As an activist in Los Angeles, Otero advocated for greater visibility, rights,
and healthcare in the LGBTQ+ community. Most items fall between the years of 1983 and 1994 when Otero was most active in Gay
and Lesbian Latinos Unidos (GLLU), Lesbianas Unidas (LU), and Bienestar.
Language of Material: English
This archive is open for research by appointment only in the Rare Books Room. Information about setting appointments can be
found on the Library’s website at lapl.org/branches/rarebooks. Appointments can also be arranged by sending an email inquiry
to rarebook [at] lapl.org.
Provenance/ Source of Acquisition
Donated to the Los Angeles Public Library by Lydia R. Otero in August 2023. The librarians in the Digitization and Special
Collections Department first learned about Otero when Todd Lerew, Director of Special Projects, Library Foundation of Los
Angeles. shared an article published in “High Country News'' in March 2022, titled “My Archive: 20 Years of Los Angeles’ LGBTQ+
Community.” A letter of interest was sent to Otero from Ani Boyadjian, Research & Special Collections Manager, on February
15, 2023, which initiated correspondence and several meetings. Lydia wrote in an email on February 21, 2023, “...Central Library
holds a special place in my heart. One, I spent my summers in LA as a child and spent many hours there with my mother. Second,
I worked there for several months as an electrician after the 1986 fire.”
[Identification of item]. Lydia R. Otero Archive. Collection Number: LA MSS 0003. Los Angeles Public Library
Donated to the Los Angeles Public Library by Lydia R. Otero in August 2023. The librarians in the Digitization and Special
Collections Department first learned about Otero when Todd Lerew, Director of Special Projects, Library Foundation of Los
Angeles. shared an article published in “High Country News'' in March 2022, titled “My Archive: 20 Years of Los Angeles’ LGBTQ+
Community.” A letter of interest was sent to Otero from Ani Boyadjian, Research & Special Collections Manager, on February
15, 2023, which initiated correspondence and several meetings. Lydia wrote in an email on February 21, 2023, “...Central Library
holds a special place in my heart. One, I spent my summers in LA as a child and spent many hours there with my mother. Second,
I worked there for several months as an electrician after the 1986 fire.”
Biography/Administrative History
Lydia R. Otero (b. 1955) was active in Lesbians of Color from 1979 to 1982 and attended the First National Lesbians of Color
Conference in 1983 in Malibu, California. Otero was also active in Gay and Lesbian Latinos Unidos (or GLLU) in Los Angeles
from 1983 through 1991 and served as President of GLLU for two years, from 1988-1990. Dr. Otero was one of the founding members
of Lesbianas Unidas (or LU) in 1983, remaining active with the organization until 1991. Other community involvement included
Bienestar, a Gay Latino AIDS Project-group central to the city's burgeoning queer, brown, and activist scene.
Otero received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1992 and a Master of Arts degree in 1996 from California State University, Los
Angeles, and also received a PhD in History. Prior to attending college, Otero trained as an electrician and worked in IBEW
Local Union 11 in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994. Their labor contributed to building some of the most iconic structures in
Los Angeles, such as the U.S. Bank Tower, Universal Studios' CityWalk, the Metro Rail, as well as the reconstruction of Central
Library after the devastating 1986 fire.
Otero’s 2023 memoir, “L.A. Interchanges: A Brown & Queer Archival Memoir” chronicles 20 years of living in Los Angeles from
1978-98 through vividly told stories, photographs and personal archival documents, many of which are included in this collection.
Part working-class memoir and part documentary history, “L.A. Interchanges” follows Lydia Otero as they move from the homes
of family members, dancefloors, work sites, and Los Angeles's organizing spaces in search of brown and queer belonging. Through
photographs, archival documents, and compelling storytelling, Otero weaves a gripping, passionate narrative of personal becoming
amid the political and cultural currents of 1980s Los Angeles. Otero's parallel story of becoming an electrician offers a
unique vantage point of a city in the midst of restructuring.
Otero’s first memoir was “In the Shadows of the Freeway: Growing Up Brown & Queer” (2019), which centers on their childhood
in Tucson, Arizona. They have also published: “Notitas: Select Columns from the Tucson Citizen” (2021), and “La Calle: Spacial
Conflicts and Urban Renewal in a Southwestern City” (2010).
Lydia Otero participated in the documentary “UNIDAD: Gay and Lesbian Latinos Unidos.” It aired on PBS in 2023. As a Tucson
resident, Otero continues to be active in working to preserve the local history of the Mexican American community.
Scope and Content of Collection
The archive contains photographs, posters, ephemera, planning documents, and personal items belonging to Lydia Otero, a non-binary
Latinx activist, educator and author. Otero moved to Los Angeles from Tucson, Arizona in the late 1970s to live openly as
a lesbian-identified person as part of the gay community. As an activist in Los Angeles, Otero advocated for greater visibility,
rights, and healthcare in the LGBTQ+ community. Many of the items such as posters, flyers and t-shirts, were designed and
printed by Otero by hand and with the aid of an early Macintosh computer. Other materials include research for Otero’s 2023
memoir titled “L.A. Interchanges: A Brown & Queer Archival Memoir.” Most items fall between the years of 1983 and 1994 when
Otero was most active in Gay and Lesbian Latinos Unidos (GLLU), Lesbianas Unidas (LU), and Bienestar.
Activism, LGBTQIA+
Activism, Queer.
Activism--United States.
Civil rights--California--Los Angeles.
GLLU
Gay and lesbian rights.
Gay and lesbian movement.
Gay and lesbian studies.
Gay and lesbian writers.
Latinos (United States).
Lesbians.
Lesbians--Archives.
Lesbians--California--Los Angeles.
Lesbians--California--Los Angeles--Social conditions.
Lesbians--History--20th century.
Lesbians--Political activity.
Lesbians--Social networks.
Non-binary identity.
Non-binary people.
Otero, Lydia R.
Audiovisual
Correspondence
Periodicals
Photographs
Posters
T-shirts