Brenda Cortes has been volunteering with Denver PrideFest for 22 years. For the last 11, she's managed the Latin Stage — a fixture at Pride for 25 years now. She's Mexican, and the stage reflects that. Mariachi, folkloric dance, performers who know what it means to be both Latin and queer in Denver.
"It's full of life," she says.
But getting here wasn't simple. For Brenda, being proud of her culture and being out as queer haven't always coexisted easily.
"There is a lot of machismo in Mexican culture and that can lead to some homophobia and just some general lack of understanding around identities," she says.
The Latin Stage closes that gap for Brenda. It's a space where both things can be true at once, where you don't have to choose between your culture and yourself. And year after year, the stage helps her embrace all facets of her identity. It’s a space where her Mexican heritage and her queer identity celebrated on stage for half a million attendees to witness.
What keeps her there is something she says is hard to put into words but impossible to miss — the sheer vibrance of it. Watching people of different races, gender identities, and family styles celebrate themselves openly, loudly, without apology.
Denver's Latin population is large and growing, with approximately 28-34% of Denverites identifying as Hispanic or Latino. Cortes is proud of her heritage, but she works to make sure all Latin identities have a place on that stage. Last year, Peruvian performers joined the lineup. With 10 to 15 performers each year, every slot is deliberate.
"We also try to cover some of the community from other countries," she says. The Latin Stage highlights performers from other backgrounds, too, including African American performers who've shared the stage over the years.
This year, that work feels more urgent than usual. ICE is racially profiling Latin people across the country, and fear has spread throughout Brenda's community regardless of documentation status. Denver Pride has made clear: ICE is not welcome at any Pride events.
"This is a time to be together without that fear and without the dark news that's happening all the time," she says.
The Latin Stage has always operated on a simple belief: Pride belongs to everyone. That same belief is behind two more free events this year.
On June 19, the For the Culture Cookout brings a Juneteenth celebration to Cheesman Park — food, live music, DJs, local vendors, community resources, and a vogue night. Presented by Love Vibes and Denver Pride, it runs 4:30 to 9:30 PM and is free and open to all ages. The Vizzy Denver Pride Parade, one of the largest Pride parades in the country, runs down 17th Street this year from 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM.
And Denver PrideFest, in 16th St this year, brings the performers, vendors, and community we've cherished at Civic Center Park for decades to the streets of Downtown Denver.
We'll see you there.