Celebrating Delight Month with LGBTQ Musicians sin fronteras
Since Tchaikovsky within the 1860s (and possibly centuries earlier than), LGBTQ musicians have formed the sound and tradition of mainstream music. Early Twentieth-century performers resembling Fred Barnes and Tony Jackson discovered fame regardless of social boundaries, whereas the cabaret and drag scenes of the Twenties, led by figures like Julian Eltinge and Noël Coward, supplied uncommon areas for self-expression.
The postwar interval introduced heightened repression, forcing many artists to cover their identities, but skills like Liberace and Billie Vacation (who was rumored to be bi-sexual) continued to make their mark. The arrival of rock’n’roll noticed Little Richard (who each admitted and equivocated about being homosexual) and others continued to problem conventions. However it was the glam rock motion of the Nineteen Seventies—propelled by David Bowie (who gave us Ziggy Stardust) and Elton John—that signaled a turning level for LGBTQ visibility in music.
Disco’s rise within the late Nineteen Seventies amplified queer voices with acts like Sylvester and the Village Folks reaching business success. Nevertheless, the AIDS disaster of the Eighties and a conservative backlash threatened these advances, though artists resembling Boy George, Bronski Beat, and Freddie Mercury persevered.
At present, as main Delight celebrations in america and globally will happen throughout June, LGBTQ musicians proceed to interrupt boundaries and go away a permanent imprint on music and tradition. Artists like Troye Sivan, Sam Smith, Adam Lambert, Renee Rapp , Mika, Rufus Wainwright have brazenly declared themselves homosexual or non-binary or bisexual and topped the music charts. And naturally, superstars who should not homosexual like Taylor Swift, Adele and Ed Sheeran vocally help homosexual rights.
So it’s only becoming that Spotify turned over its Delight 2025 playlist to the Outloud Music Competition in West Hollywood (WeHo). It options 11.5 hours of music comprising 209 songs celebrating the LGBTQ+ neighborhood. Artists resembling Cher, Madona, Lizzo, Paris Hilton, Dua Lipa, Kim Petra, Lorde, Chapell Roan, and plenty of extra are featured.
Right here in Mexico, LGBTQ+ artists have made an affect, as proven within the Spotify playlists Mexicopridemx and Divas de la Noche . On prime of any checklist is Mariachi Arcoíris de Los Angeles, often called The Los Angeles Rainbow Mariachi, a homosexual mariachi led by Carlos Samaniego. Amongst its members is Natalia Meléndez, the primary transgender girl to carry out professionally as a mariachi.
Chavela Vargas, who handed away in 2012, was an iconic ranchera singer who lived brazenly as a lesbian later in life and stays a cultural touchstone for LGBTQ+ illustration in Mexican music. Jhonny Caz, the third vocalist of Grupo Firme, is thought for bringing LGBTQ+ visibility to regional Mexican music and for his public engagement to his boyfriend on stage.
Erika Vidrio is certainly one of Mexico’s most profitable feminine composers in regional Mexican music, is brazenly lesbian. Raymix, who pioneered “electro-cumbia”, got here out as homosexual in 2020. Juan Manuel Torreblanca is an indie pop singer-songwriter who’s brazenly homosexual and recognized for the anthem “Maricón”. Christian Chávez, former member of the pop group RBD, publicly got here out as homosexual in 2007, changing into one of many first main Mexican pop stars to take action. Singer-songwriter Michelle Maciel from Sonora is acknowledged as the primary transgender man to realize mainstream recognition in Mexican music.
So, whether or not you’re streaming Divas de la Noche or Delight Social gathering 2025, there isn’t a scarcity of LGBTQ+ music in English or Spanish to rejoice Delight Month, or any month for that matter. Have enjoyable!
Patrick O’Heffernan
Photograph: Natalia Meléndez of Mariachi Arcoíris de Los Angeles
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