Since coming out less than two years ago, Johann Vera has shaken up the Latine music scene as a queer pop star. After speaking his truth, the Ecuadorian singer and actor weathered some losses on his journey to find community with his LGBTQ+ following and spread his wings creatively. With absolutely no regrets, Vera is proud to bring queer representation to historically machista spaces like fútbol games with his new World Cup anthem and make his mark alongside gay pioneers like Christian Chávez.
“I love getting myself into these super heteronormative places and showing a little bit of who I am and my colors to them,” Vera tells Remezcla. “I love opening their minds to what a queer person or what a queer artist can be, and that’s been my process.”
Hailing from Guayaquil, Vera first rose to prominence as a finalist on the reality singing competition “La Banda” in 2015. Though he didn’t make the cut for the Latine boy band CNCO, Vera held onto his female fan base from the show and parlayed the support into his independent artist career. And after nearly a decade of singing to girls in his songs, he took the brave step to come out as queer with his song “Closet” in August 2024. Though he experienced some losses from the “La Banda” fan community, he also noticed an increase in support from his LGBTQ+ fans.
“Maybe I lost a bunch of those followers, but I’ve also gained new people, and people that really connect with me,” Vera admits. “I’ll get people that will literally cry and be like, ‘You have no idea how important your music’ or, ‘What you’ve been doing is for me.’ I would get letters from people saying how life-changing a song like ‘Closet’ has been for them. It’s beautiful. I want to be surrounded by people that do want to be with me and that are interested and invested in my music.”
On the heels of “Closet,” Vera released his debut EP, Nada Importa En Verdad, last year. In the jubilant title track, he stepped into his power as a liberated heartthrob while celebrating his queerness. “It’s a motto,” Vera says. “I’m not really thinking about what other people might think and just focusing on how I feel. If it’s okay and it feels right, then do it. Be brave about it.” Since then, he has used his music to connect with and empower the LGBTQ+ community. At the same time, Vera is making waves in the industry as an openly queer pop provocateur.
“I want to be closer to the queer community,” he says. “I feel like I was so repressed. It was a long time of me running away from it. Now I want to be super involved and vocal about our community, especially as we’re going through something extremely crazy on a political level. We’re going back years in history. My music changed, and now it has a purpose. I’m exploring my queer side to the extremes. I want to show queer people that they’re not alone.”
Another person who has become a part of Vera’s tribe is former RBD star Christian Chávez. Vera has a vivid childhood memory of waiting for RBD at their hotel after a concert, ultimately meeting them. Many years after that interaction, he reconnected with Chávez, who wanted to record a duet version of “Closet.” Two generations of Latine queer voices joined forces when the duet version dropped during Pride Month last year.
“Christian was the first example I had of what a queer person is,” Vera says. “He was the first person that I saw coming out. But just seeing him be so free, be himself, and how he would dress, it really changed my perspective. Being able to sing my most personal song with him, he said, ‘I want to be a part of what you’re doing and share a bit of my story and what I went through.’ To show support between people in our community, I think that’s really powerful.”
Now, Vera is gearing up for the World Cup season with his new single “Grita Fuerte.” With Don Medardo y sus Players in the mix, the empowering song embodies the music and spirit of Ecuador.
Vera has performed at many fútbol events in the past. During an Inter Miami game earlier this year, his outfit caused a commotion with the crowd. “This was like gasoline for me because maybe in that audience, there’s a dad forcing a little kid to go to this game that he doesn’t want to be at,” Vera says.
“Maybe seeing me performing and dancing with a skirt made that kid see that it’s okay. What I do may have an impact on someone,” he adds. “That’s the beauty of music. I feel like when you see it, you normalize it, and it changes people’s perspective.”