The recent debut of SANTOS BRAVOS is changing the game for queer representation within boy bands. It’s very rare for a high-profile boy band to launch with an openly queer member, and SANTOS BRAVOS’ Drew Venegas is breaking new ground in that regard.
As a gay person who’s grown up with boy bands, I’ve gotten used to not seeing myself reflected in the lineup of any major groups. Even though the biggest boy bands in the world have had queer members, many of them were encouraged to keep that hidden to appeal to the girls and women in their fan bases. Homophobia is another reason why queer boy banders have been historically afraid to be out. Because of that, we usually don’t find out that our favorite boy band had a queer member until after the group’s peak or disbandment. That would be the case for Jonathan Knight in New Kids on the Block, Lance Bass in *NSYNC, and even Ricky Martin decades after his beginnings in Menudo.
SANTOS BRAVOS is showing that the era of having to be closeted to be in a boy band is coming to an end. On Tuesday night, the final line-up was revealed, with Venegas, Alejandro Aramburú, Alejandro Gabriel “Gabi” Bermúdez, Kauê Penna, and Kenneth Lavill. It was amazing to see Venegas join the group formed by K-pop label HYBE as an openly queer man. The Mexican-American singer and dancer was previously part of the band Future X, where he talked about queer representation.
“I think for me, being a part of the LGBTQ community, it’s definitely important for me to be able to showcase my masculine side and my feminine side—showcasing that it’s ok to have both, because for me, that’s what makes me, me, it’s what makes me happy,” Venegas said in an interview in 2022. “We’re trying to showcase the different sides of us that make people feel like they can be themselves. Being yourself can most definitely go a long way.”
Seeing Venegas in the SANTOS BRAVOS lineup is an important step forward for queer representation, especially in the Latine music scene, which has deeply rooted machismo. Though Johann Vera didn’t make the CNCO lineup, he still didn’t feel comfortable or safe enough to come out as queer until nearly a decade after competing on La Banda.
Venegas also appears to already be catching flak for not being “Latino” enough because he’s from the U.S. and doesn’t speak much Spanish. Joel DELEŌN, who is also Mexican-American, struggled with Spanish at first on La Banda, but he got the hang of it after he joined CNCO. Venegas can brush up on Spanish if he wants to, but that doesn’t take away from his Latinidad.
As both a gay and Mexican-American person myself, I’m so excited to finally see myself represented in what Venegas is bringing to SANTOS BRAVOS. It’s setting a precedent for future performers—especially those who want to be in boy bands—that they deserve to be seen as they are.
