Out magazine recently released its annual Out100 list recognizing members of the LGBTQ+ community, and a small group of Latinx were included this year. Latinx on the list for Out’s 2020 edition included actors Wilson Cruz (TV’s My So-Called Life) and Harvey Guillén (TV’s What We Do in the Shadows), politicians Ritchie Torres and Tiffany Cabán, designer Diego Montoya, executive Damien Navarro and journalist Leo Rocha.
Not only was Cruz, who is Afro-Puerto Rican, included on the list, but he was also featured on one of the four separate covers designed for the issue. Cruz is best known for playing Rickie Vasquez, the first “out gay actor to play an out gay leading character on TV in the U.S.” on the 1990s series My So-Called Life, which only ran for one season.
“We knew that the whole point of that role was so that people could see themselves and own how beautiful their lives could be if we just allowed ourselves to be seen–and if people would allow us to show ourselves as we are,” Cruz told Out.
Today, Cruz is still acting on shows like Star Trek: Discovery and 13 Reasons Why and is an advocate for LGBTQ+ youth. He joined the GLAAD board of directors in 1997.
Also named on the list is Mexican-American actor Harvey Guillén, best known for his role as Guillermo de la Cruz on the FX comedy horror series What We Do in the Shadows.
On Twitter, Guillén said he was honored for his inclusion in a magazine he grew up reading.
“I remember I [read] through this magazine when I was younger & this list…and feeling like it was a little history lesson for me,” he wrote. “I just felt like this mag showed me there were queer people out there doing great things.”
Honored 2b part of @outmagazine “OUT100”I remember I 👀through this magazine when I was younger &this list .. and feeling like it was a little history lesson for me,I just felt like this mag showed me there were queer people out there doing great things. https://t.co/HLQxbDNHvW
— HARVEY GUILLEN (@HARVEYGUILLEN) November 19, 2020
Torres, who was elected the first gay Afro-Latinx to Congress last month, also reveled in the news that he made the Out100 list.
“Never for a moment did I imagine becoming the first openly #LGBTQ Afro-Latinx member of Congress and joining the ranks of the @outmagazine Out100. #RainbowWave,” he wrote.
Never for a moment did I imagine becoming the first openly #LGBTQ Afro-Latinx member of Congress and joining the ranks of the @outmagazine Out100. #RainbowWavehttps://t.co/6xfKtgNLrM pic.twitter.com/6hnll0ArtQ
— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) November 21, 2020