In Houston, as in most places, when you think "LGBT" (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender), you don't think "Hispanic." Hispanic immigrants tend to be Catholic and socially conservative, and issues such as same-sex marriage are often still considered taboo, particularly among the elderly.

But that attitude may be changing fast, particularly among young people. This year, an astounding six of the eight members of Pride Houston's board of directors — three quarters of the board — are Hispanic.

Reporter Olivia P. Tallet interviewed those Latino board members recently. Their remarks are lightly edited for length and clarity.

FRANKIE QUIJANO

President of the board of directors, Pride Houston. American with Colombian parent

What does Pride mean to you?

This is the way I describe it: When I am walking around the parade and people tell me that it's the first time they've come to Pride, I see joy in their faces, the love that these people feel in their very first day. That is precisely why I am here year after year after year, volunteering for Pride Houston. They are having an experience that they will remember for the rest of their lives, and that's something that I am very proud to have helped produce.

I am proud of what we do, giving to anyone at least one day out 365 that they can feel comfortable and be themselves. The parade is their day to be themselves completely.

Pride Week Houston The Houston LGBT Pride Festival and Parade will take place on Saturday, June 27, 2015. The festival is open from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. The parade begins promptly at 8:30 p.m For maps, scroll through the slideshow at the top of this story. And for more information, click here.

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What would you highlight about Houston's Latino LGBT community?

There are a lot of individuals in the community that identify as Latinos, including myself. I have a Colombian heritage, and I am very proud of it.

The Latino community always wants to help and as part of the LGBT community we stand united with common goals. Pride Houston is not a political organization, but we are proud of the Supreme Court decision on marriage equality. Our goal is to create the Pride events and to help other organizations. Last year we donated over $20,000 to local LGBT organizations.

I don't see much that the Latino community wants to identify itself as a specific group within the LGBT community. I think we all identify ourselves as part of the LGBT community, whether you are Latino, African-American, or Irish or wherever you come from.

What challenges do you see ahead?

I would like to see more unification within the community and see what we can do about working together to achieve common goals. There are groups that work very hard with their goals. One of them is the transgender community. There are doing a lot, but there is so much to do — especially now with Caitlyn Jenner. We are proud of her courage, but I think it's important to recognize that we are all part of the entire community. Let's work together to achieve each other's goals and for the entire community.

JAVIER RAMIREZ

Vice President of the board of directors, Pride Houston. American with Mexican parents.

What does Pride mean to you?

I am proud to be part of a movement that has really done important things during the last decade to help people in the LGBT community. There are striking differences now versus ten years ago.

What would you highlight about Houston's Latino LGBT community?

In the 11 years that have been part of this organization, I have seen important changes. They weren't able to come up to their families before because it wasn't very accepting in a number of different cultures in the Latino community. And over the years, we've seen a huge shift in these LGBT people being able to come up to their families now, being open about who they are. They are making progress.

And actually, my parents brought me from Mexico, where they now have gay marriage. So we are seeing that tremendous progress in these years, and it has been very amazing in a community that was very traditional.

What challenges do you foresee?

Even though Houston has HERO, the Houston city equal-rights ordinance, we still have work to do because there are organizations, particularly religious organizations, that are very much against the ordinance. I think they don't see that it serves to the benefit of everyone and not just the LGBT community. It's really meant to serve and protect human equality for us here in Houston against discrimination all across the board.

Also, HERO is an ordinance just in the City of Houston. But [the metropolitan area of] Houston is much more than the city.

JASON GALLEGOS

Vice president of operations, Pride Houston. American with Spanish and British grandparents.

What does Pride mean for you?

I have volunteered eight years in the organization, and I love it.... We have seen more and more people and organizations coming to the Parade. I believe we have probably doubled in size since I started.

What would you highlight about Houston's Latino LGBT community?

We are seeing a lot more Latinos and more organizations. This is the first year that I've seen some of them being part of the Parade, and I think more people are realizing that there are more Latinos and Latinas in the LGBT community. There is this group, Latin@s de Trans de Texas, that is new and coming to the parade, and we are supporting them. They are transgender Latinas, and we applaud them because many of them didn't have a voice before.

There are parts of me that are Latino, but there are parts of me that I don't really think are anything specific. I am American, I am human, I am LGBT. I am proud of being part of the LGBT community.

What challenges do you foresee?

We are very excited with the Supreme Court decision (on marriage equality). I think marriage equality is very important, but I think it is important to have equality in every aspect, equality in the work place, equality in accepting our differences.

I don't think the marriage equality (fight) is going to end with this Supreme Court case. I think there is going to challenges from people that are against it.

Olivia P. Tallet (@oliviaptallet) is a reporter for La Voz, the Houston Chronicle Spanish-language publication where this article first appeared. Para leerlo en español, haga un clic aquí.

Bookmark Gray Matters. There are parts of it that are Latino, but there are parts of it that I don't really think are anything specific.

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