Latinx Entrepreneurs to Know and Support During Pride Month
Pride month is in full effect and there are many ways to support the LGBTQ community, not only this month but all year round
Image: Instagram/ @biancadesigns @thelemonbyad @palantepara @shopjzd
Not only are members of the LGBTQ community standing up for what they believe in by participating in marches and various organizations, but they are spreading their love and support for one another through their art, personal experiences, and entrepreneurship. Nathalie Huerta owns and operates the first queer gym in the United States and transformation coach Harry Lopez is guiding fellow Latinos on how to be successful and love themselves. In honor of Pride, we have rounded up eight Latinx LGBTQ entrepreneurs to support.
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Bianca Negron
Photo: Instagram/@biancadesigns
Bianca Negron is a queer Latinx designer and owner of Bianca’s Design Shop in Queens, New York known for her enamel pins and accessories. She started her business in 2017 and continues to be as inclusive as possible all while building her brand. In a recent interview with ModCloth, Negron says her designs reflect who she is as a person and she wants to support her community by providing visibility and representation to those who don’t feel seen.
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Harry Lopez
Photo: Instagram/@theharrylopez
Harry Lopez is a queer Latinx Jewish life and leadership coach for BIPOC and the founder of Launch Latinx, a coaching program for Latinx entrepreneurs and creators. Earlier this year he wrote on Jewtina about what it was like coming out in the public eye and specifically serving the LGTBQ community with his work.
“Everything changed for me after I had a personal awakening where I realized that I was doing my community and myself a disservice by leaving the LGBTQ+ out of my messaging. So in response to a viral tweet by LGBTQ activist, Alexander Leon, I officially unmasked myself online and ‘came out’ and began to speak directly into my personal lived experiences. And wow! was it cathartic and liberating to do so… and really scary. It still is.”
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Nathalie Huerta
Image: thequeergym.com
Nathalie Huerta is the owner of The Queer Gym, the first LGBTQ gym in the United States located in Oakland, CA. Since opening in 2010 it provides tailored training programs for transgender members who are getting ready to take their gender confirmation journey. It also features gender neutral bathrooms, no mirrors, and all of their trainers take LGBTQI+ sensitivity training. Now, due to the pandemic, the gym is available online and they offer a 21 day fitness challenge to give it a try. Huerta told Women’s Health that their mission is to create “happy, healthy homos.”
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Joanis Duran
Image: kalaniandwolf.com
Joanis Duran is a queer Afro-Latina entrepreneur and founder of Kalani and Wolf, a sustainable clothing and accessories brand that’s 100 percent vegan. Duran, who was born in the Dominican Republic, is dedicated to change the narrative to end systemic racism and disenfranchisement and to that end offers an anti-racism guide her site.
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Julia Pacheco Cole
Photo: Instagram/@palantepara
Pa’Lante Para, a clothing brand created by queer Latina Julia Pacheco Cole, was created with the intention of providing a place for affordable and trendy clothing for Latina and multi-cultural-based sororities. She is a member of the Lambda Pi Chi sorority and was inspired to found Pa’Lante because of the lack of options for options for sorority clothing. According to her website, she’s one of a few queer Latina-owned para businesses serving those sororities.
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Anthony Diaz
Photo: Instagram/@thelemonbyad
Anthony Diaz is the creator of The Lemon, a small shop that sells items including art, clothing, and greeting cards. Diaz was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas and he says on his website, “my life has been engulfed in mi cultura since day one.” He is a self-taught artist and his art includes a Bad Bunny xmas print, Mickey and Minnie calavera print, and a Nopal Magic Kingdom sticker so yeah, he’s definitely repping our culture.
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Natali Gonzalez
Photo: Instagram/@firmearte
Natali Gonzalez is an gender non-conforming, Xicana, indigenous queer artist, bruja, and founder of Firme Arte. They use their platform to combine their own original art style with their ancestral ways of healing offering items including a healing bruja bath, crystal chakra bracelets, mal de ojo keychains, as well as sage bundles.
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Jen and Veronica Zeano
Photo: Instagram/@shopjzd
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Kevin Alcaraz and Anthony Diaz
Photo: Instagram/@plantiitas
Kevin Alcaraz and Anthony Diaz founded Plantiitas in Long Beach, California amid the pandemic and it was all because of a macrame hanger Kevin made. What started out as a pop-up is now a plant shop that’s about more than just selling plants, it’s also about providing a way to encourage talks about mental health through plant care.
