At Mexi’s gay wboy nventns, men nnect wh each other — and their untry’s gged past – Oovvuu

THIS GAY WBOY NVENTN CELEBRAT SEXUAL EEDOM — AND MEXIN INTY

ZACATECAS, Mexi — Leer en EspañolAll night long, wboys swaggered to a packed nightclub, drsed to imprs shy boots, tight Wranglers and wi-brimmed hats.They had e to throw back tequila and Tete, to sg along to blastg banda and to dance — cht-to-cht, legs entwed — wh each other.Each sprg, hundreds of men om across Mexi and the Uned Stat make a pilgrimage to this lorful lonial cy for an annual gatherg of gay vaqueros — or wboys.

Instead, live bands play for hours, wh micians matchg sus churng out cumbia and Norteña hs as a sea of Stetsons fills the dance floor.For Mariano Esbar, the lanky 51-year-old bar owner who hosted what he believ was Mexi’s first gay wboy nventn here Zates 18 years ago, ’s nothg short of heaven. Wh his python boots and plaid shirt unbuttoned to reveal a plh tuft of gray cht hair, Esbar said the ia behd that first party was simple — if a b self-terted.“I like to drs like a wboy,” he said, “and I like guys who drs that way, too.” As the event has expand and the subculture has spread, wh weekend-long vaquero nventns now held more than a dozen ci on both sis of the borr, the gathergs have bee a refuge for gay men seekg nnectn not jt wh each other, but wh Mexin inty self.After all, while the event draws actual wboys — men leathered by long days tendg crops or ttle — also attracts acuntants, attorneys and other cy folk for whom donng wtern wear is both a kk and a lifele to Mexi’s ral past.“When you e here, you feel a certa pri beg Mexin,” said Emmanuel Fernánz, a 29-year-old lawyer om Mexi Cy who first learned about the world of gay vaqueros while livg Atlanta.Life Geia was alienatg, Fernánz said.

He worked a lot, spoke no English and sensed that Amerins lived like robots, too preoccupied wh their jobs and rout to enjoy life.Then he disvered a Lat nightclub, the Sanctuary, and s regular gay wboy night. It’s also a chance for gay men to claim a piece of Mexin culture, which, Villalobos said potedly, “is ours, too.”He was 4 when his fay moved om a tton ranch to Monterrey, a sprawlg dtrial cy a few hours south of Texas. He knew he was gay, and he hoped that embracg a tough exterr would protect him a culture known for s machismo and homophobia.

GAY VAQUEROS: CELEBRATG MEXIN ROOTS AND LGBTQ+ INTY ZATES, MEXI

One of his petors, a police officer named Eros Herrera, recently opened a homels shelter and soup kchen the cy of San Luis Potosi that serv the gay, lbian and transgenr muny.Rights for LGBTQ+ Mexins have greatly expand recent years, wh same-sex marriage now legal all stat.

MEXI HAS "GAY WBOY NVENTNS?" WHO KNEW?

Mexin soccer fans are famo for tntg opposg teams wh a homophobic slur. When a lol ernment official was filmed sgg at a gay vaquero nventn the largely ral state of Coahuila 2018, he was cricized wily.

The vio has been watched 2.6 ln tim on YouTube, wh viewers mentg wh msag of support but also nasty jok.In Zates, a small, nservative cy wh dozens of Baroque church but jt a handful of gay bars, many event atten said they wouldn’t dare show affectn public. “But you should act ls feme.”The man had acced him of actg “obv,” as obvly gay.Instead of beg hurt, Cardona tried to put the ment ntext. He knew that years ago, when many of the participants at the vaquero event were g of age, appearg gay was risky.

“I was born wh the right to say: ‘I’m gay.’ ” Banda R-15 performs at the annual gay wboy nventn “Rnn Vaquera” at Juana Gayo Club Zates, Mexi. Each sprg, hundreds of men om across Mexi and the Uned Stat make a pilgrimage to Zates, a lorful lonial cy, for an annual gatherg of gay vaqueros — or wboys. This gatherg has bee a refuge for gay men seekg nnectn not jt wh each other, but also wh Mexin inty.