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  • Los Angeles Times

    Queer Mercado in East LA caters to Latinos in the LGBTQ community

    by Heidi Pérez-Moreno, Los Angeles Times Aug 22, 2022 6 minutes
    Gaudencio Marquez, left, Ryan Montez and Diana Diaz, co-founders of the Queer Mercado, wave to friends at the monthly market on Humphreys Avenue in East Los Angeles.

    LOS ANGELES -- Diana Diaz grew up making pillows and blankets to sell with her family at swap meets. On the weekends, she'd see those same vendors at family parties. Some of the kids became dates to weddings and high school prom.

    Her own family paid off their house and cars through selling at swap meets. She lived for those intimate interactions and wanted to re-create them.

    "We became family," said Diaz, 49. "We became a community."

    Diaz wanted a space that would help LGBTQ Latinas and Latinos find footing in their communities — someplace that would make them more visible and, perhaps, offset the ongoing gentrification in East L.A.

    Although there are LGBTQ bars, restaurants and clubs scattered across Los Angeles, they are few and far between east of downtown.

    "That's power," Diaz said. "By being more visible, we increase tolerance and eventually gain more acceptance."

    The Queer Mercado, held the third Saturday of each month, draws merchants who pitch their tents across the parking lot of

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