Francisco Cortes, an advocate for the LGBTQ+ Latinx community, was born in Guanajuato, Mexico, and moved to Kennett Square in the 1990s when his parents got jobs in the mushroom industry, writes Nigel Thompson for Al Día. 

Meeting people from other cultures made Cortes curious “because of just the constant changes and realizations of different cultural differences among folks,” he said. 

When he enrolled at Temple University, that curiosity presented itself in his efforts to find a career that would allow him to help people while also providing him with a safe place as a member of the LGBTQ+ Latinx community. 

Soon, he started to intern at Galaei, a Queer and Trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color radical social justice organization. 

“I think just because of being a gay immigrant myself, Galaei just seemed so fit for me,” said Cortes. 

After graduation, he accepted the position of youth programs coordinator at the organization. 

In November, he moved the fight for intersectional justice nationally when he took the position of co-director of the nationwide LGBTQ+ Latinx organization Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement. 

Read more about Francisco Cortes in Al Día.