January 8, 2020

Meet Juan Contreras of Texas Latino Pride

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Juan Contreras.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Juan. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
In 2010 I got involved civically and started getting involved with a civic engagement organization here in Dallas. At this organization, one of the many roles was to bridge communities together through partnerships or by creating programming or events that would align with our mission in fostering those partnerships.

I helped host múltiple events, some clicked and some never made it past the drawing board due to lack of resources- definitely a struggle in that space at times. My fellow peers would ask me: What is our budget? I would respond: FREE. With an added giggle at the end, because we literally never knew exactly what our budget may be for any given event we wanted to create.

As I started more comfortable in organizing, I would seek sponsorships and little by little started building those partnerships with local venues, radio networks, and other fellow non-profits who didn’t mind chipping in to support our small non-profit work. From creating our first LGBTQ+ summit here locally and bringing the conversations on immigration into the LGBTQ+ space, where often times where issues affecting LGBTQ+ issues would sometimes be silenced.

A few years later through the community involvement work I had to opportunity to find a supporting agency that would help me kick-start a wild idea that would require funding and resources I did not have access to. I wanted to create an organization that would create an entertainment space to bridge the LGBTQ+ and Hispanic/Latinx community together for a cultural day of celebration and fundraising for causes that mattered to us.

We called it the “Texas Latino Pride Festival” an annual pride festival that would highlight our culture, our pride, our music, and our causes.

Since the inception of Texas Latino Pride and through the support of variety of sponsors, community members and friends, we’ve been able to host this event for the past six years in Dallas. The event typically falls in October to coincide with Hispanic Heritage Month. Every year we’ve been able to award a local organization a scholarship to fund programming- so y’all check us out for a our next one in 2020!

Has it been a smooth road?
I wish. I’ve had bumps throughout the creation and planning phase of this. Creating production at scale with no hiccups you either have lots of funding or hire a professional production company to provide you with all the bells and whistles; however, in our case, we had to pray and hope I had a Rosa de Guadalupe moment to bring all the crowds in to our first event.

I was fortunate enough to have AIDS Healthcare Foundation as our first sponsor (and continued sponsor), which helped us underwrite a lot of the logistical stuff and permits required to host a festival. It wasn’t easy, but our community is resilient and pulled through with in-kind donations and other underwriting support.

As the years go by, we grew and adjust things that probably did not work too well that time around. Definitely always a learning experience for me and our board of volunteers, who year after year manage to dedicate some time away from their personal life to assist in making my life a little better during our planning season.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Definitely an organization built on the principles of putting in the work because you’re passionate about giving back to our communities without seeking the validation of being recognized. When it’s all over, the sense of accomplishment of knowing that you planted the seed and saw it immerse right in front of you – priceless!

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
We love the Big D! Dallas definitely is very supportive of cultural events such as ours. From State, City officials, and even the Dallas tourist organization- Visit Dallas, all been very supportive of our efforts. If you’re looking to start something in Dallas, you have a very supportive community waiting for you.

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