Queens, NY United States |
77th Street & Broadway | Guillermo Vasquez Corner |
since 27 July 2013 one name |
Colombian-born Guillermo Vasquez immigrated to the United States in 1972 to study international law and political science at Pace and Columbia universities. A long-time resident of Jackson Heights, Queens, Vasquez was a leading advocate for the borough’s Latino community and was instrumental in pushing for LGBT visibility in Queens. A member of Queens Gays and Lesbians United (Q-GLU), Vasquez worked with the New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project (now the New York City Anti-Violence Project), and served on the board of the Empire State Pride Agenda, a statewide organization that advocated for LGBT rights. In 1993, as a member of the Queens Lesbian and Gay Pride Committee, he helped organize the first Queens Pride Parade and served as a translator for Spanish-speaking participants.
During the early years of the AIDS crisis, the New York City Department of Health cited Jackson Heights, Queens, as the neighborhood with the greatest concentration of at-risk gay Latinos. In order to spread awareness to this community, Vasquez founded the Latino Commission on AIDS and the U.S. Colombian SIDA/AIDS Foundation. He was also the coordinator of community outreach for the GMHC (Gay Men's Health Crisis) and spent many evenings educating people about HIV/AIDS, most often at a gay Latino bar called the Love Boat at the corner of 77th Street and Broadway in Elmhurst. On July 27, 2013, seventeen years after Vasquez’s death from AIDS-related complications, this intersection was co-named in honor of Guillermo Vasquez.
Photo © NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project (Former site of the Love Boat bar at 77-02 Broadway, Queens).
https://www.facebook.com/1688018898140464/posts/colombian-born-guillermo-vasquez-immigrated-to-the-united-states-in-1972-to-stud/2702763176666026/
27 July 2020
NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, New York City
During the early years of the AIDS crisis, the New York City Department of Health cited Jackson Heights, Queens, as the neighborhood with the greatest concentration of at-risk gay Latinos. In order to spread awareness to this community, Vasquez founded the Latino Commission on AIDS and the U.S. Colombian SIDA/AIDS Foundation. He was also the coordinator of community outreach for the GMHC (Gay Men's Health Crisis) and spent many evenings educating people about HIV/AIDS, most often at a gay Latino bar called the Love Boat at the corner of 77th Street and Broadway in Elmhurst. On July 27, 2013, seventeen years after Vasquez’s death from AIDS-related complications, this intersection was co-named in honor of Guillermo Vasquez.
Photo © NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project (Former site of the Love Boat bar at 77-02 Broadway, Queens).
https://www.facebook.com/1688018898140464/posts/colombian-born-guillermo-vasquez-immigrated-to-the-united-states-in-1972-to-stud/2702763176666026/
27 July 2020
NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, New York City