Queerencia is adapted from the Spanish word “querencia”, meaning a beloved place –physical and metaphysical. 

Affirming places, spaces, and relationships are very much intertwined with a healthy sense of who we are. We are interconnected and we influence each other in many ways in our physical and digital communidades.  A sense of community is familiar to being Latina/o/x, Hispanic, Hispano, Spanish, Chicano, Mestizo, Genizaro, Indo-Hispano, Afro-Latino, and the multitude of identities of Latinidad we claim. We will use the term Latinx throughout this site to acknowledge and honor the diversity within our New Mexican communidades as well as in Latin America and across the globe.

When we intersect Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, 2-Spirit, Asexual, Nonbinary, Pansexual (LGBTQ+), etc. identities, we further come to see the importance of community, especially in times when our existence is threatened. These are times when our interconnectedness across race, class, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion, spirituality, ability, etc. is critical as we all need a place of belonging, a place of support, a place to heal, a place to share the gift of our voices as Latinx LGBTQ+.

Querencia honors the wisdom, knowledge, and traditions of our elders and ancestors and recognizes the beauty of how the fabric of our community is ever-changing, evolving, and transforming through the power of youth. 

Latinx communities of New Mexico have a personal and cultural connection to the land and unique ways of knowing and being. It is often difficult to describe this connection to those who visit our state falling in love with the food, cultural ways, and landscape. One word that is often used to define this sense of love, connection, and the general landscape is Querencia. The word Querencia derives from the Spanish verb Querer, meaning “to love” and the word Herencia, “heritage”, both coalescing to mean “a love of heritage.” Our heritage, what we have inherited from our elders and ancestors, is not only the material, such as land, but our beliefs and values; our cultural ways of being, knowing, and doing; and our spirituality. It is a sense of place, a connection to land which makes us unique (Arrellano, 2007). These are our personal and communal forms of resiliency necessary in times of adversity.

LGBTQ+ identities have not always been accepted, and despite often being marginalized, pushed in the shadows, or silenced because of familial, religious, or social or political suppression, the LGBTQ+ community add the love of who we are and have contributed to Querenica. Our voices need to be heard. Nosotros estamos aquí! We are here in our every way of being! LGBTQ+ community members of all generations, have contributed to the beauty of our state and have made strides for our Latinx Queer community. From this place of intersecting Latinx LGBTQ+ identities, diversity within, love, land, heritage, transformation, and resiliency, we claim our Queerencia. 

Queerencia is a digital community of Latinx LGBTQ+ New Mexicans sharing, in the traditions of our elders and ancestors, cuentos and testimonios (stories and testimonies) of triumph. This comes in many forms beyond storytelling, such as through traditional corridos, to a mix with modern genres influenced through the creativity of younger generations that help shape a continuously changing world. Through our value of community, we build affirming places and spaces where we all belong in all our intersecting identities. We further provide general information on LGBTQ+ on-goings throughout the state as well as educational information and sources of support.

We are encouraged by writer Levi Romero to embark on a journey of defining our Querencia by asking, “Donde está tu querencia (Where is your Querencia)?” In the same spirit, we ask the same of our Latinx LGBTQ+ communities: Donde está tu Queerencia (Where is your Queerencia)? As a Latinx LGBTQ+ community member, where do you find your place-space or community of belonging, resiliency, support, healing, and voice? Please join us in telling OUR stories!

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