We too are immigrants

gay Latinos are crossing the border from Mexico in search of a better life and a place where they can be themselves. But when they get here they're not always finding the American dream.

But Manuel and Gonzalez, who have been together for eight years, also live with moments of panic. Gonzalez, 32, is an undocumented immigrant. Fourteen years ago he walked across the border from Mexico in hopes of finding a job and helping his family back home. He found his way to San Diego, where other Mexican immigrants called him joto, meaning "faggot" in Spanish, and mariposa, the Spanish word for "butterfly," another pejorative
reference to gay men.

Conditions for gay men were much worse back home, however, and Gonzalez lives in constant fear of deportation. Even today, routine traffic stops can be terrifying




. "Trust me: We always live in fear," says Manuel, also born in Mexico but now a U.S. citizen. 

VIVA LA RAZA...Los Putos