IN
THE NEWS
ALMA'S CASTILLON SETTLES INTO POST
04.26.2005
By Gary Barlow
Staff writer
When Carlos Castillon came to Chicago from Mexico in 1996, he knew he was moving to a big city with lots of gay bars, gay men and opportunities.
"The only thing wrong about my dream was that I did not know about most STDs, drug abuse problems, dangerous neighborhoods and hate crimes," he says.
And, speaking little English, he says, he could have lost his way in the club scene, or worse, fallen victim to people looking for young men unfamiliar with the lay of the land.
Instead, he says, someone introduced him to the Association of Latino Men for Action, where other men shared with him their experiences of being gay and Latino in Chicago.
"After that my life was on the right path," Castillon says.
It's a path that has taken him to a historic moment for ALMA. Last month Castillon became the organization's first paid, full-time executive director.
"I've evolved through them and with them," he says.
Founded more than 13 years ago as a social group, ALMA has grown into an organization that now provides support and advocacy for Chicago's gay, bisexual and questioning Latino men.
The group reaches out to youths, to Latinos who grew up here and to those who, like Castillon, come here from other countries.
"One of our goals is to reach out to the monolingual community," Castillon says, discussing Latinos who move into Chicago and can be isolated and in danger because they only speak Spanish.
"You feel discrimination twice-not only for being gay but for being Latino," Castillon says. "That was my feeling when I came to Chicago. ...That's what ALMA is here for-to reach out to those people."
The group offers support in Spanish and English, helps sponsor a youth scholarship program and hosts a monthly television show on CAN-TV. Its most recent TV program dealt with the problem of crystal methamphetamine use, an issue that's affected the gay Latino community just as it has other segments of Chicago's gay population.
"It's very close to us," Castillon says. "The young Latinos that don't know-they're a main target for these people. We're trying to reach them first. ...I try to reach out to them and focus on guiding young guys to the right situation."
One of ALMA's newest board members, Chicago Police Officer Jose Rios, serves as GLBT community liaison officer for the CPD's 23rd District, and Castillon says Rios has helped ALMA get out information and prevention messages about meth.
Castillon says ALMA members are also excited about the group's relationship with the Center on Halsted. ALMA's office is located in the Center's current facility near DePaul University, and ALMA will move to the new Center at Halsted and Waveland when it's completed.
"The Center on Halsted will benefit us all," Castillon says. "We're going to unite all ethnicities there. We're going to have a building we can all go to when we need help. It's good to have a heart in our community."
Castillon says he wouldn't be where he is without the guidance he's received from one of the Center's longtime leaders.
"Modesto 'Tico' Valle is my mentor," Castillon says. "He's a great leader and I've learned a lot from him."
And just as the Center is poised to create new possibilities and opportunities for Chicago's GLBT community, Castillon says, he and ALMA's members hope to do the same for the city's gay Latino men.
"It's a new beginning," he says.
