Kids Comics Pitchfest Showcase

Mi Tio Hernan

Semi-out Anibal Montes-Escobar takes a huge risk and expresses their genderfluidity during the last week of school and pays the price- their parents punish them by forcing them to spend their summer with their estranged tio (uncle) Hernán, a macho charro (Mexican horseman) of Jalisco, in order to “masculinize” Anibal. Wanting to please their parents and to survive the long summer with their tio, Anibal pushes their genderfluidity down and joins their tio’s team of charros. What they don’t expect is how hard it is to pretend to be someone they’re not, and they discover that their tio is hiding a secret of his own.

My Why:

“Mi Tio Hernán” is an amalgamation of my young adult experiences as a semi-out trans genderfluid child of traditional Mexican immigrants and my own relationship with my late tio. Like Hernán, my tio was a well-known charro who demonstrated positive masculinity through leadership, camaraderie, and generosity. At that point in my life, I had especially admire his positive masculinity and how he carried himself with love for his family and his teammates.

By telling the story of Anibal and their own relationship with gender expressions and their tio, I hope that I can help young trans adults find the courage to be true to themselves and to live their lives authentically without shame.