Labels Denied, Labels Embraced

Sunday, October 5, 2025

Alejandro Rodríguez (he/him)

Executive Director, The Spirituality Network

Queer Christ-follower

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am? (Matthew 16:15).

Jesus challenges his disciples to take a stand. Simon Peter doesn’t disappoint. “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Who we are is a question for the ages. Perhaps a lifelong quest.

It took me a long time to claim who I was.

My parents so wanted to assimilate to our new homeland that I lost my past. Because my name was difficult for teachers and fellow students, I insisted they call me “Alex” instead.

I didn’t really have a deep desire to embrace my heritage until I visited New Orleans with my parents. The Garden District reminded them of Havana, my birthplace.

That started a journey to embrace the label, “Latino.” In 2003, I was able to go back to Cuba with my parents, a gift I still treasure.

It was around this time that I was coming to embrace being a gay man. That, too, was a label long denied. It was challenging because I was married to a woman and had three kids. I’m still in a mixed orientation marriage. It’s where I feel I belong.

So much of my life is a paradox in which labels are hard to apply.

It’s trendy to disavow labels. It puts artificial boundaries around who we are. They are too limiting to fully define a person.

But as someone who for so long denied the key aspects of who I am, I proudly wear the labels of “gay” and “Latino.”

Reflection

Who do you say you are?

What pivotal points in your journey have led you to this place?

How do you take on the label, “child of God?”

Action

As we approach National Coming Out Day on October 11 and the end of Hispanic Heritage Month on October 15, I invite you to join me in celebrating all of who you are and whatever labels you choose to wear or not wear.