TOGETHER ON THE AIR

Together On the Air is a hybrid exhibition that explores the legacy of radio as a vehicle for LGBTQIA+ Latinx community building, belonging, and advocacy. This exhibition chronicles the history of Radio GLLU, the first bilingual LGBTQIA+ radio program in the country. 

From the mid-1980s through the 1990s, Radio GLLU was hosted and run by the Los Angeles-based Gay and Lesbian Latinos Unidos (GLLU), one of the first LGBTQIA+ Latinx organizations in the country. Radio GLLU contributed to pivotal moments in LGBTQIA+, women’s, labor, and immigrant rights movements in Los Angeles.

This exhibition presents archival audio recordings of community dialogues, demonstrations, activist conversations, music, literary readings, and ephemera selected from ONE Archives at the USC Libraries and personal collections of GLLU members. In addition, a newly produced collection of multimedia oral history recordings featuring stories of GLLU members is included to honor the multigenerational impacts made by LGBTQ+ Latinx revolutionaries. 

This hybrid exhibition consists of an interactive sound-forward web exhibit, in-person programming, and a temporary installation on view at ONE Gallery, West Hollywood.

The “Together On the Air” web exhibit evokes the sound of radio as a lifeline for the LGBTQIA+ Latinx community. It showcases a body of rare audio materials and stories about Radio GLLU, the first bilingual LGBTQIA+ radio program in the United States. Presented through a series of online Listening Rooms, the exhibit offers a thematic collection of original audio documentaries featuring excerpts of archival radio recordings (1986–1996) and newly-recorded oral history interviews with original show co-hosts and contributors.

Web exhibit on view now: https://togetherontheair.onearchives.org

Pre-launch event Together On the Air: LIVE on Radio took place at ONE Gallery in West Hollywood on Saturday December 10, 2022, 4:30-7pm PT. Original Radio GLLU co-hosts Rita Gonzales and Eduardo Archuleta will reunite for a live recording of an exclusive radio session featuring special guests, including playwright & MacArthur Fellow Luis Alfaro, activist Irene Martínez, and historian & author Lydia Otero. Read about the event.

Together On the Air is organized by One Institute.

The exhibition is curated by Ángel Labarthe del Solar. Research and exhibition design by Diego Dela Rosa. Graphic design by Fati Zulaikha. Audio editing by Shei Yu. Copyediting by Sadie Buerker. Produced and creative direction by Umi Hsu.

For media inquiries, please contact Umi Hsu, Director of Content Strategy at uhsu@oneinstitute.org. Press release is available for download.

This project is made possible by support from the City of West Hollywood and Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture. Special thanks to ONE Archives at the USC Libraries and dublab.

Images: Promotional image by One Institute. Archival images from ONE Archives at the USC Libraries and Louis Jacinto’s and Rita Gonzales’ personal collections.