Mexican author Luis Zapata was born on this day in 1951, he went on to become one of the most successful and acclaimed gay writers in Mexican literature.
His most successful book was 1979’s El vampiro de la colonia Roma, which was released as Adonis Garcia, A Picturesque Novel in English. It told the story of a lonely hustler named Adonis Garcia, who enthusiastically cruises the city looking for sex, and mixes with people from all different classes of society.
Alongside his novels and autobiographies Zapata wrote films, worked as a translator, and theatre director. He was responsible for translating many well known works in Mexican.
He wrote 14 works during his career that began in 1975 and his last book was released in 2014.
Zapata died in November 2020, aged 69. His work was acknowledged as changing the attitudes towards gay men in Mexico. “He paved the way to make visible the LGBTTTIQ movements in the country.” the Ministry of Culture of the Mexican government said when he passed away.
Secretary of Culture, Alejandro Frausto Guerrero, sent his condolences to the writer’s family, saying “With pain and affection we say goodbye to Luis Zapata, pioneer of LGBT + literature in Mexico. Creator of experimental and emotional novels, he will be remembered for the brilliant The Vampire of Colonia Roma and the monumental In Shreds . My condolences to his family and friends.”
Image by Luis Miguel Bernal, published via a Creative Commons License 3.0.
