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Lucia
Mendez,
the
Mexican
telenovela
queen
and
pop
singing
sensation,
struts
down
the
stairway
at
Brasserie
Les
Halles
Restaurant
in
Coral
Gables
in
a
fierce
flurry.
She’s
fashionably
late
to
the
press
conference,
which
has
been
arranged
by
local
Latino
GLBT
organizations
to
“straighten
out”
an
image
problem—just
as
the
diva
is
preparing
to
launch
a
tour
of
mostly
gay
clubs.
A
seasoned
pro,
Mendes
takes
her
mark
at
the
press
conference
before
the
Spanish
language
television
news
cameras.
She
poses
and
preens
behind
severe
fashion
sunglasses,
like
a
red-carpet
fashion
plate.
Then
she
began
talking.
“I
love
the
gay
community,”
she
says,
as
the
photographers
call
her
name.
“The
gay
audiences
have
kept
Cher
and
Madonna
alive.
They
buy
albums,
they
listen
to
my
music,
and
they
love
me
through
good
times
and
through
bad.”
The
press
conference
is
a
love
fest;
it
is
clear
all
questions
asked
are
planned
to
elicit
good
camera
fodder.
She
is
all
too
happy
to
answer.
Mendez
is
one
of
Mexico’s
major
stars,
both
as
a
singer
and
actress.
With
a
career
ranging
as
far
back
as
the
1980’s,
she
has
found
success
with
her
music,
her
movies,
and
especially
her
telenovelas,
the
Latin
version
of
a
soap
opera,
where
she
reigns
supreme.
Now,
she
has
appeared
at
the
press
conference
to
appeal
to
her
most
loyal
fans,
the
fans
who
revel
in
her
glamour
and
drama,
who
have
maintained
her
popularity
over
the
years:
the
gays.
Like
the
characters
she
portrays,
she
speaks
passionately
and
with
the
all
the
emphasis
you
would
expect
from
an
over-the-top
diva.
“The
same
way
I
love
gay
people
is
the
same
way
in
which
I’m
a
servant
to
God,”
she
said.
Mendez’s
penance
was
meant
to
reverse
a
past
blow
to
her
image
that
threatened
to
loom
over
her
upcoming
tour.
This
past
summer,
Mendez
appeared
on
a
Mexican
interview
program,
where
she
was
quoted
saying
that
as
a
religious
person
she
could
not
accept
same-sex
marriage.
The
statement
promised
to
turn
away
fans
just
as
Mendez
launches
her
upcoming
“Queen
of
Queens”
tour
–
a
glittery
spectacular
featuring
drag
queens
and
macho
dancers
that
will
play
in
gay
clubs
Los
Angeles,
San
Francisco,
San
Diego,
Houston,
Dallas,
and
Miami.
Mendez
appears
at
Score
Sept.
16.
“I
support
[gay
marriage],”
she
now
told
a
throng
of
reporters
from
Spanish
language
television
shows.
“Equal
rights
for
all
is
peace.”
Ron
Brenesky,
co-chair
of
Unity
Coalition,
a
gay
Latino
service
organization
based
in
Miami,
said
his
group
took
advantage
of
the
situation,
to
sign
on
a
major
name
in
Spanish
language
media
to
show
her
support.
So
they
made
her
a
deal.
“We
told
her
she
either
sat
down
and
discussed
these
issues,
or
we
would
not
allow
usage
[of
our
name]
without
support,”
Brenesky
said.
So
why
was
the
media
event
so
important
that
the
Telemundo
satellite
truck
be
parked
outside
the
tony
Coral
Gables
bistro?
Because
impact
is
immediate
throughout
Lucia
Mendez,
Brenesky
said.
Millions
of
viewers
watch
the
entertainment
news
shows
and
the
message
could
change
attitudes.
“[Lucia]
is
forcing
the
issue
to
be
discussed
in
public,”
Brenesky
said.
“And
the
sooner
we
get
support
the
better.”
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