For 35 years, Entre Hermanos has been more than an organization. It has been a lifeline, an advocate, a gathering place and, for generations of Latino LGBTQ+ people in Washington state, a family.
As Entre Hermanos prepares to celebrate its milestone anniversary with its annual Día de Muertos Gala, Executive Director Edgar Mack-Longoria is looking both backward and forward — honoring the people who built the organization while imagining what its next 35 years could look like.
“There’s so many things to be proud of,” Mack-Longoria told me. “Some things that jump out at me are the fact that we’re still here.”
That statement carries considerable weight.
Entre Hermanos began as a grassroots response during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, when resources for Latino LGBTQ+ people were scarce and community members often had little choice but to take care of one another. Mack-Longoria says that history of mutual care remains at the heart of the organization today.
“The community came together to provide mutual care for each other,” he said. “The fact that we are still here in a different context, but making sure that our voices are heard, that we have representation, that we have services to support our community through difficult and challenging times — it makes me very proud for everyone who came before us.”
He describes it as a “legacy of love” connecting the founders, longtime volunteers, current staff and everyone who continues to support the organization.
And perhaps the best way to describe Entre Hermanos after 35 years?
“We’re still here and kicking butt,” he said.
First, Fearless and Forever
That history inspired the theme surrounding this year’s anniversary celebration: “First, Fearless and Forever.”
“First,” Mack-Longoria explained, recognizes Entre Hermanos as the first Latino LGBTQ+ organization in Washington state.
“Fearless” reflects the organization’s determination to survive and serve despite decades of financial challenges, displacement from multiple offices and an ever-changing political and social landscape.
“We have been fearless in just fighting to stay alive as an organization,” he said.
Then comes “Forever.”
“We want to make sure that LGBTQ organizations exist forever,” Mack-Longoria said. “I wish I could say I foresee the day when our type of organization is no longer necessary, but that doesn’t seem like it’s on the horizon. So we will fight for our rights, for our visibility, for our representation, for our voice, as long as we’re needed — and even if that is forever.”
The gala will also remain deeply connected to the cultural traditions of Día de Muertos. This year, guests will see the colibrí — the hummingbird — incorporated throughout the celebration.
Mack-Longoria explained that the hummingbird represents a messenger between the spirit world and our world, making it an especially meaningful image for a celebration honoring those who came before.
Last year’s imagery centered on the monarch butterfly and its journey across borders. This year, the colibrí symbolizes that continuing connection between the living and those whose spirits and legacies remain with us.
Honoring the People Who Built Entre Hermanos
The anniversary celebration will also bring some of Entre Hermanos’ history into the room.
Among the special guests will be former leaders, volunteers and founders, including Emma Moreno, whom Mack-Longoria identified as the organization’s first executive director. A founders’ table will recognize some of the people responsible for creating and sustaining Entre Hermanos during its earliest years.
One of those early supporters was Judith, who Mack-Longoria said advocated for funding for a Latino HIV support group through POCAN. That early support eventually helped propel Entre Hermanos toward becoming its own organization.
Another is Agnes Figueroa, a longtime volunteer who remained involved with Entre Hermanos for nearly two decades during an era when much of the organization’s work depended upon volunteers.
The gala will feature testimonials from some of these pioneers, allowing them to tell their own stories about what Seattle was like at the time, why Entre Hermanos was necessary and what building the organization meant to them.
That history also includes a Seattle Pride presence many of us remember.
Long before I completely understood what Entre Hermanos was, I knew when they arrived at the Pride Parade. Their presentation was impossible to miss.
Mack-Longoria laughed when I brought it up. Apparently, the founders have already informed him that the current organization needs to step up its Pride game.
“They just let me know how much effort and pride they took in setting up the decorations,” he said, recalling stories of volunteers spending months creating pieces that were stored in garages and under tarps before everything was assembled on Pride morning.
“There was a different level of commitment at that time,” he acknowledged.
Listening to those elders is also influencing conversations about what Entre Hermanos should become next. One issue they have raised with Mack-Longoria is the growing need for services specifically for LGBTQ+ elders.
From HIV/AIDS to a Growing Network of Services
The needs of the community have changed dramatically since Entre Hermanos began.
During the height of the AIDS crisis, Mack-Longoria said, the work could be heartbreaking. Community fundraising sometimes paid for cleaning the homes of people who had died or even returning someone’s remains to their home country for burial.
Today, Entre Hermanos has grown to more than 30 employees and offers services extending far beyond its original grassroots beginnings.
HIV remains a central part of its work, including medical case management, HIV/STI testing, medical transportation and mental health support. But the organization has expanded significantly since 2018.
Its legal services department now includes a team focused on immigration issues affecting transgender and LGBTQ+ people, including those seeking asylum after fleeing their home countries for safety.
Entre Hermanos has also expanded into Yakima, where it is providing HIV-related services and support groups.
Advocacy has become another major part of the mission. Mack-Longoria says Entre Hermanos increasingly works with legislators and participates in coalitions addressing issues ranging from LGBTQ+ rights to environmental justice.
The Power of Community Partnerships
Mack-Longoria is also quick to recognize the people and organizations that have helped Entre Hermanos extend its reach.
One of the most visible is Aleksa Manila, who returns as host of the Día de Muertos Gala.
“Aleksa Manila is someone who gives from her heart,” Mack-Longoria said.
He praised Manila not simply for showing up, but for fundraising, promoting Entre Hermanos and bringing the organization into spaces where its work might otherwise not receive attention.
“She goes above and beyond for the LGBTQ community,” he said. “She helps to elevate our event, she helps promote the organization in spaces where we normally would not be mentioned.”
Their friendship apparently comes with one unresolved negotiation.
Mack-Longoria told Manila that whenever he finally gets into drag, he wants to become a Manila.
“She laughed,” he recalled, “and kind of just nodded and didn’t quite agree to it — but didn’t say no.”
So, Edgar, there’s still hope.
Community partnerships have also connected Entre Hermanos with organizations including the Leo Foundation. Those relationships demonstrate something Mack-Longoria repeatedly returned to during our conversation: no single organization can serve the LGBTQ+ community alone.
He said he feels fortunate to live in a region where numerous LGBTQ+ organizations can work alongside one another rather than expecting one organization to represent every part of the community.
A Home of Their Own
After 35 years, Mack-Longoria has one particularly ambitious goal for Entre Hermanos’ future.
He wants a building.
Not another temporary office. Not another lease.
A permanent Entre Hermanos Center in Seattle.
“We need the space to be ours, to make it ours,” he said.
Mack-Longoria can already picture it: Entre Hermanos’ colors on the walls, community gathering spaces, workshops and classes, a food pantry and resource closet — a permanent physical home reflecting the organization’s history and culture.
“I could see the building,” he said. “I could see the decorations. I could see our cultural colors.”
But his vision for the next chapter isn’t only about bricks and mortar.
Mack-Longoria wants Entre Hermanos to mature from its longtime grassroots structure into an organization capable of sustaining itself — and its employees — for generations.
That means paying staff competitive wages, providing meaningful benefits and recognizing that the people doing community work also need time to care for themselves.
“The longevity of the organization also means taking care of our people — the people doing the work,” he said.
That philosophy has already resulted in changes, including giving staff a week off following the intensity of Pride season and another week when the office closes at the end of the year.
35 Years — and the Work Continues
Even during a milestone celebration, the realities facing the community remain impossible to ignore.
Mack-Longoria discussed ongoing concerns surrounding HIV testing, immigration, legal services and the pressures community organizations face while working with public agencies and funders.
Entre Hermanos’ immigration attorneys are already working at capacity. On the day of our conversation, members of the team were at the Tacoma detention center working on cases.
That reality is why Mack-Longoria doesn’t want the 35th anniversary to be viewed simply as a party or fundraiser.
It is a call for solidarity.
“This is the time for people to be in solidarity with LGBTQ communities, with immigrant communities, with the Latino community,” he said.
And solidarity, he stressed, doesn’t necessarily mean writing a check or purchasing a gala ticket.
It can mean volunteering. Attorneys can donate their time or offer reduced-rate immigration services. Community members can share information online, attend events, amplify the organization’s work or simply show up when their neighbors need them.
“It isn’t just about a donation,” Mack-Longoria said. “It isn’t just about buying a ticket.”
After 35 years, perhaps that is the real legacy of Entre Hermanos.
It began with people showing up for one another during one of the darkest periods in LGBTQ+ history. Three and a half decades later, the organization has grown, its services have expanded and the challenges have changed — but the basic idea remains remarkably similar.
Show up. Take care of each other. And find a way to be in solidarity.
Entre Hermanos 35th Anniversary and Día de Muertos Gala is on October 24, 2026 @ Sheraton Seattle Hotel | Seattle, WA. Click HERE to get Tix.
