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A DJ, a pastor and a fortune teller walk into Pride Month.

It sounds like the beginning of a joke, but in the Rio Grande Valley, they are among the many people working for LGBTQ+ residents long after the rainbow flags come down.

As Pride Month comes to a close, the board members of the South Texas Equality Project (STEP) are helping advocate for their queer peers in various ways, embracing art, faith, education and even tarot.

STEP began in 2014 as a project of the Valley Aids Counsel (VAC), a local clinic providing sexual health services specifically for people living with HIV, but has grown into one of South Texas’ leading queer advocacy organizations.

The stories of these three board members illustrate the many unique and impactful ways STEP is working to provide resources, opportunities and safe spaces for LGBTQ+ people living on the border.

FORTUNATE FERNIE

“What STEP does is provide a sanctuary. It provides people a place where they can be themselves,” said Fernie Salinas, STEP board member.

Salinas is the founder of Golden Mirror Fortunes, doing tarot card readings throughout all of South Texas. In between reading people’s destinies, he’s MC’ed RGV PRIDE, serves on the STEP LGBTQ+ Initiative Scholarship Committee, and hosts workshops for STEP’s RGV LGBTQ+ Support Group.

These are just a few of his impactful contributions to LGBTQ+ advocacy in the Valley. Much of his work is within the field of education consulting.

Salinas used to be a school principal for quite some time. He was also a teacher and a part of Teach for America, a nonprofit recruiting graduates and professionals to teach at under-resourced public schools.

“I know the value of education, really, intimately well,” said Salinas, who finds pride in assisting with STEP’s scholarship program.

Since 2017, STEP has awarded 54 scholarships totaling $29,000 to queer Valley students and allies. It helps queer youth follow their dreams and reach opportunities that are sometimes not afforded to people across the Valley, especially for young LGBTQ+ individuals.

Salinas wants to see LGBTQ+ youth further their education, and accomplish whatever it is they set out to do.

“It makes my heart really happy,” he said.

Students can apply for the scholarship on www.steprgv.org. The deadline is June 30.

Salinas finds solace in his involvement with STEP’s support groups — a necessary service especially when considering the mental health crisis faced by queer communities across the country.

National data shows queer adults experience higher rates of depression and suicidal thoughts compared to heterosexual peers.

The staggering statistics are one of the things that saddens Salinas the most, he says. The support groups offer a space for the people of the Valley to find community, reminding them that even in their times of struggle, they are not alone.

At each meeting, a therapist and/or psychiatrist is on hand.

Through his work with STEP, he has identified several needs within the Valley’s queer populations. The biggest one, which he described as “exploding” following the COVID-19 pandemic, is a sense of community. That’s why he believes STEP’s efforts to provide spaces for like-minded people to come together is so important.

He’s observed that there are many people across the Valley who have become distanced after coming out, or haven’t found their “tribe.” Support is a must, says Salinas, and STEP is a great place to find it.

Other pressing needs he’s identified include financial support.

“Jobs are hard to find for anybody,” said Salinas. “Especially for people who are gender non-conforming, or have experienced discrimination for whatever reason.”

STEP played a major role in helping Salinas launch his fortune telling business. And he’s not alone.

“I can think of various individuals for whom STEP has provided a launch pad for bigger and better things,” he said.

Gold Mirror Fortunes launched at RGV PRIDE in 2019. Magic and tarot have always been woven into the fabric encapsulating Salinas and his business was booming from the start.

He’s made TV appearances, written for Cosmo, People, Parade and Vogue, and was the resident astrologer for Texas Monthly. He finds fortune in helping guide others through their problems. He even has a book coming out this September: “The Joy of Tarot.”

“I’ve been able to create a life I didn’t think was possible, and it is because of the queer community in the Valley,” said Salinas.

In Salinas’s perspective, Pride Month in the Valley shows the world how united South Texas queer communities are and diminishes fear and hate with broad and bright visibility.

“We allow the world to know that we are here and we are queer,” said Salinas. “But we are also in the Valley, with you.”

MISS QUEEN T

“Continuous presence and visibility is so important because other people can see that there is help, there is resources, there are other people just like them,” said Tiffany Lozano, STEP board member.

Lozano is the founder of Queen T Artistry INC, combining art and ministry in an effort to create safe spaces for individuals to come together. Lozano is also a pastor at Mount Calvary Christian Church and has served as an MC for STEP Town Halls where community members share their ideas, thoughts and concerns impacting local LGBTQ+ people.

Lozano’s work in the Valley’s queer communities thrives in the intersection of art and ministry.

In 2023, she and her wife came together to form Queen T Artistry INC in an effort to foster a space for Valley artists. They host events where people can showcase their art, learn from fellow artists, participate in workshops, and feel free to express themselves.

She hopes it helps individuals get through life’s challenges, as it was art that got Lozano through many tough periods in her life.

Much of her work with STEP in providing queer individuals in the Valley with resources was inspired by a lack thereof when she was younger. Her LGBTQ+ advocacy work began when she was a teen. She was involved in one of the area’s first gay-straight alliances at Rowe High School.

“I want to be that person I needed when I was younger,” she said.

In her 20s, she was looking for a Christian faith space that would be accepting of her queer identity. However, those spaces didn’t exist here for a long time, she said. She struggled as many churches discriminated against her, sending her into a depression that wouldn’t last too long.

She found Mount Calvary where they believe “all are loved and all are worthy.” After joining the church, she has helped expand its reach and message.

Today, the ministry is involved in a push to encourage more Valley churches to become affirming and queer community inclusive.

“Things are finally happening now,” said Lozano. “It’s taken 20 years but the good thing is that it is happening and there are other churches that are opening doors to us when before they were just shutting doors.”

JUSTICE SIN FRONTERAS

STEP board member Reven Patlan is more than a local DJ. She has vast experience working in HIV education and prevention. She DJ’ed STEP’s Pride Kickoff this month under her stage name Justice Sin Fronteras and played an important role in organizing RGV Pride — formerly named PRIDE in the Park — in its early years.

From fostering connections through beats and melodies to organizing communicating events and elevating queer voices, her efforts in South Texas helped STEP become what it is today.

She believes one of the major factors that continues to drive HIV rates here in the Valley is a lack of education and awareness.

“And that’s not to say it’s a personal failure. Rather, it’s a systemic failure,” said Patlan. “Because of the conservative religious culture in Texas and the Valley in general, a lot of those things are stigmatized.”

Patlan says that lack of awareness can be deadly as it supports the acquisition of HIV. She says in her opinion, it’s one of the biggest concerns impacting the Valley’s queer communities today.

“We are fighting an uphill battle against people in power who do not see the connections between the social factors that lead towards increasing rates of HIV,” Patlan explained.

Her work as a DJ shines a light on how music can play a huge part in community building. DJ’ing for many Pride and queer-focused events has taught her the impactful value of a specially curated playlist.

“Music as the soundtrack of those experiences plays a large part in the success of those events,” Patlan said.

DJ’ing made sense for her as a transfeminine person, she said, as it has trained her on how to read a room, she says. As a young queer person, she was forced to constantly read spaces for safety. In other words, she’s often the first person who can tell if the vibes are off, and that translates well to the dance floor, she said.

Looking back to before STEP became such a big part of her life, she remembers thinking she’d have to leave the Valley to find her people. However, her work with STEP has proven to her that queer voices can and will continue to flourish in South Texas.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct Fernie Salinas’ book title.