ABOUT FRANCISCO.

Francisco Mendez grew up in a religious, Pentecostal family. His parents relocated to Miami in the 1980s during the Nicaraguan Revolution. In this episode, he reflects on how religion shaped his childhood and how his sexuality pushed him to pursue a life outside of the church. “My experience with Christianity and being gay was that you are possessed and there is a demon inside of you.” He was taught that “you couldn’t be gay and Christian at the same time. You had to be straight to be Christian.”