LGBTQ literature in Ecuador
[1][2] Throughout the twentieth century, several authors reflected the religious and cultural conceptions of the time, which is why the representation of LGBT characters often had negative connotations or tragic endings, especially considering that homosexuality was decriminalized in Ecuador in 1997.
[10][11][12] The earliest documented literary representation of characters or themes related to homosexuality in Ecuador dates back to 1926, in the short story Un hombre muerto a puntapiés [es] by Pablo Palacio.
[5] Four years later, in 1930, the Guayaquil writer Joaquín Gallegos Lara published the short story "Al subir el aguaje" as part of the book Los que se van, which constitutes the first Ecuadorian literary work to portray female homosexuality.
[15] Pedro Jorge Vera also gave a negative vision in his story "Los señores vencen" (1968), where a young homosexual who commits suicide leaves a letter to his father in which he refers to himself as "a disgusting little monster" and "hopelessly sick".
"New Lilianas", published in 1969, is remarkably negative in representation: it tells the story of a woman's marriage to a man who is soon shown to be a sadistic abuser, who married her with the sole intention of concealing his homosexuality.
[18] This is replicated in the story "Big Angel, my love" (Angelote, amor mío) by Javier Vásconez, published in 1982 in the book Far-Away City (Ciudad lejana),[19] a narrative in baroque language that follows the internal monologue of Julián during the wake of his lover, Jacinto, a homosexual man belonging to Quito's upper class.
[5][20] The story, which is now considered a classic of Ecuadorian literature,[21][22] was the subject of controversy at the time of its publication for criticizing the moral hypocrisy and religiosity of society, which led to its reading being banned by the Ministry of Education.
[23] In the case of the story "It's friday forever, Marilin" (Es viernes para siempre, Marilín) (1997), by Huilo Ruales, the death of the LGBT character is caused by a homophobic attack perpetrated by his own mother.
Vallejo's exploration of LGBT themes continued to garner critical success in later years, particularly with his story "Astrología para debutantes" (2000), in which the protagonist traces, in the midst of depression over loss, the memories of time he spent with his former boyfriend, now deceased.
Juan Carlos Cucalón works in his short story "La niña Tulita" (2009), about a dead transgender woman who becomes a saint and healer in her hometown, whose inhabitants punish her father's transphobia.
Pequeños palacios en el pecho, by Luis Borja Corral, won the Aurelio Espinosa Polit Award in 2014 with a story that narrates the love between two young men, written with a colloquial language that explores sensuality, youth and taboo topics, such as euthanasia.
[11] We can also mention Jawbone (2018), in which she addresses the beginning of falling in love between two teenage girls,[12] and "Earthquake" (Terremoto)" (2020), a tale about two sisters in an incestuous relationship that explores, in the author's words, "forbidden desire in the midst of the apocalypse".
[33] María Fernanda Ampuero, meanwhile, explores sexual awakening and lesbian love in her story "Nam", which won the Cosecha Eñe award in its 2016 edition from among 4,000 participating works.
[39] Homosexual desire is precisely the central motif of Sigüenza's poetry,[40] which explores themes such as the beauty of the male body, the sea as a metaphor for love between men, and cruising.
In recent years, poets such as Federico Tibiezas and the transgender writer Victoria Vaccaro García have emerged, who have explored sexual diversity in their poetry collections Encuentros homosexuales con Pancho Jaime and Árbol ginecológico, respectively.
