Catherine Pino and Ingrid Duran are not your typical Washington, D.C. bureaucrats. Not only are these powerful women two of the only Latinx women to own their own consulting firm, but they are definitely some of the only women to do so while being married to each other. Pino and Duran founded D&P Creative Strategies in 2004, long before the wave of acceptance of LGBTQ  swept the American consciousness. “We created our company in 2004 because we both really wanted to strengthen and advance the relationship between the LGBTQ and the Latino communities because at the time it was very different than it is today,” Duran said in an interview with Affinity magazine. “It was important for us to build a strong bridge between the two and change the narrative.”

Duran and Pino’s mission is one that doesn’t get enough attention within the Latinx community.

But according to Duran and Pino, they have methods to tackle that. Their consulting firm specifically aims to “[increase] the role of corporate, legislative and philanthropic efforts in addressing the concerns of Latinos, women, and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) communities”. When they founded their firm, they made waves for deciding to take the D.C. political world head-on as an out lesbian couple. “If businesses don’t want to work with us because we’re gay, then we don’t want to work with them,” said Duran to LGBTQ Nation.

But back in 2004, although Duran and Pino were out-and-proud, they were not legally allowed to authenticate their bond in the United States because, at the time, same-sex marriage was illegal. But in 2015, that all changed. Their friend Justice Sonia Sotomayor invited them to hear the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges case at the Supreme Court–the decision that ruled that marriage was a fundamental right of all Americans–including for gay couples. Four months later, they reunited with Justice Sotomayor. This time, however, the honorable judge was officiating their wedding.

Although they appear so comfortable with their identities now, navigating their identities as lesbian Latinas has not always an easy journey for Duran and Pino.

When they were younger, their families’ struggled to come to terms with their daughters living a “non-traditional” lifestyle. Pino’s family, in particular, had trouble coming to terms with her sexuality. Raised in a conservative Catholic family, the idea of having a lesbian daughter was “unheard of,” according to Pino. 

As for Duran, while she thought her family would be understanding by virtue of them being progressive Chicano activists, their reaction was not as open-minded as she had hoped. Her mother believed that she had “done something wrong” in raising Duran and “struggled with what will people think”. “It was a journey for my mom to come around,” said Duran. “But when she did, she came full circle”. 

Perhaps their families’ ultimate changes-of-heart gave these women the confidence to believe the Latinx community was capable of change as well. These women are nothing but optimists about the future of America and the possibility of change. Speaking about the current administration’s policy towards Latinos, Pino doesn’t seem to be worried in the least. “Now is not the time to take the foot off the gas,” she said to LGBTQ nation. “I firmly believe in my heart that this too shall pass…We just both very much feel that we need to do as much as we can where we can and just keep working hard on these issues.”And working on the issues, they have. 

In 2015, the couple partnered with The Freedom to Marry initiative to create the campaign “Familia es Familia”. 

The campaign was “a national public education campaign” targeted towards the Latino community with the goal of normalizing the idea of marriage equality. According to the women, it is some of the work they are most proud of. As for what’s next, D&P Creative Strategies appears to be actively involved in campaigns promoting Digital Literacy, net neutrality, Latinx media representation, and supporting Latinx businesses. In this day and age of political grandstanding and empty promises, it’s inspiring to see Catherine Pino and Ingrid Duran walking the walk. 

Pino and Duran also use their platform to educate the Latinx community about issues that are close to their hearts. They created the production company “Brown Beauty Productions” as a means to “invite Latinos in the United States to tell their innovative and inspiring stories”. They have produced numerous documentaries for HBO regarding POC and LGBT issues like “The Latino List” “The Out List” and “The Trans List”. All of these happen to be projects providing information, insight, and a human angle to stories that aren’t always told in mainstream media. In other words, these ladies are working at changing the culture from every angle. They are an inspirational example to every queer Latinx person out there that the sky is the limit. 

When it comes to our bodas, Latinos have the traditions and customs on lock. From money dances to wedding vows, there is no aspect of a wedding that involves a Latina that won’t be strongly steeped in culture and tradition. But where did our unique practices of the “traditional wedding” come from anyway? It turns out, while so much of the weddings that take place in countries like Cuba, Brazil, Costa Rica, and Peru aren’t just based in their lands of origins.

In fact, many of customary traditions match surprisingly along with the traditions of countries across the globe.

Bridesmaids

These days brides have become accustomed to offering their bridesmaids a bit more leniency and control over the dresses they wear to wedding ceremonies. While it was once much more common to see brides of all sizes and shapes donning the exact same dresses, size-inclusivity and consideration have inspired many brides to allow their girls to pick out styles for themselves while wearing the same color or shade.

Matching dresses during the processional wasn’t always a tactic used by brides to ensure they stood out over the rest, however. In fact, bridesmaids of Ancient Rome originally wore dresses that looked similar to the bride’s so that they could help her to outsmart evil spirits. With so many dresses to compare, evil spirits wouldn’t know which woman in the lineup was the bride that day.

But the bridesmaids’ duties were far more treacherous in early Rome, where they were expected to intervene on behalf of the bride and fight off any former boyfriends of the bride who attempted to ruin her wedding day or steal her dowry.

Las Arras

These gold coins can be seen in just about any Latin American Christian wedding ceremony but it undoubtedly comes from Spain.

The custom of presenting thirteen gold coins to the bride and groom in an ornate box can be traced back to Rome and Spain. Arras means “earnest money” in Spanish and is the money presented from the groom’s family to the bride’s.

Wedding Cake

The customary wedding cake wasn’t always so romantic or delightful.

According to research, ancient Romans would require a groom to take a bite of bread at their wedding and crumble the remains on the bride’s head for good luck. “Fun” ensued when guests were prompted to then rush to her feet and pick up whatever bread crumbs they could find so that they too could have a bit of good luck. These days, the modern western approach to desserts and weddings has seen many cultures opt for actual desserts and cake for the celebrations of a couple’s wedding.

Money Dances

The money dance is an event that occurs in many cultures rooted in Latin America, though the exact origins of it are unknown. During a money dance, guests will give money in a chance to dance with the bride. Often times, the money given to the bride and groom is used to help set them up for a future or for just a little extra cash on their honeymoon. While no origins of the dance are known, it might be of interest to some that the tradition is common among the Yoruba and Igbo people of Nigeria.

White Gowns

At one time, red was actually the color du jour for brides at weddings. While some had actually worn white for their weddings, it was not until Queen Victoria rocked a white gown for her wedding that white became the color most Western brides would opt for.

Wedding Rings

The tradition of wedding rings can be traced back 6,000 years ago to ancient Egypt. At the time, couples exchanged braided rings made of reeds and hemp in a gesture that symbolized eternal love and commitment. Ancient Egyptians had a belief that the left hand had a vein that was connected directly to the heart and as a result started the tradition of wearing wedding rings on the left hand (awww!). Clearly, the custom caught on and spread because the exchange of rings is one done throughout the world. In Latin America, this is no different. Today, couples all over Latin America wear rings and in Brazil and Mexico, couples often wear engagement rings (not just the bride!).