Tejano singer Shelly Lares, right, and her girlfriend Mia Gutierrez
Photo: courtesy
Tejano singer Shelly Lares, who has been a star in Tejano music since the '90s, says she was "living in secrecy for a very long time."
MY PRIDE:Houstonians talk about what Pride means: ‘love, acceptance, celebration’
Today, however, she is a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community and embraced by family, friends and fans. Listen to Lares tell her own Pride story below.
"Break Through,"her new Pride single, encapsulates her outlook on life.
"The line in my song is, 'Be free, live and have the time of your life.' Don't be afraid. I know it's hard. You cannot put restrictions on your happiness for other people. We have to give ourselves our own validation," she says.
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Joey Guerra
Joey Guerra is the music critic for the Houston Chronicle. He also covers various aspects of pop culture. He has reviewed hundreds of concerts and interviewed hundreds of celebrities, from Justin Bieber to Dolly Parton to Beyonce. He's appeared as a regular correspondent on Fox26 and was head judge and director of the Pride Superstar singing competition for a decade. He has been named journalist of the year multiple times by both OutSmart Magazine and the FACE Awards. He also covers various aspects of pop culture, including the local drag scene and "RuPaul's Drag Race."
