A little over a year ago, Mexican electrocumbia singer Raymix came out as gay in a five-minute video posted on his YouTube channel. “I was nervous and shaking,” he previously told Billboard. “I’m typically a very calm person, but this was hard and I worried about my career that I’ve worked so hard for.”
Since coming out, Raymix, who grew up in the small town of San José El Vidrio in Mexico with no internet (therefore not much knowledge on the LGBTQ movement), says his art hasn’t been impacted because “it is a printed expression of my soul,” he says.
But it wasn’t until August last year that for the first time ever, the 30-year-old artist featured a man as his love interest in his music video for “Llámame.” “Why not change the game? Here I am, showing the world that we can and should evolve. The most important thing is to be happy.”
In honor of Pride Month, Raymix opened up to Billboard about the acceptance of the community in the industry.
How did the decision to come out impact your art?
Not too much because my art is a printed expression of my soul, and basically my art is the same before and after of coming out.
Did you ever have an LGBTQ+ idol growing up?
I used to like t.A.T.u.’s music but when I was younger, I didn’t have internet and living in a small town, there wasn’t much info about the LGBTQ movement.
Would you say the industry is more accepting of the LGBTQ+ community compared to when you first started your career?
I feel that the movement is more and more accepted every day, and normalized.
What would you say to new artists who are on the rise and unsure about coming out?
That depends on what they truly want: To live a standard life or to live their own lives no matter opinions, just their own happiness and freedom?
Any up-and-coming LGBTQ+ artist you’re excited about?
Any artist belonging to the community is exciting to me because I know they have a story to share, like me.
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