There is a huge gap in the LGBTQ world when it comes to content that relates to queer millennial audiences. Established traditional gay publications tend to focus on topics that are less in tune with where LGBTQ youth culture is headed. INTO bucks the trend. 'Hola Papi!' is a refreshing take on the traditional advice column. It's the first weekly LGBTQ advice column from the queer Latinx perspective of J.P. Brammer, (or as J.P. says, "I imagine what my abuela would say). Every week JP gets LGBTQ inquiries from all over the world and uses his sage and often sassy voice to answer questions for modern queers on everything from how to deal with being ghosted to how to find love when dealing with mental illness.
Similar to a typical love advice column, 'Hola Papi!', offers readers straightforward advice through the lens of a gay man's perspective without holding back. 'Hola Papi!' doesn't always provide advice you'd typically think, he offers anecdotes - some harrowing, some charming - from his own life to connect the readers with a genuine experience.
Even more radical, J.P. doesn't always admit to knowing all the answers as life is complicated. Love advice columnists are not therapists or pastors, but designed to be a playful way to provide thoughtful responses to complicated questions some may feel too embarrassed to ask or might not even have someone to ask. The first column in the series addresses a topic common within the LGBTQ community: guidane on the gay experience.
Through our advice column, 'Hola Papi!' we've created an environment and safe space for people within the LGBTQ to ask questions. Readers have written in to J.P. to tell him he's like the gay uncle they never had. Others share stories and moments that expand perspectives, ignite meaningful conversations, and foster greater connections between who the LGBTQ is as a community and who we are aspiring to be. The series has been covered by numerous outlets including Mashable and is being considered for a potential podcast at WNYC.
