Gabriel Romero (born in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

) is a Mexican actor best known for his ground-breaking role as Fernandito, the first openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

character on Spanish-language television, on the

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It provides content ...

sitcom ''

Los Beltrán ''Los Beltrán'' () is a Spanish-language American television sitcom that aired on the U.S.-based network Telemundo from October 17, 1999 to 2001. Although canceled after two seasons, ''Los Beltrán'' received a number of media awards. ''Los Belt ...

'' and for his role as Marco on the

here! Here TV (also known as Here! or stylized as here!) is an American premium television network targeting LGBTQ audiences. Launched in 2002, Here TV is available nationwide on all major cable systems, fiber optics systems, and Internet TV providers ...

original series ''

Dante's Cove ''Dante's Cove'' is an American LGBTQ-oriented supernatural soap opera which aired on Here TV from October 7, 2005, through December 21, 2007. Created and written by Mike Costanza, Michael Costanza and directed by Sam Irvin, the series combines ...

''. Romero is

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

Career

Romero earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre from the University of Southern California in 1993. He is a musician, having taken up piano at the age of six, and has trained as a painter, dancer and gymnast. Romero starred in ''Los Beltrán'' as Dr. Fernando "Fernandito" Salazar, an openly gay surgeon involved in a long-term relationship with a man. The series was the first on Spanish-language television to feature an openly gay character and the first to feature a

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

when Fernandito and his partner Kevin wed. ''Los Beltrán'' was nominated for two

GLAAD Media Awards The GLAAD Media Award is a US accolade bestowed by GLAAD to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding portrayals of LGBTQ people and the issues that affect their lives. In addition to film and television, the Awards ...

, the first Spanish-language program to be so honored. The series also won the National Council of La Raza Alma Award and an

Imagen Award The Imagen Awards are administered by the Imagen Foundation, an organization dedicated to "encouraging and recognizing the positive portrayals of Latinos in the entertainment industry." To be considered for an Imagen Award, a media piece or person ...

for Best Comedy Series. In 2006, Romero joined the cast for the second season of the gay horror series ''Dante's Cove'', playing Marco, the owner of a trendy club on the island called H2Eau. As the season unfolded, Marco was drawn into conflict with Colin, owner of a local after-hours club, and Kai, the island's amoral "fixer." He has an extensive background in live theatre and commercial voice-over work. Romero currently resides in Los Angeles.

Filmography

References

External links

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Romero interview with Instinct magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Romero, Gabriel Mexican bisexual men Bisexual male actors Living people Male actors from Mexico City USC School of Dramatic Arts alumni Year of birth missing (living people)