Drágame Brunch: Building a Brand for Latine Queer Celebration
- Pablo Castillo
- May 6, 2025
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 30
From a seasonal event to a distinctive community experience
The Challenge
Drágame Brunch did not begin with its current name or identity. The event had previously existed as 5 de Mayo, a seasonal celebration that later became Sabroso Brunch.
While both concepts created opportunities for the community to gather, neither had developed into a distinctive, ownable brand capable of growing beyond a single date or theme. The challenge was to transform the event into a recognizable experience that could communicate its queer and Latine identity immediately, while supporting the goals of Entre Hermanos’ Workforce Pathways program, funded by the Washington State Department of Health.
The project also emerged at a difficult moment. Immigrant, LGBTQ+, Latine, transgender and undocumented communities were facing increasing hostility and uncertainty. Creating another entertainment event was not enough. The experience needed to offer visibility, joy and a genuine sense of collective belonging.
My Role
Just months into my role as Communications Director at Entre Hermanos, I led the project from its initial repositioning through the event itself.
My responsibilities extended beyond communications and included:
Brand concept and naming
Communications and content strategy
Visual identity and creative direction
Audience experience
Event planning and production
Budget management and payments
Artist, vendor and partner coordination
Volunteer management
Run-of-show development
Washington State Department of Health grant deliverables
Creating the Brand
The first step was giving the experience a name and identity that felt distinctive, memorable and authentically connected to the community it represented.
The naming process became a collaborative experience involving staff from across the organization. Their perspectives, cultural knowledge and connection to the communities Entre Hermanos served helped shape and strengthen the concept. From that collective process, Drágame Brunch emerged as the name that best captured the spirit and ambition of the event.
Replacing Sabroso Brunch, the new name combined the language of drag with a playful invitation to participate, creating something expressive, culturally resonant and immediately recognizable.
The new identity moved the event beyond its association with Cinco de Mayo and gave Entre Hermanos a concept that could grow, travel and return in future editions without being limited to a particular holiday.
Community Before Entertainment
Entertainment was central to the experience, but community impact guided every production decision.
Performers, vendors, artists and creative collaborators were intentionally selected from within the Latine community. The event became a platform for local talent while ensuring that the resources invested in its production also circulated within the communities Entre Hermanos served.
The result was not simply a drag show accompanied by brunch. It was an environment in which culture, visibility, economic opportunity and celebration reinforced one another.
Creating with the Monarcas Community
The event’s centerpieces were created in collaboration with Monarcas, the only support group specifically serving Latine transgender women in Washington State.
With the support of Joel Aguirre, Prevention Program Manager and one of Entre Hermanos’ most recognized creative talents, I coordinated a workshop where each participant designed her own paper doll. As the group worked together, the activity became much more than an exercise in event decoration. The women shared stories, memories and personal experiences, turning the creative process into an intimate and almost therapeutic moment.
The finished pieces brought their individual identities and perspectives into the event itself. Rather than sourcing generic decorations, the centerpieces became a collective expression created by members of the community Drágame Brunch was intended to celebrate.
Being invited to share that experience with them was also deeply meaningful to me. It became one of the most personal moments of the entire project, and a reminder that community-centered creative work can generate connection and belonging long before an event begins.
Bringing the Staff to the Stage
Drágame Brunch also included an internal engagement project designed to encourage staff participation and strengthen collaboration across the organization.
In the months leading up to the event, team members from different departments came together every Friday to rehearse an original group choreography. The process created a space outside their usual roles where colleagues could share their talents, build relationships and contribute to the event in an entirely different way.
The final performance became one of the most enthusiastically received moments of the brunch. More than an entertaining addition to the program, it was a celebration of teamwork, generosity and the joy of creating something together.
By bringing staff onto the stage, the project made the organization’s internal community part of the public experience, showing that Drágame Brunch was not simply produced by the team, but genuinely embraced and brought to life by it.
An Integrated Communications Strategy
The campaign brought every communications channel under a single creative vision, including:
Brand identity and promotional graphics
Social media strategy and content
Website and ticketing content
Email newsletters
Radio promotion
Community outreach
Partner and performer amplification
Audience engagement initiatives
Rather than communicating Drágame Brunch as another fundraising event, the strategy positioned it as a shared cultural experience: a space created by and for the Latine LGBTQ+ community.
Building the Experience
I led the development of the event as a complete audience journey, coordinating the program, artists, vendors, volunteers, budget, payments and live production.
Every element; from the visual identity and promotional campaign to the performances and flow of the program, was designed to feel part of the same experience.
Introducing "Somos Entre Hermanos"
Drágame Brunch also hosted the premiere of Somos Entre Hermanos, the organization’s first professionally produced institutional video in almost 35 years.
Its presentation created a moment to connect the celebration with the organization’s broader mission, allowing audiences to understand the people, programs and community behind Entre Hermanos.
The Result
On May 4, 2025, Drágame Brunch sold all 240 available tickets, filling every seat at Club Sur in Seattle.
More importantly, the project transformed a public-health-funded initiative into a sold-out celebration of Latine LGBTQ+ culture, visibility and community leadership.
It established Drágame Brunch as a recognizable brand and demonstrated how communications strategy, creative direction and event production could work together to turn an organizational program into a meaningful public experience.
Reflection
Drágame Brunch showed that community-centered communications can do more than promote an event. They can create belonging, direct resources toward local talent and give an organization a platform through which its mission becomes tangible.
The project brought strategy, branding, storytelling and live experience together under a single vision, creating a celebration that belonged unmistakably to the community it was designed to serve.
PROJECT DETAILS
Built with:
Entre Hermanos
My Contribution:
Lead Coordinator · Brand Development · Creative Direction · Communications Strategy · Event Leadership
Disciplines:
Brand Strategy · Community Engagement · Creative Direction · Event Production · Public Relations
The Challenge:
To transform an existing seasonal event into a distinctive and scalable brand—creating an experience that celebrated Latine LGBTQIA+ culture while strengthening visibility, belonging, and community participation.
Scope:
Brand development · Collaborative naming process · Creative concept · Communications strategy · Community engagement · Talent and vendor coordination · Staff activation · Event production · Budget management · Live experience
Impact:
A sold-out event with all 240 available tickets claimed, a new recognizable brand for Entre Hermanos, an all-Latine talent lineup, meaningful participation from the Monarcas community, cross-departmental staff engagement, and the premiere of the organization’s first professionally produced institutional video in almost 35 years.
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