About Leo Herrera
About Leo Herrera
Leo Herrera is a queer Mexican artist renowned for his exploration of Queer and immigrant experiences through the lenses of sex, technology, and history. Herrera's work often centers on themes of disease and stigma, particularly HIV and documents Queer “utopia. ”
Herrera's acclaimed series, Fathers (2015-2020), is a sci-fi documentary that envisions a world where AIDS never existed. Praised by the San Francisco Chronicle as
"a raucous and occasionally heartbreaking what-if," the series' behind-the-scenes documentary won an Emmy Award in 2018.
During the 2022 Mpox (monkeypox) outbreak, Herrera’s online activism and podcast drew recognition from The White House, leading to his participation in Mpox Task Force workshops, where he advocated for immigrant and POC communities. His commitment to “blood equality” and advocacy for lifting the FDA ban on blood donations from men who have sex with men is reflected in his films exhibited at the American University Museum and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.