Quickie with Leo Herrera

You’ve been busy hosting a “CRUISING REVIVAL” in a church in New Orleans. What’s your gospel?
Analog cruising is my ministry. Apps like Sniffies which allow for anonymous cruising can be useful, but they are just one tool in a giant arsenal. Face-to-face bars and cruising spaces allow us to discover things about ourselves, to respect one another and combat shame in ways that digital cruising alone cannot do.
What even is Southern Decadence?
Southern Decadence is is a 50-year-old, five-day party in New Orleans, and the largest LGBTQ celebration in the American South. It’s like a darker, sexier sibling to Pride. New Orleans culture is irreverent and scandalous, with a deep respect for history and room for spirituality.
What’s the most decadent thing you’ve ever witnessed there?
Hard to pick! Last year I went to a house party in The French Quarter where they held a “hot dick contest”. For me though, Decadence isn’t a spectator sport, so I got head from a bear on a bar balcony overlooking Bourbon Street and fucked a Southern daddy in his truck while he spoke Cajun French to my penis.
What are you looking for this year?
I’m in a long-term, long distance relationship with my beloved Steven. We’ve been together for almost a decade but also give each other a long leash, so I’m also always looking for gingers with big butts.
Are guys easier in “the Big Easy”?
There is a lack of pretentiousness in Southern men. They know how to get down and dirty, but they’re also gentlemen.
You delivered a rousing sermon “The Ark and the Arc”. What three things would you bring with you on the big gay ark you’re preaching about?
Poppers, PrEP and Madonna’s Bedtime Stories.
If Trump 2.0 is a big shitty hurricane, where’s the current eye of the storm?
The eye of the storm right now is on our trans siblings and queer immigrants like myself, and HIV+ folks and folks struggling with poverty who depend on government assistance. So many in our chosen families are being forced to make emergency and evacuation plans. But the reality is that a storm is coming for anyone who doesn’t fit into what White Nationalism deems as “normal.”
You talk about the relationship between cruising etiquette and southern hospitality. What’s the link?
When you live here long enough, you realize that Southern hospitality isn’t just manners, it’s a survival tactic. Getting to know your neighbors can keep you mutually protected in places that experience so much climate disaster. The same goes for cruising. The reason most of us try to not trash the cruising spots at a park, or follow rules of consent in a darkroom, it’s to keep our spaces protected and our neighbors safe.