León Zuleta (born Benhur León Adalberto Zuleta Ruíz; 18 November 1952 – 23 August 1993) was a Colombian professor, writer, philosopher, journalist, and LGBT activist. He is recognized as a pioneer of the LGBT rights movement in Colombia.
Biography
Zuleta was born on 18 November 1952 in Itagüí, Antioquia, Colombia, into a working-class but intellectual family. He was the fourth of 13 children of Próspero Zuleta, a professional carpenter, atheist, and socialist, and Esperanza Ruiz, a housewife. He attended the lyceum of the University of Antioquia between 1966 and 1971, where he joined the Colombian Communist Youth (JUCO). He began studying philosophy and literature at the University of Antioquia in 1974 and graduated in 1979, but was expelled from JUCO for being homosexual.
Academic career
Zuleta began his professional career in 1973 as an ad honorem professor at the lyceum of the Universidad Autónoma Latinoamericana. In 1980, he moved to Pasto to teach at the faculty of philosophy and humanities of the University of Nariño, but was forced to resign in 1984 due to ideological differences, past union membership, and issues related to his sexuality. That same year, he began a master's degree in psychopedagogy at the University of Antioquia and started working for Amnesty International. In 1991, he became a professor at the Pedagogical and Technological University of Colombia in Chiquinquirá.
Activism
Zuleta believed that gay liberation should begin with psychological liberation. In 1977, he founded the magazine El Otro, which served as a means of communication for homosexuals and circulated until 1979. On 28 June 1977, he co-founded the Movimiento de Liberación Homosexual de Colombia (Homosexual Liberation Movement of Colombia) alongside Manuel Velandia and Guillermo Cortés. The movement pushed for the decriminalization of homosexuality in the 1980 penal code, which was achieved with decree 100. On 28 June 1983, Zuleta and Velandia organized the first LGBTQ Pride March in Bogotá, Colombia, which reportedly had 32 participants who painted their faces to avoid recognition.
Murder
On 23 August 1993, Zuleta was found stabbed to death in his apartment in eastern Medellín. He was 40 years old. His murder was never fully investigated but is widely believed to have been a hate crime.
Legacy
The "León Zuleta Award" is given annually in Bogotá and Medellín to individuals and institutions that defend and support the LGBT community. His work as a writer includes numerous poems, novels, and essays, with titles such as Bazuko Street (1984), El suicida en la salita de estar (1984), and the posthumously published De semas y plebes (1996).
