This is Donovan Carrillo, a 16-year-old figure skater from Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico. He competed Saturday in the Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Yokohama, Japan.
He raised eyebrows when he performed his routine to the song "Hasta Que te Conocí" by Juan Gabriel, who died last month.
View this video on YouTube
The idea of using the song came from his mom, who was a big fan of JuanGa.
@johannheroz Mi mamá es muy, MUY fan y es una canción que le trae muchos recuerdos a ella. Es una oda a mi madre y un agradecimiento al Divo
"My mom is a big, BIG fan and it's a song that brings her a lot of memories," Carillo said. "It's an ode to my mother and an homage to the Divo."
Many people took to social media to congratulate Donovan on his performance, and his beautiful use of the Juan Gabriel song:
"I just finished watching your 'Hasta Que te Conocí' performance and it's brilliant!"
"Hi Donovan! I want to congratulate you and give you my thanks for putting Mexico on the map. You're amazing!"
But there were those who chose to write anti-gay comments instead:
"Another faggot."
"I read a comment that said, 'Damn, you made the kid gay.' Made? He was already gay! Lol."
And with so many anti-gay comments being directed at him, Donovan chose to respond accordingly:
"I'm not bothered being called gay because I'm not. It infuriates me that people see the word 'gay' as a joke or an insult towards my hard work."
No me molesta que me llamen gay porque NO lo soy. Me enfurece que vean la palabra gay como una burla o un insulto a mi esfuerzo.
"I admire and respect the LGBT community because I'm friends with a lot of their members, but I am not part of that community."
Admiro y respeto a la comunidad LGBT porque convivo con muchos de sus miembros pero no soy parte de esa comunidad. https://t.co/Q3CHxR9iIU
"The fact that I'm an ice skater does not mean that I'm gay. Just like a soccer player isn't automatically heterosexual."
El hecho de que yo patine no quiere decir que lo sea. Así como un futbolista no garantiza que sea heterosexual https://t.co/YaUFL0J3Ag
"I thank everyone for your congratulations and words of encouragement. I hope to not disappoint you. I will continue to train!"
Agradezco todas sus felicitaciones y palabras de aliento. Espero no decepcionarlos. A continuar con el entrenamiento!
In a time where anti-gay sentiment becomes more and more prevalent in the US and around the world...
...we need more people like Donovan.
