Óscar Ugarte (journalist)

Óscar Ugarte
Bornc. 1956
Alma materNational University of La Plata
Occupations
  • Journalist
  • LGBTQ activist

Óscar Ugarte Ordóñez (b. 1955/1956)[1] is an Ecuadorian journalist, LGBT activist, and documentary director.[2][3] He was one of the first public figures in Ecuador to come out,[4] and among the first openly LGBT people to run for elected office in the country.[5]

He has been involved with LGBT organizations such as Famivida,[1] Fundación Ecuatoriana Equidad and Ecuador Diverso,[6] an organization he presided over.[7] He was also president of the Association of Ecological and Tourism Journalists (Asopet),[8] which he founded in 1999.[9]

Career

He studied journalism at the National University of La Plata in Argentina.[1]

On television, he worked at TC Televisión alongside personalities like Fausto Valdiviezo.[10] In the 1990s, he hosted a TV show whose celebrity section launched the television career of host Mariela Viteri.[11] He later hosted Viva la Tierra on Mundovisión and produced environmental reports for the news program El Noticiero.[12]

Ugarte came out publicly in 2001 and has since been active in LGBT rights advocacy.[4]

In 2006, as part of Famivida, he organized the arts festival "Art and Diversity" to commemorate International LGBT Pride Day,[13] considered a precursor to the Guayaquil LGBT Pride March. Due to previous permit denials by the city of Guayaquil, Ugarte organized the festival without official authorization, anticipating that with elections approaching, authorities would avoid controversy.[14] He also helped organize the first Guayaquil LGBT Pride March in 2009.[15]

In the 2007 Ecuadorian Constituent Assembly elections, he ran as a candidate from Guayas province for the Social Constituent Front.[1][2] These elections were the first in which openly LGBT people ran for public office. Other candidates included activists Mabell García, Any Argudo,[16][5] Elizabeth Vásquez,[17] Francisco Guayasamín, and Thalía Álvarez.[18] Ugarte ran as a representative of the LGBT community, advocating for the legalization of civil unions for same-sex couples, though not same-sex marriage.[19]

In 2011, he received the Pride and Diversity Award, presented by LGBT members in Guayaquil.[20] He also temporarily held a seat in the Guayaquil Municipal Council.[7]

As a documentary director, his short films focus on ecology.[9][3] He has also directed LGBT-themed documentaries, including the short Diversos y visibles, screened at the 2012 El Lugar Sin Límites International LGBT Film Festival.[21]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Towards the Constituent Assembly: Candidates from Guayas Province". El Universo. 2007-09-21. p. 63. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  2. ^ a b "PAIS seeks names to form candidate lists for Assembly". El Universo. 2007-04-17. Archived from the original on 2024-02-17. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Black Water Discharges Still Most Harmful to the Estero Salado". El Universo. 2013-09-15. Archived from the original on 2014-01-31. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  4. ^ a b Mancero, Cristina (2007). "The Construction of the Gay Movement in Quito" (PDF). Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales. p. 71. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-07-10. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  5. ^ a b ""Devil's Nose" Receives Award in France". El Telégrafo. 2013-04-10. Archived from the original on 2024-02-17. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  6. ^ "Incidents during GLBTI protest against discrimination". El Universo. 2012-07-06. Archived from the original on 2024-02-17. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Nebot niega ser homofóbico". La República. 2013-12-17. Archived from the original on 2024-02-17. Retrieved 2024-02-17.
  8. ^ "Together in Ecological Tournament". El Universo. 2007-06-11. Archived from the original on 2024-02-17. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  9. ^ a b "Meet the Local 'Al Gores'". El Universo. 2007-04-22. Archived from the original on 2024-02-17. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  10. ^ "Valdiviezo's Family Criticizes the Prosecutor's Office". El Comercio. 2014-04-25. Archived from the original on 2021-03-02. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  11. ^ Vásquez, Reinaldo (2020-11-16). "Mariela Viteri Shares the Formula for TV Success". Extra. Archived from the original on 2020-11-25. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  12. ^ "Óscar Ugarte to Return to TC Televisión". El Universo. 2004-03-16. Archived from the original on 2024-02-17. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  13. ^ "Gay Pride Celebrated in the Streets". El Universo. 2006-06-28. Archived from the original on 2022-07-04. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  14. ^ "The Struggle That Brought LGBT People Into the Light". El Telégrafo. 2012-07-01. Archived from the original on 2021-02-05. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  15. ^ "Gay Pride March Against Discrimination". El Universo. 2009-06-28. Archived from the original on 2009-08-01. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  16. ^ "Alternative Candidacies for the LGBT Population in Politics". El Telégrafo. 2020-09-10. Archived from the original on 2023-05-30. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  17. ^ "National Candidate Lists". La Hora. 2007-06-26. Archived from the original on 2024-02-18. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  18. ^ "Assembly Candidates for All Tastes". ABC. 2007-10-01. Archived from the original on 2024-02-18. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  19. ^ "Óscar Ugarte Supports Full Citizenship". El Universo. 2007-09-05. Archived from the original on 2016-11-08. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  20. ^ "LGBT Community Presents Awards". El Telégrafo. 2011-06-27. Archived from the original on 2024-02-17. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  21. ^ "'El Lugar Sin Límites' Festival Will Screen 84 Films". El Telégrafo. 2012-11-12. Archived from the original on 2024-02-17. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
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