On Monday, February 26, the Queer Student Alliance at Tulane University, in partnership with the LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana, will hold a memorial lecture and vigil in remembrance of Fernando Rios. Rios was murdered 66 years ago by three Tulane undergraduates.
The horrific hate crime occurred in September of 1958. Rios was in town from Mexico City working as a tour guide with a group of doctors and their wives. On the night of September 27, a Saturday, after a long day of showing his clients around the city, Rios went to Café Lafitte in Exile to take off his straight mask and be himself. There, he met John Farrell. Farrell had come to the French Quarter for a night of carousing with two fellow students from Tulane.
After chatting for a bit, Farrell and Rios left the bar together and ended up in Orleans Alley (adjacent to St. Louis Cathedral), where Farrell’s friends, Alberto Calvo and David Drennan, materialized. Suddenly, the three friends began beating and kicking Rios mercilessly. After stealing his wallet, they left him in the alley and returned to campus. Rios died as a result of his injuries. A sensational murder trial followed in which the defendants used what would now be called the “gay panic defense.” Farrell, Calvo, and Drennan easily won acquittal and when the verdict was read, the courtroom erupted in applause.
The event on February 26 will remember this sad chapter in New Orleans queer history and honor the memory of Fernando Rios. The foremost expert on Fernando Rios, author and historian Dr. Clayton Delery, will lead a discussion based on his 2017 book Out for Queer Blood: The Murder of Fernando Rios and the Failure of New Orleans Justice. A vigil for Rios will immediately follow the talk.
The lecture will take place at Tulane University in the Richardson Building, Room #115.
Schedule is as follows:
6:00 pm – 6:30 pm: Food served
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm: Dr. Clayton Delery author talk
8:00 pm – 8:15 pm: Vigil for Fernando Rios
This event is free and open to the public.
