Pride 2022 - Featured Stories: Aja and Samil LaBeija partner with Taco Bell

Everyone knows what Mother’s Day is, but what about chosen families?

Work family, roommates, friends, communities -- people who play significant roles in each other’s lives, outside of biological family or monogamous partners. With today’s landscape, schools are banning queer education, trans families face discriminatory legislation, 40% of our houseless population is LGBTQ+. Having safe spaces through chosen families is more important than ever - especially during traditional “family” moments such as Mother’s / Father’s Day or the holidays.

To celebrate chosen families, Taco Bell partnered with the fabulous House of LaBeija, the most prominent and revered house in New York’s drag and ballroom scene, founded by Crystal LaBeija and Lottie LaBeija in 1972. The House of LaBeija will be featured in the upcoming Tribeca Film Festival that pays homage to the House through a series of letters from its members.

As a brand that shows up organically in the Queer space, Taco Bell is creating a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community and ensure our Queer youth can Live Más. Taco Bell created a YouTube series titled Drive-Thru Dialogue where underrepresented voices can have real conversations about topics that matter to them, all from a Taco Bell Drive-Thru. Viewers will meet House Mother Samil and House member Aja LaBeija where they’ll discuss the topic of chosen families, their background and break-through.

“We spoke about the mothers of the house, the legacy, and how the women have paved the way,” shared Samil LaBeija. “I am not the first cis-gender female as the mother there was a previous cis gender that open up that door for me, so now I'm allowing other females to come as they are.”

Drive-Thru Dialogue is streaming on YouTube at youtube.com/c/TacoBell/.